The Television Academy announced the top ten vote getters for the outstanding drama series and outstanding comedy series categories. This represents the first step towards nomination for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. The second step consists of Blue Ribbon Panel screenings, which will be conducted starting tomorrow, June 28, through Sunday, June 29.

The results of the first and second rounds will be averaged, and the first five of each category will be announced as official nominees for the respective categories. They will be announced by the Television Academy at 5:40 a.m. on Thursday, July 17.

The lists released by the Television Academy are as follows:

Top 10 Comedy Series Finalists (alphabetic order)

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Top 10 Drama Series Finalists (alphabetic order)

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire

The Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were first awarded in 1949. Carl Reiner received the most Primetime Emmys, nine, of which 5 for The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Actress Katherine Heigl has declined to sign up for this year's Emmy nominations, claiming such a prize would be "undeserved". Heigl announced through her publicist that she doesn't feel that her work this season was up to standards and thus declined to run for the coveted prize. The suggested reason is that she was not given good enough "material" (by the show's producers).

Rumors are that she is delicately taking a jab at the producers of "Grey's Anatomy," because they have recently reduced her on-screen presence in the successful show. Meanwhile, Heigl alleges that she did not want to take away the opportunity to win the Emmy from another fellow actress who might be more deserving.