Zzzzzzz

Been up since 4:30 this morning to cover the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy nominations... here's the quick skinny, with more to come in the paper tomorrow:

Emmy voters put the Marc Cherry on top -- handing 15 nominations Thursday to the series creator's frosh sensation, "Desperate Housewives."

But the "Housewives" have some veteran competition: Aging laffer "Will & Grace" surprised just about everyone by scoring just as many noms -- several thanks to its parade of high-profile guest stars.

"Will & Grace's" 15 noms were the show's most ever, despite coming off its seventh season.

Meanwhile, with several Emmy faves out of the running, fresh faces and rookie shows clawed their way to this year's nominee list.

Only a handful of last year's finalists in the outstanding series and acting categories made it back to this year's list. Some shows that usually garner tons of Emmy love, like HBO's "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," weren't eligible because no new episodes were produced during the 2004-2005 season.

Other perennial Emmy nominees, like "Frasier" and "Sex and the City," had already retired, opening the door for a new generation of honorees.

That includes semi-shockers like Patricia Arquette for "Medium" and Hank Azaria in Showtime's little-seen "Huff."

Not as surprising: Three of the four main "Housewives" -- Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman -- will duke it out in the lead comedy actress category.

Also, ABC's red-hot frosh "Lost" snagged a nom for best drama series, although most of its actors were overlooked (excepting two supporting thesp nods). And critically acclaimed but low-rated NBC comedy "Scrubs" finally got some Emmy props, scoring a best comedy nod and a nom for star Zach Braff.

But Emmy also couldn't shake its love for the familiar.

Four-time Emmy champ "The West Wing" and "Six Feet Under" took up two of the five categories in the best drama category, despite predictions they'd be overlooked. The reality competish was also a virtual carbon copy of last year, albeit with one surprise: Bravo's "Project Runway."

Overall, HBO once again led the noms, with 93 mentions -- although down from last year's jaw-dropping 124. CBS was second with 59 noms -- the first time the Eye led its network rivals in more than a decade. NBC was next with 54, followed by ABC (51) and Fox, which scored 49 noms -- a network best.