As the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced on Thursday, a number of nominations garnered special attention.
"Farrah's Story," the NBC documentary on Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer, was nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Special – an honor coming just weeks after the "Charlie's Angels" star's death from the disease. Farrah earned three previous Emmy nominations during her acting career.
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She's competing in the category with another star fighting against an illness, Michael J. Fox, nominated for his special, "Michael J. Fox: Adventures Of An Incurable Optimist." The special features a look at the nature of happiness, even in the face of Fox's Parkinson's disease, which he's suffered from for seven years. Michael's also nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role on FX's "Rescue Me."
On the lighter side, Fox's "Family Guy" was nominated for Best Comedy – a category that "The Simpsons," television's longest-running animated series, has tried to break into for decades. The last animated series to be nominated in the category was "The Flintstones" in 1961.
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Singer and frequent "Saturday Night Live" guest Justin Timberlake was nominated for his first acting Emmy, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his latest stint as an "SNL" host – in addition to receiving a second Creative Arts Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for re-teaming with Andy Samberg on the show for the song "Motherlover." Justin previously won a Creative Arts Emmy for his "SNL" digital short "D-ck in a Box."
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And another raunchy comedian, Sarah Silverman, was nominated for her first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her show, "The Sarah Silverman Program."
And "SNL" alum Tina Fey, who's become an Emmy queen with NBC's "30 Rock," earned a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her much-loved appearance as a look-alike Governor Sarah Palin on the variety show. Tina also picked up her expected nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for "30 Rock," a category she won last year.
In the Guest Actress category, Tina will be facing off with "Marley & Me" star Jennifer Aniston, who proved she's still "Friends" with the small screen with a nomination for her appearance on Tina's own "30 Rock."
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: 2009 Emmy Awards Nominations Announced (July 16, 2009)
PLAY IT NOW: 'Farrah's Story' Premieres In LA (May 13, 2009)
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Emmys - Farrah Fawcett - Justin Timberlake - TV - Jennifer Aniston
