Television's big night

Fewer gay characters to be on TV next season

As the broadcast TV channels unveiled their fall schedules last week, one characteristic of the 2013-14 TV season became clear: It will be a lot more heterosexual than the current season, which officially ends Wednesday.Monday

USA plans its first sitcoms, a post-WWII drama series

The USA television network is looking for laughs and announced Thursday it will premiere its first-ever situation comedies next winter.Friday

CW schedule adds iHeartRadio events

The CW network is bringing a popular radio music series to television and is going heavy on escapist fare in its new programming for next season.Friday

Coming Up

Saturday
•Nominees reveal their favorite TV shows
In News
Sunday
•Cast your ballot for Emmy winners
In Living
•Coverage of the Emmy Awards on www.journalgazette.net/redcarpetMonday
•See The Journal Gazette for coverage of the Emmys

Quotables

Here’s a look at the shows some Emmy nominees would love a role on:
“I’d love to do a guest spot on ‘Downton Abbey.’ I’m absolutely in love with ‘Homeland.’ I think it’s amazing. I would do anything they asked me.”
– Christina Hendricks, nominated for the third time for “Mad Men”
“I’m a huge fan of ‘Parks and Recreation,’ but I think I’d like to do something totally different, like ‘American Horror Story.’ Oh sure, I’ll get killed. That sounds fun. Or I’ll play a nun, a spooky nun.”
– Jesse Tyler Ferguson, enjoying his third consecutive nomination for “Modern Family”
“ ‘Homeland’ would be at the top of my list. It depends how it goes in series two. Maybe an agent? I’d like to play an FBI or CIA agent.”
– Joanne Froggatt, nominated for “Downton Abbey”
Here’s what some of this year’s nominees would prescribe for a case of Emmy-day nerves:
“Oh, you mean pharmaceutically? Hmm. Baby aspirin. Baby aspirin and maybe just like a small children’s pool of sangria.”
– Amy Poehler of “Parks and Recreation”
“Music. Music. I’m going to vote for either Adele’s ‘21’ or Decemberists’ ‘The King is Dead.’ Music soothes the savage beast.”
– Mayim Bialik of “The Big Bang Theory”

Underdogs

If you’re looking for some long-suffering underdogs to root for during Sunday’s big event these are the people to champion:
Jon
Hamm, Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks: For all the hype about how “Mad Men” wins every year, it’s worth noting that not a single one of its actors has captured an Emmy.
Michael C. Hall: “Dexter’s” serial killer, like Hamm, is going for his fifth attempt to win in best actor in a drama. He also lost in the same race back when he was playing a non-murderous undertaker on “Six Feet Under.”
Amy Poehler: Poehler’s Leslie Knope won an election on last season’s “Parks and Recreation.” So maybe she’ll finally win the Emmy for best actress in a comedy on her third try? (For those keeping score, she also lost twice in the supporting actress category when she was on “Saturday Night Live.”)
Ryan Seacrest and Tom Bergeron: Both the “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars” hosts have been recognized for five years running in the best reality-show host category. With perennial winner Jeff Probst not nominated this time, maybe this will be the year for one of them.
Connie Britton: She missed twice for “Friday Night Lights.” But Britton’s a contender again, this time for “American Horror Story.”

LOS ANGELES – After rolling out the red carpet Wednesday morning in anticipation of Sunday’s Emmy ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel warned he’s planning a prank on folks not watching the show.

“I have an idea for a prank, and if it goes well, (it) will be great,” the first-time Emmy host teased after ceremoniously unraveling the red carpet. “If it goes badly, it won’t be so great. I think it will go well. If you’re watching, you’ll be in on it. If you’re not, you might get caught up in the prank.”

Kimmel’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” received its first nomination for outstanding variety series this year.

The award show starts at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC.

Inside the Nokia Theatre, stagehands were hard at work Wednesday on the sweeping art deco-style set. The stage has been accented with silver tiles and features a voluminous circular screen hanging above several curved walls that can double as screens.

Place cards on the chairs in front of the stage’s glittery silver stairs illustrated that Tiny Fey, Clive Owen and “Modern Family” stars Ed O’Neil, Sofia Vergara and Ty Burrell will have the best seats in the house: front-row center. Other nominees with sweet front-row seat assignments included Jon Hamm, Nicole Kidman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Betty White, Kevin Costner and Bryan Cranston.

TV

Television’s big night