'Rock' on a roll with walk-ons

Guest star noms help show set Emmy record

By HEATHER HUNTINGTON

GOING BACK FOR SECONDS: Elaine Stritch, who won an Emmy for her role as Alec Baldwin's mother last year, is one of seven '30 Rock' guest stars nominated this time around.

Before the Emmys even air, "30 Rock" will have set a record: most program nominations for a comedy series in a single awards year -- 17. Such a coup wouldn't have been possible were it not for Emmy's guest actor and actress categories, where the show managed to corner seven of the 11 available slots.

That any series would have such a dominant showing in one category is unusual even for Emmy, which has been known to swoon over shows like "Will & Grace" and "Desperate Housewives," begging the question: What is "30 Rock" doing that everyone else isn't?

Exec producer Marci Klein gives "30 Rock's" writers all the credit for attracting the Emmy-nominated talent. "Tina (Fey) is really brilliant -- as well as Robert (Carlock) and John Riggi, all the writers there," she says. "They're all really good at writing for someone's voice. If that person reads the script, it's obvious they would want to do it because it's just written for them."

As a result, Klein says, the producers have been fortunate to land most of the people they had in mind for those guest roles, with Emmy tapping Will Arnett, Steve Buscemi, Tim Conway, Edie Falco, Carrie Fisher, Elaine Stritch and Rip Torn as favorites.

But too much of a good thing could undermine "30 Rock's" chance of actually winning in either category by splitting the vote.

"That is a concern," says Marc Cherry, exec producer of "Desperate Housewives," which has two guest actress noms of its own in Polly Bergen and Kathryn Joosten. "We had two nominations the first year when Kathryn won. She beat out Lupe Ontiveros, who played Juanita Solis. Sometimes it works for you, sometimes it works against you."

Last year, "Desperate Housewives" and "Ugly Betty" each earned two guest actress noms, but "30 Rock's" Elaine Stritch won. "She beat Dixie (Carter) and Laurie Metcalf. We'll see how she does against Kathryn and Polly this year," Cherry challenges.

Spread the wealth

What about all the other shows with great guest roles, like Amy Ryan as Dunder Mifflin's new HR exec on "The Office" or bad-boy Ben Foster on "My Name Is Earl"? Did voters rush to "30 Rock" at their expense?

"The one (oversight) that bothers me is Giovanni Ribisi," says "My Name Is Earl" exec producer Greg Garcia. "That guy is amazing, just to watch how he transforms."

Allison Jones, casting director on "The Office" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," saw her work rewarded when Shelley Berman was nominated for "Curb," but few shows cast such roles with Emmy in mind.

"The secret isn't in some formula," Jones says. "It's just having a good show -- good writers, good actors, a good atmosphere -- and knowing not to mess with it."

Finding the right guest star can boost ratings and inject new life into a show. Awards attention is more of a bonus.

As such, Jones isn't troubled that Emmy didn't recognize Ryan's role on "The Office." "(Exec producer) Greg (Daniels) has always had the mandate to keep it real and not to be a show where it's like 'TV' casting. Keep it like it's a documentary feel," she explains.

Besides, Ryan was such a great fit that she'll be back to inspire more HR violations -- and potential Emmy noms -- next year.