AMC's astounding 20 Emmy nominations, of which 16 are for its acclaimed drama series "Mad Men," reveals the large gap between what the average American viewers are watching and what critics praise. With only about 2 percent of Americans ever watching the show, the drama series managed to make history Thursday morning, being the most honored series of this year. AMC's other four Emmy nods were for "Breaking Bad."

"It's such a validation for our strategy," said AMC exec VP-g.m. Charlie Collier to Variety. Indeed, a basic cable network which was known for running old stuff has managed to come out on top. Appropriately, AMC announced that it is throwing a premiere party Monday in Hollywood for "Mad Men's" second season.

"Mad Men" already won two Golden Globes at the glamourless ceremony earlier this year. The series is written by Matthew Weiner and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama, while lead actor Jon Hamm won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama for his performance as Don Draper.

Another ratings-challenged series, NBC’s "30 Rock," won more nominations than any other comedy series, scoring for Best Comedy, Best Actor (Alec Baldwin), Best Actress (Tina Fey), Best Directing, Best Writing (two) and a staggering 7 of the 11 total nominations for Best Guest Actor and Actress.

The numbers are definitely interesting because the taste gap between the general public and movie critics appears to grow by the day. As hars as it sounds, it appears that Americans are not interested in the better series available, and would rather watch soap-opera styled shows.