Conan O'Brien was only on air a few months on "The Tonight Show." But his tenure was enough to earn him an Emmy nomination.

The late-night show hosted by O'Brien nabbed a surprise nod for best variety, music or comedy series, as the 2010 Emmy Awards were announced Thursday morning from Los Angeles.

Jay Leno's return to "The Tonight Show" was not so lucky.

The "come-back" host was snubbed in this category, as was the "Late Show's" David Letterman.

After a season plagued by bad press, including Letterman's affairs with female staffers and a blackmail attempt against the star, the "Late Show" could not rise above these troubles to impress Emmy voters.

Unlike these odd men out, the Second World War drama "The Pacific" leads this year's Emmy race, earning 24 nominations in total.

Newcomer show "Glee," the hot high-school musical comedy, earned 19 nominations, including nods for best comedy series and stars Matthew Morrison (best comedy actor) and Lea Michele (best comedy actress).

Other newcomers receiving nominations include "Modern Family" (best comedy series) and "The Good Wife.

The new TV drama picked up nominations for best drama and best drama actress for star Julianna Margulies.

Best comedy series nominees also include "Curb Your Enthusiasm," ''Nurse Jackie," ''The Office" and last year's winner, "30 Rock," with its third consecutive bid in the category.

"The Good Wife" is also joined in the best drama series category by "Lost," "Breaking Bad," ''Dexter," ''True Blood" and "Mad Men," which won the award for the past two seasons.

"I have a feeling they may give it to ‘Lost' in its last season. But it's not deserving," Pete Hammond of The Los Angeles Times' website told Canada AM this morning.

"The Emmys are pretty stagnant. They do the same thing every year."

Tony Shalhoub's nomination for best comedy actor is proof of that, said Toronto Star TV critic Rob Salem.

"I don't think ‘Monk' even aired in 2009. But they just get in the habit of nominating the same people," said Salem.

Yet, this year's mix of old standards and surprise nods could give the show some new life.

"I think we might some new winners. It's quite a race," said Hammond. "I'm thrilled to see ‘Nurse Jackie' nominated and ‘The Good Wife'," said Salem.

"‘The Good Wife' is the best show on TV. It's wonderful and Julianna is great in it."

The presence of "Glee" star Lea Michele among this year's nominees delighted Hammond.

"Lea gets to sing, dance and act so well in this show. She does everything that the academy voters love," he said.

Absent from this year's Emmy nominations is, you guessed it, Charlie Sheen.

Plagued by bad press throughout 2010, the "Two And A Half Men" star "spent half the season in jail," said Salem. "He's burned his goodwill."

More Canadian content

Canadian stars Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara both earned Emmy nominations.

Short is up for his turn as the scheming lawyer Leonard Winstone on the FX serial "Damages," which aired on Showcase in Canada.

O'Hara was recognized for her performance as good-hearted Aunt Ann in the miniseries "Temple Grandin," which aired on HBO Canada.

Toronto-born director Jeremy Podeswa is also nominated for outstanding directing for a miniseries on the Steven Spielberg war epic, "The Pacific," along with U.S. co-director David Nutter.

The 2010 Emmy Awards will air Aug. 29 on CTV, with Jimmy Fallon hosting.

2010 Primetime Emmys Nominations List

BEST COMEDY SERIES

  • "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
  • "Glee"
  • "Modern Family"
  • "Nurse Jackie"
  • "The Office"
  • "30 Rock"

BEST COMEDY ACTOR

  • Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory")
  • Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm")
  • Matthew Morrison ("Glee")
  • Tony Shalhoub ("Monk")
  • Steve Carell ("The Office")
  • Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock")

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS

  • Lea Michele ("Glee")
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures Of Old Christine")
  • Edie Falco ("Nurse Jackie")
  • Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation")
  • Tina Fey ("30 Rock")
  • Toni Collette ("United States of Tara")

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR

  • Chris Colfer ("Glee")
  • Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother")
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family")
  • Eric Stonestreet ("Modern Family")
  • Ty Burrell ("Modern Family")
  • Jon Cryer ("Two And A Half Men")

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS

  • Jane Lynch ("Glee")
  • Julie Bowen ("Modern Family")
  • Sofia Vergara ("Modern Family")
  • Kristen Wiig ("Saturday Night Live")
  • Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock")
  • Holland Taylor ("Two And A Half Men")

BEST DRAMA SERIES

  • "Breaking Bad"
  • "Dexter"
  • "The Good Wife"
  • "Lost"
  • "Mad Men"
  • "True Blood"

BEST DRAMA ACTOR

  • Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad")
  • Michael C. Hall ("Dexter")
  • Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights")
  • Hugh Laurie ("House")
  • Matthew Fox ("Lost")
  • Jon Hamm ("Mad Men")

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS

  • Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer")
  • Glenn Close ("Damages")
  • Connie Britton ("Friday Night Lights")
  • Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife")
  • Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit")
  • January Jones ("Mad Men")

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR

  • Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad")
  • Martin Short ("Damages")
  • Terry O'Quinn ("Lost")
  • Michael Emerson ("Lost")
  • John Slattery ("Mad Men")
  • Andre Braugher ("Men of a Certain Age")

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS

  • Sharon Gless ("Burn Notice")
  • Rose Byrne ("Damages")
  • Archie Panjabi ("The Good Wife")
  • Christine Baranski ("The Good Wife")
  • Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men")
  • Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men")

BEST TV MOVIES

  • "Endgame" (PBS)
  • "Georgia O'Keeffe" (Lifetime)
  • "Moonshot" (HISTORY)
  • "The Special Relationship" (HBO)
  • "Temple Grandin"(HBO)
  • "You Don't Know Jack" (HBO)

BEST MINISERIES

  • "The Pacific" (HBO)
  • "Return to Cranford" (PBS)

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

  • Maggie Smith ("Capturing Mary")
  • Joan Allen ("Georgia O'Keeffe")
  • Judi Dench ("Return to Cranford")
  • Hope Davis ("The Special Relationship")
  • Claire Danes ("Temple Grandin")

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

  • Jeff Bridges ("A Dog Year")
  • Ian McKellen ("The Prisoner")
  • Michael Sheen ("The Special Relationship"
  • Dennis Quaid ("The Special Relationship")
  • Al Pacino ("You Don't Know Jack")

BEST REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM

  • "The Amazing Race" (CBS)
  • "American Idol" (FOX)
  • "Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
  • "Project Runway" (Lifetime)
  • "Top Chef" (Bravo)

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES

  • "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
  • "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
  • "Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)
  • "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
  • "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" (NBC)