Britain, Brazil each get 6 Int'l Emmy nominations

NEW YORK — Britain and Brazil shared the lead for International Emmy nominations with six apiece Monday, including best actor and drama series nods for BBC One's "Accused."

"Accused," is a television anthology series created by writer-producer Jimmy McGovern with each episode following a different character as they are accused of a crime and await their verdict in court.

Sean Bean, best known for his roles in "The Lord of the Rings" and "Game of Thrones," was nominated for his role in an episode of "Accused" in which he goes against his usual tough-man image. Bean plays a bored school teacher by day who becomes a transvestite by night and gets involved in an affair with a married man that leads to a brutal crime of passion.

British actress Sheridan Smith, known for her comedic roles on stage and TV, was recognized for playing the title character in the ITV drama series, "Mrs. Biggs," for which she won the BAFTA TV Award for best actress earlier this year. The series is based on the true story of the wife of Ronnie Biggs, who was involved in the 1963 Great Train Robbery, in which 2.6 million pounds was stolen from a mail train. As Charmian Biggs, Smith evolves from the innocent daughter of a middle-class school headmaster who falls for a career criminal only to end up as a fugitive mother struggling to keep her family together.

The other British nominees include "Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender" (arts programming); "Moone Boy" (comedy); and "Secret State" (TV movie/mini-series).

Brazil's Marcos Palmeira received a nomination for his role in the HBO Latin America original series "Mandrake Especial" in which he portrays a Rio de Janeiro criminal lawyer who helps his wealthy clients deal with the local underworld. Fernanda Montenegro, who received a best actress Oscar nomination for the 1998 film "Central Station," got a nod for her role in TV Globo's "Sweet Mother."

Four other TV Globo productions also were among the Brazilian nominees: "How to Enjoy the End of the World" (comedy); "Next in Line" (drama series); and "Brasil Avenue" and "Side by Side," both in the telenovela category.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Monday that a total of 36 nominees from 19 countries will be competing in nine categories for International Emmys, which honor excellence in TV programming outside the US The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Nov. 25 at the Hilton New York Hotel.

France had three nominations, including nods for the sympathetic zombie drama series "Les Revenants (The Returned)," about a small alpine village where many dead people suddenly reappear, and the comedy series "Workingirls." Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea each had two nominations.

Two countries received nominations for the first time: Angola for "Windeck" in the telenovela category and Uruguay for "SOMOS-Cadaver se necesita" in the TV movie/mini-series category.

Also nominated for drama series was the Philippines' "Maalaala Mo Kaya," while South Africa's "Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola" was the other comedy nominee.

The remaining actor nominees were Japan's Shinichi Tsutsumi for "A Single Father's Love Story" and Germany's Heino Ferch for "Anatomy of Revenge." China's Li Sun for "The Back Palace: Legend of Zhen Huan" and Sweden's Lotta Tejle for "30 Degrees in February" rounded out the actress nominees.

At the November gala, "Lost" and "Person of Interest" producer J.J. Abrams, who is currently directing the new "Star Wars" movie, will be presented the honorary 2013 International Emmy Founders Award, while Anke Schaferkordt, the co-CEO of RTL Group, Europe's leading broadcast company and owner of "American Idol" producer FremantleMedia, will receive the International Emmy Directorate Award.

Last week, the academy announced its nominees for the International Emmy Kids Awards for children's programming, which will be presented at a ceremony on Feb. 10 in New York City.

A total of 24 nominees from 14 countries will be competing for Kids Awards in six categories. Britain led with four nominations, followed by three apiece for France and Japan. Denmark, the Netherlands and South Korea had two apiece.

The British nominees were "Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom (preschool); "Room on a Broom" (animation); "Same But Different" (factual), and "Pet School (non-scripted entertainment).