FOX-TV will broadcast the annual awards ceremony live from 8-11 PM ET; check local listings. Although the show has no official host, several comics will report, present or offer stand-up bits, including Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Garrett, Darrell Hammond, George Lopez, Bernie Mac, Dennis Miller, Conan O'Brien, Garry Shandling, Martin Short, Jon Stewart and Wanda Sykes. Other presenters scheduled for the three-hour to-do include William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, Edie Falco and James Gandolfini.

Several Emmy categories will be of interest to theatre fans. Although he didn't win the Tony Award for his performance in the recent revival of Our Town, veteran actor Paul Newman may bring home an Emmy for his work in the classic play. Newman is nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Emmy Award for the Thornton Wilder opus; he competes in a category that also includes Brad Garrett ("Gleason"), William H. Macy ("Door to Door"), Tom Wilkinson ("Normal") and James Woods ("Rudy").

Veteran British stage actresses Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith will vie for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries Emmy. Mirren and Smith are nominated for their performances in, respectively, "Tennessee Williams' The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" and "My House in Umbria." Others in their category include Thora Birch ("Homeless to Harvard"), Helena Bonham Carter ("Live from Baghdad") and Jessica Lange ("Normal").

The television production of "Meredith Willson's The Music Man" — starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth — also garnered several nominations, as did the TV airing of Susan Stroman and John Weidman's Contact. The latter picked up a Creative Arts Emmy Award Sept. 13 at a ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium. Contact won its award for Outstanding Classical Music-Dance Program in a category that included "New York Philharmonic: All-Gershwin New Year's Eve Concert," "Perlman at the Penthouse (Live from Lincoln Center)" and "Pops Goes the Fourth! 2002."

Other nominees of interest to theatre fans: Glenn Weiss was nominated for Outstanding Director for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for "The 56th Annual Tony Awards"; theatre veteran Victor Garber received an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nomination for his work on "Alias"—that category also includes Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos"), Joe Pantoliano ("The Sopranos"), Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing") and John Spencer ("The West Wing"); "Sex and the City" sirens Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall will vie for an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy in a field that also features "Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally as well as Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond"); former Gypsy star Tyne Daly was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for "Judging Amy," and her competitors include Stockard Channing ("The West Wing), Lena Olin ("Alias"), Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under") and Rachel Griffiths ("Six Feet Under"); Helen Mirren received a (second 2003) nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her work in "Door to Door," and her fellow nominees include Kathy Baker ("Door to Door"), Gena Rowlands ("Hysterical Blindness"), Juliette Lewis ("Hysterical Blindness") and Anne Bancroft ("Tennessee Williams' The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone"). *

Emmy Award winner Michael Chiklis, Emmy nominee Jane Kaczmarek and Academy Chairman Bryce Zabel announced the 2003 Primetime Emmy Award nominations July 17 live from the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood, CA. The dysfunctional family drama "Six Feet Under" — set in a family funeral parlor — led the pack of nominees with a whopping 16 Emmy nominations. In addition to its nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, the acclaimed series also picked up nominations for lead actors Peter Krause and Frances Conroy.

Nominees in the top ten categories follow:

Drama Series
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
"Six Feet Under"
"The Sopranos"
"24"
"The West Wing"

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under"
Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"
Jennifer Garner, "Alias"
Marg Helgenberger, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
Alison Janney, "The West Wing"

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos"
Peter Krause, "Six Feet Under"
Martin Sheen, "The West Wing"
Keifer Sutherland, "24"
Michael Chiklis, "The Shield"

Miniseries
"Hitler: The Rise of Evil"
"Napoleon"
"Taken"

Made for Television Movie
"Door to Door"
"Homeless to Harvard"
"Live from Baghdad"
"My House in Umbria"
"Normal"

Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Thora Birch, "Homeless to Harvard"
Helena Bonham Carter, "Live from Baghdad"
Jessica Lange, "Normal"
Helen Mirren, "Tennessee Williams' The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone"
Maggie Smith, "My House in Umbria"

Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Brad Garrett, "Gleason"
William H. Macy, "Door to Door"
Paul Newman, "Our Town"
Tom Wilkinson, "Normal"
James Woods, "Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story"

Comedy Series
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Everybody Loves Raymond"
"Friends"
"Sex and the City"
"Will & Grace"

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Matt LeBlanc, "Friends"
Bernie Mac, "The Bernie Mac Show"
Eric McCormack, "Will & Grace"
Ray Romano, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Jennifer Aniston, "Friends"
Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
Debra Messing, "Will & Grace"
Sara Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City"
Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm in the Middle"

For a complete list of the 2003 Emmy nominees, visit www.emmys.com.