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Two medical dramas, “ER” and “Chicago Hope,” had the most active charts in nominations for the nighttime Emmy Awards released Thursday.

The nominations also marked a coup for HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show,” which surpassed all network comedies with a dozen angst-ridden Emmy bids, edging the 11 each for NBC’s “Frasier” and “Seinfeld.”

“We’re obviously delighted,” said Brad Grey, whose company produces “Larry Sanders.” “My assistant said the only way we could possibly do better would be to include open-heart surgery next year.”

“ER,” television’s top-rated program, sliced through the competition to pace Emmy nominees for the second consecutive year--a feat last achieved by “Northern Exposure” in 1992 and ’93.

The NBC drama’s 17 nominations include consideration for the President’s Award--a newly created honor by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which hands out the Emmys, designed to recognize a program “that best explores social and educational issues and encourages and promotes, directly or indirectly, changes that help society. . . .”

The award was instituted to demonstrate positive aspects of television programming, especially in light of discussion about the V-chip and other less-than-flattering appraisals of prime-time content from political quarters.

In a minor slap at the broadcast networks, the remaining nominees in that category are all from cable: “A&E; Biography,” AMC’s “Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial,” HBO’s “The Celluloid Closet” and TBS’ “Survivors of the Holocaust.”

Cable, in fact, continues to increasingly steal the networks’ thunder, as pay-service HBO amassed 66 Emmy bids--beating ABC in total nominations for the second straight year. Cable also tallied nine of 10 possible nominations for best made-for-television movie and miniseries.

HBO accounted for more than half the cable nominations, which all told represented a third of the 375 nominees. That marks the medium’s highest percentage of nominations since becoming eligible for Emmy consideration in 1987.

Aside from their promotional value, HBO Chairman Jeff Bewkes said that the nominations were gratifying for the writers, actors and producers who work with the network and that he hopes they will “encourage them to do more with us.”

NBC led the way among networks with 88 nominations, followed by CBS’ 67 and then HBO. ABC scored 55 Emmy bids, up substantially from 39 a year ago.

Underscoring the shortage of critically lauded newcomers last season, nominees for outstanding comedy and drama series are both exactly the same as in 1995.

After losing out as a rookie despite 23 nominations, “ER” gets another call in the drama balloting along with defending champ “NYPD Blue,” “Chicago Hope,” “Law & Order” and “The X-Files.”

On the comedy front, “Frasier” puts its 1995 crown against three other NBC sitcoms--”Friends,” “Mad About You” and “Seinfeld”--as well as HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show.”

Both “Law & Order” and “Seinfeld” have been nominated five consecutive years, with the latter winning in 1993.

Producer Steven Bochco’s “Murder One,” which returns in September, captured seven nominations to lead the way among new series. Another first-year ABC show, “Muppets Tonight,” totaled five Emmy bids.

Acting categories also looked quite familiar, though a few new faces did emerge. Andre Braugher of “Homicide: Life on the Street” was recognized for the first time among contenders for lead actor in a drama, and booked another Emmy bid for the HBO movie “Tuskegee Airmen.” He’s joined by four repeat nominees: “NYPD Blue’s” Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits, and “ER’s” George Clooney and Anthony Edwards.

Likewise, “The X-Files’ ” Gillian Anderson and “Chicago Hope’s” Christine Lahti are up for lead actress in a drama, with two-time winner Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences”), “ER’s” Sherry Stringfield and Angela Lansbury rounding out that slate.

Lansbury tracked down her 12th nomination for “Murder, She Wrote” in the show’s final season. The actress has been nominated 16 times in all without winning an Emmy, rivaling Susan Lucci’s much-discussed streak in daytime.

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With five-time winner Candice Bergen sitting out this year’s nominations, “The Nanny’s” Fran Drescher also broke into the lead comedy actress balloting, joined by previous nominees Ellen DeGeneres and Cybill Shepherd for their self-titled sitcoms, “Mad About You’s” Helen Hunt and Patricia Richardson of “Home Improvement”--none of whom has ever won an Emmy.

John Lithgow received his first nomination as lead actor in a sitcom (he’s been nominated four times in other categories) for NBC’s “3rd Rock From the Sun.” The other nominees are Kelsey Grammer--a winner the last two years for “Frasier”--Jerry Seinfeld, “Mad About You’s” Paul Reiser and Garry Shandling of “The Larry Sanders Show.”

The cast of NBC’s “Friends,” meanwhile, was overlooked. The six performers (currently in the midst of seeking to renegotiate their contracts) again agreed to submit themselves only for supporting award consideration. David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow garnered nominations in those brackets a year ago.

“Larry Sanders” made off with two supporting actor bids, for Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor, as well as three of five writing nominations. Mandy Patinkin and Rosie O’Donnell also received guest-actor nominations for playing themselves on the show, while Shandling picked up nominations as a writer, producer and star. He, too, has now been nominated a total of 13 times without an Emmy.

Beyond that series, HBO as usual made its biggest splash in made-for-TV movies, a category in which ABC, CBS and NBC were shut out for the first time. Having claimed that prize three successive years, HBO again dominated with a trio of nominations (“The Late Shift,” “Truman” and “Tuskegee Airmen”), as TNT’s “The Heidi Chronicles” and Lifetime’s “Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story” filled out the list.

Similarly, NBC’s “Gulliver’s Travels” stood tall as the lone network contender for best miniseries with 10 total nominations. Also vying for top honors are TNT’s “Andersonville” and “Moses,” Showtime’s “Hiroshima” and A&E;’s “Pride & Prejudice.”

The broadcast networks have received criticism for offering formulaic women-in-peril movies, while cable tries more adventurous fare. Network officials maintain that cable has more expansive budgets and thus can attract more marquee talent.

“It’s not just a question of money,” HBO’s Bewkes said, noting that, as a pay service, HBO can also explore more provocative subject matter and is “not trying to sit as many eyeballs in front of the set at one minute as a big network is.”

CBS did take lead actor nominations for Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange in its low-rated production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

The Emmy nominations always produce their share of strange bedfellows. In the variety, music or comedy series category, for example, “Muppets Tonight” finds itself up against “Late Show With David Letterman,” “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “Dennis Miller Live” and “Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher.”

Winners will be announced Sept. 8 and televised from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium by ABC, with Paul Reiser as the host.

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Top Nominees

Here are the shows with the most nominations for the 48th annual nighttime Emmy Awards. A complete list of nominations is on F22.

* “ER”: 17

* “Chicago Hope”: 15

* “The Larry Sanders Show”: 12

* “Frasier”: 11

* “NYPD Blue”: 11

* “Seinfeld”: 11

* “Gulliver’s Travels”: 10

* “Tuskegee Airmen”: 9

* “Truman”: 8

* “The X-Files”: 8