Twenty years is a long time, particularly in television. Back in 2004, when the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sept. 19 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, broadcast TV still had a firm grip on most categories — though cable was making serious inroads.
It was also the era when, if a show got canceled, it stayed off the air. That’s no longer true for many series — including three that earned nominations in 2004. “Arrested Development” (Fox) won the comedy category in 2004 in its rookie season, stuck around on Fox for two more seasons before cancellation — and then returned in 2013, 2018 and 2019 on Netflix.
Category competitor “Will & Grace” (NBC) eventually completed its eight-season run, and then returned to the network for three shortened seasons in 2017. And fellow competitor “Sex and the City” returned in sequel form as “And Just Like That” in 2021. But then there’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.
” A competitor in the category in 2004, “Curb” has trod its own path, premiering in 2000 before taking time off, coming back, taking more time off and returning 24 years after it premiered for a final season on HBO. This leads to an interesting bit of historical trivia, because “Curb” may have over 50 nominations total (and two wins for editing in 2012 and directing in 2003) — but it holds the record for having the most comedy series Emmy nominations (10) without having won the category. And now, with the series’ 11th nomination, tha.