Burning Questions About This Year's Emmy Nominations

Expect lots of drama when Sofia Vergara and Joel McHale reveal this year's Emmy nominations on Thursday morning at 8:30AM ET -- drama that won't come just from the 2009-10 season's trophy-worthy acting and writing, but also from the behind-the-scenes trends that have driven this year's TV.

The resurgence and innovation seen in new comedies (notably, 'Glee' and Vergara's 'Modern Family'), the farewells of many veteran series (including 'Lost,' 'Law & Order' and 'Monk'), the continuing rise of additional cable channels besides HBO as destinations for quality scripted shows -- all of these could shake up the often stodgy choices of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences voters.

How will these dramas play out in this year's nominations? What trends should TV fans watch for when Vergara and McHale read the list? Here is our guide to the burning questions we'd like to see answered as the Emmy race heads into the final stretch.

•Will the newbies seize the spotlight? The Emmys are generally considered slow to recognize new shows and new talent, but this time the appeal and popularity of some of the freshman class seem too apparent to ignore, particularly in comedy.

'Glee' and 'Modern Family' seem especially well-poised to take some of the top slots this year, and 'Glee' villain Jane Lynch seems a shoo-in for a win in the supporting actress category. On the other hand, don't expect too many nominations for individual performers from either show. Lynch and Lea Michele aside, it's hard to pick breakout performers from 'Glee's' strong ensemble, and the 'Modern Family' cast, in a move of quixotic solidarity, have all submitted their names as supporting players, so votes for any one of them are likely to cancel each other out.

Of course, new shows could still generate nominations for stars who are old favorites. Expect Courteney Cox to earn a nod for 'Cougar Town,' and Patricia Heaton could score for 'The Middle.' Among dramas, Julianna Margulies is a lock for her turn in 'The Good Wife,' and so is the show itself. 'Deadwood' alumnus Timothy Olyphant could sneak in for his acclaimed turn in 'Justified.' And Lauren Graham, robbed for all those years on 'Gilmore Girls,' could finally see a nomination for the new 'Parenthood.'

Not all newbies, even those with critical buzz, are guaranteed a slot. Despite its brilliant execution, McHale's 'Community' could have a hard time overcoming its broad goofiness, while 'Parks and Recreation' may have the opposite problem: too subtle not to be overshadowed by its brasher siblings on NBC's Thursday night comedy block. And while critics loved sophomore shows 'Party Down' and 'Better Off Ted,' the already-canceled series' low ratings mean they probably weren't on Emmy's radar.

•Will the veterans defend their turf? This wasn't the greatest season for such aging shows as '30 Rock' or 'The Office.' Still, given the Academy's fondness for the familiar, both comedies have a good chance at being nominated anyway, as do Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Steve Carell. Similarly, nods for 'Entourage' and Jeremy Piven seem likely, no matter how unsatisfying the show's last season was.

Among veteran shows that did satisfy this season, 'Mad Men' (and Jon Hamm) are a gimme. 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' with its 'Seinfeld' reunion arc, has a decent shot, as does star Larry David. And the Academy finally seems to have caught on to the charms of 'The Big Bang Theory' and Jim Parsons.

Emmy's knee-jerk tendency to keep nominating the same names goes only so far, however. We'd guess that 'Two and a Half Men's' Charlie Sheen, in particular, has worn out his welcome.

•Will departing names earn a victory lap? Hey, voters, you've nominated Tony Shalhoub seven consecutive times already for 'Monk,' but now's your last chance. Same with Glenn Close, who won Best Actress twice in a row for the first two seasons of 'Damages'; now's your last opportunity to give her a threepeat. 'Lost' went out with a bang, '24' with a whimper, but don't both deserve some Emmy laurels before they go to that great DVD queue in the sky? Doesn't 'Law & Order' deserve more for its 20 years of service than a gold watch? What about 'Ugly Betty'? Or 'The New Adventures of Old Christine?' Or 'Saving Grace'? Or 'Nip/Tuck'? Might sentiment and nostalgia carry the day for any of these?

•Who wins in the HBO-Showtime rivalry? In the days of 'The Sopranos' and 'Sex and the City,' HBO ruled the Emmys. Now, not so much. Premium cable rival Showtime has such awards contenders as 'The United States of Tara' (with Best Actress in a Comedy frontrunner Toni Collette), 'Nurse Jackie' (featuring 'Sopranos' alumna Edie Falco), veteran 'Weeds' (with perennial favorite Mary-Louise Parker), 'Californication' (with possible nominee David Duchovny) and of course, 'Dexter,' which is coming off an especially strong season, and whose star, Michael C. Hall, has enormous goodwill stemming from his emotional Golden Globes win.

HBO still has veterans (and Emmy favorites) 'Entourage,' 'Big Love' and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' but its efforts to regain its old buzzworthiness via quirky new shows has met mixed results. Still, there could be nominations for such newcomers as 'Treme,' 'Bored to Death' and 'Hung,' while second-season show 'True Blood' is sure to take a bite out of several dramatic categories.

Plus, HBO still owns the movie and miniseries categories, which everyone else has all but abandoned. Watch for multiple nods for such HBO prestige projects as 'The Pacific,' 'Temple Grandin,' 'You Don't Know Jack' (particularly for Al Pacino), and 'The Special Relationship,' whose Hope Davis deserves a nod for her thoroughly convincing Hillary Clinton.

•Who wins in the AMC-FX rivalry? AMC has just two scripted shows, but they're the two strongest dramas on TV. 'Mad Men' is sure to grab a fistful of nominations, while 'Breaking Bad' could score, not just for Bryan Cranston's towering lead performance (which has already won him two straight Emmys), but also for the supporting turns of Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn (though AMC is submitting Gunn as lead actress, where she faces very tough competition from Margulies, Close, et al).

Rival FX may have ceded some ground as basic cable's top destination for scripted series, but it still has contenders in 'Damages,' 'Justified,' Rescue Me,' 'Sons of Anarchy' (whose Katey Sagal is a strong contender for a Best Actress nod), 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' 'Nip/Tuck,' and even new animated comedy 'Archer.'

•Who wins in the Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien rivalry? Well, we know who won during the bloodletting at NBC in January. Still, O'Brien and Leno both remain eligible for their work at 'The Tonight Show' this year. NBC is promoting Leno's work while pretending O'Brien's brief tenure never happened, but the redheaded host's future home, TBS, is supporting Team Coco by touting his 'Tonight Show' work to Emmy voters. The sense that Conan got a raw deal, which has only increased in recent months as O'Brien has wowed live audiences on his barnstorming tour while Leno's ratings have slumped, is widespread among fans, though perhaps not among Emmy voters, for whom establishment choice Jay may remain the favorite. Maybe the aggressive campaigning on both sides will split the vote and clear a path for David Letterman, Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert.

•Will perpetually snubbed fan favorites finally earn some Emmy love? C'mon, TV Academy, isn't it time to notice 'Friday Night Lights'? Doesn't Hugh Laurie, after an unusually wrenching and funny season 6 of 'House,' deserve to win his first trophy? How about an award (or at least a Subway sandwich) for Zachary Levi of 'Chuck'? And we've already crossed our fingers, as mentioned above, for Lauren Graham, 'Party Down' and 'Better Off Ted.'

•Can anything beat 'The Amazing Race'? Given the seasons that its reality rivals 'American Idol' and 'Dancing With the Stars' had, probably not.

The 62nd Primetime Emmy nominations will be announced live Thursday, July 8, at 5:30AM PT from the Television Academy in Los Angeles. The awards ceremony airs on NBC on Aug. 29 with NBC late-night talk host Jimmy Fallon as host.

•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.