Time to rejoice kids… According to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, PUSHING DAISIES is a semi-finalist nominee!

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Wire,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Pushing Daisies” are among the semifinalists for this year’s Emmy nominations.

Ten drama series and 10 comedies emerged as the top vote-getters in balloting by members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the academy said Thursday.

The final five nominees in each category will be determined after blue-ribbon panels screen submitted episodes this weekend, with the results to be announced July 17. The awards will be held in September.

Now don’t get too excited, as mentioned there is still another panel for Bryan Fuller’s masterpiece to wow but I’m feeling pretty confident. Congrats to Fuller, the writers, cast and crew for making it one step closer to that glorious statuette.

The Hollywood Reporter (THR.com) posted a new video in their Emmy Watch series and this one features Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller!

While the TCA nominations are the real reason to celebrate tonight, this honor just rolled in as well.  PUSHING DAISIES is America’s Favorite New Show according to a recent AOL poll.

From Reuters:

After a U.S. prime-time television season notable for its lack of breakout hits, the supernatural fantasy “Pushing Daisies” emerged as the favorite new show of viewers in an AOL poll released on Tuesday.

The ABC series about a pie-maker possessing the power to bring the dead back to life with a single touch — and to dispatch them again with a second touch– ranked as the best new TV show among 24 percent of survey respondents.

Congratulations to PUSHING DAISIES for it’s nomination as ‘Outstanding New Program’ by the Television Critics Association (TCA). The TCA Awards are voted on by some of the top TV critics across the country.

The awards will be handed out on July 19th.

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
Damages
Flight of the Conchords
Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies should be floating on cloud Emmy right now because TV Guide has anointed some of the Daisies cast as Class Clowns of the 2007-2008 season.

Michael Ausiello (along with Matt Roush and Bruce Fretts) have announced their Dream Emmy Ballot for Comedy and kudos to Kristin Chenoweth, Chi McBride and Swoozie Kurtz for being at the top of their list.  Now if only those Emmy voters would take note…

*Updated: They’ve also added the show itself to their newest list, Best In Show!

This just in… Pushing Daisies has won yet another award. This time the pie ho’s have been graced with Best Series at the 21st Annual Reims International TV Festival in France. Daisies also won the public jury’s TeleObs.com prize for best series.

TV critics love PUSHING DAISIES. So much so that PUSHING DAISIES was named the best show in TelevisionWeek’s semiannual survey of TV critics nationwide. This was the show’s first appearance in the poll, so a #1 spot was a surprise.

As for what the critics are saying about the show, Ellen Gray of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote that “Daisies” is “sweet without making your teeth hurt, smart without making your head hurt; this one’s actually living up to the promise of its pilot.”

PUSHING DAISIES appointment at the top of the leader board is impressive considering its company.

Top Ten Best Series (per TV Week’s Critics Poll)
1. Pushing Daisies
2. Mad Men
3. Dexter
4. 30 Rock
5. Friday Night Lights
6. Damages
7. House
8 (tie). The Office
8 (tie). Ugly Betty
10. Californication

The list of the worst shows after the jump
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Congratulations to PUSHING DAISIES Executive Producer/Director Barry Sonnenfeld for winning the Directors Guild of America Award for “Pie-lette“!

The 60th Annual DGA Awards were handed out last night in Los Angeles and Daisies stars Kristin Chenoweth and Chi McBride were in attendance as Presenters. If we find pictures of Kristin and Chi we will post them here. The photo shown of Barry Sonnenfeld is from the awards themselves… looking dapper Mr. Sonnenfeld!

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIES
Barry Sonnenfeld
“Pushing Daisies” — “Pie-lette”
(ABC)

Mr. Sonnenfeld’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Gabriela Vazquez
First Assistant Director: Chris Soldo
Second Assistant Director: Greg Hale
Second Second Assistant Director: Renee Hill-Sweet

This is Mr. Sonnenfeld’s first DGA Award.

The nominees for the 2007 Directors Guild of America Awards are finally out and guess what?  PUSHING DAISIES and Barry Sonnenfeld are being recognized for the genius that is the “Pie-lette.”

We here at ThePieMaker.com wouldn’t have it any other way and we send our congratulations to Barry and the crew.

2007 Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television - Comedy Series

Michael Engler - 30 Rock (”Rosemary’s Baby”)(NBC)
Unit Production Manager: Diana Schmidt
First Assistant Director: Chris Swartout
Second Assistant Director: Jane Ferguson

David Grossman - Desperate Housewives (”Something’s Coming”) (ABC)
Unit Production Manager: Charles Skouras III
First Assistant Director: Tom Irvine
Second Assistant Director: John LaBrucherie
Second Second Assistant Director: Efrain Cortes
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Richard E. White

Beth Mccarthy-Miller - 30 Rock (”Somebody to Love”) (NBC)
Unit Production Manager: Diana Schmidt
First Assistant Director: Stephen Lee Davis
Second Assistant Director: Bellamy Forrest
Second Second Assistant Director: Brendan Walsh

David Nutter - Entourage (”The Resurrection”) (HBO)
Unit Production Manager: Wayne Carmona
First Assistant Director: Gary Goldman
Second Assistant Director: Vernon Davidson
Second Second Assistant Director: John LaBrucherie

Barry Sonnenfeld - Pushing Daisies (”Pie-lette”) (ABC)
Unit Production Manager: Gabriela Vazquez
First Assistant Director: Chris Soldo
Second Assistant Director: Greg Hale
Second Second Assistant Director: Renee Hill-Sweet

Here is a good article from LA Times Award site The Envelope talking about how PUSHING DAISIES is the only new series to be nominated for a Golden Globe and how it has brought new life to the crime drama genre most television viewers are used to with procedurals like Law & Order. This article also features star Anna Friel talking about being nominated and the joys of Ned and Chuck’s relationship.

If “Pushing Daisies” deserves its Golden Globe nominations, it might just be because in the land of TV crime dramas, this ABC comedy stands out.

Fans might shudder to think of Bryan Fuller’s candy-colored romantic fairy tale as a mere procedural, but that’s actually how the creator pitched his idea. But is it a fairy tale with a procedural bent or a procedural with a fairy tale twist?

No matter. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which in past years discovered fresh cable fare such as “The Shield,” “Nip/Tuck” and “Big Love” before the Emmys noticed them, bestowed three important Golden Globe nominations for “Pushing Daisies.”

The series was the only new show that received a nomination alongside its lead actors, Lee Pace and Anna Friel.

“We all knew it was something special when we got involved with the project but we didn’t realize other people would recognize it so quickly and so surely,” Friel said. “I think it confirms our belief that it’s inventive and something very special on TV that people haven’t seen before.”

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