Judi Dench and Cranford Miniseries grab 8 Emmy Award Nominations

The 2008 Emmy Awards Nominations were just announced this morning. BBC period drama Cranford have been nominated for a total of 8 Emmy Nominations including a nod for Dame Judi Dench.

Cranford, broadcast in the US last May as part of public service broadcaster PBS's Masterpiece Theatre strand, features the lives of the residents of a small Cheshire market town in the 1840s.

Dame Judi Dench, nominated in the best actress in a miniseries or movie category for her role as kindhearted spinster Matty Jenkyns, will compete against Susan Sarandon in HBO's Bernard and Doris; Laura Linney in John Adams; Catherine Keener in Showtime's American Crime; and Phylicia Rashad in ABC's A Raisin in the Sun.

Dame Eileen Atkins, nominated in the best supporting actress in a miniseries or movie category for her role as Cranford's Miss Deborah, will compete with against fellow Briton Ashley Jensen for her role in the final Extras, screened on HBO in the US; Laura Dern in HBO's Recount; Alfre Woodard in CBS's Pictures of Hollis Woods; and Audra McDonald in A Raisin in the Sun. [Read more on the UK Guardian article here.]

Here are the following category list of 8 Emmy Nominations for Cranford Miniseries:

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty Jenkyns

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Eileen Atkins as Miss Deborah Jenkyns

Outstanding Miniseries
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Producers TBD

Outstanding Writing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Heidi Thomas, Written By


Outstanding Art Direction For A MOutstanding Art Direction For A Miniseries, Or Movie iniseries, Or Movie

Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production Donal Woods, Production Designer Trisha Edwards, Set Decorator

Outstanding Casting For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Maggie Lunn, Casting Director

Outstanding Costumes For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • Part One • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Jenny Beavan, Costume Designer
Mark Ferguson, Costume Supervisor

Outstanding Hairstyling For A Miniseries Or A Movie
Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Alison Elliot, Department Head Hairstylist


Plus one of Jane Austen movies adapted for tv, the 2007 tv movie version of Sense & Sensibility got 2 Emmy Nominations.

Outstanding Cinematography For A Miniseries Or Movie
Sense & Sensibility (Masterpiece Theatre) • Part 1 • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Sean Bobbit, Director of Photography

Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (original Dramatic Score)
Sense & Sensibility (Masterpiece Theatre) • PBS • A BBC and WGBH/Boston co-production
Martin Phipps, Composer

See a complete list of Emmy Nominations here.

The 2008 Emmy Awards, which span more than 450 nominees in 90 categories, will be handed out on September 21 in Los Angeles.