"Recount", "In Treatment" lead TV Globe nominations

BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) - The political drama "Recount" and "In Treatment", a series about characters undergoing psychiatric therapy, led the field of television contenders for Golden Globe awards on Thursday with five nominations apiece.

Cable television shows again dominated the field over U.S. broadcasters, with cable's HBO leading the pack of networks with 22 nods, followed by Showtime with eight nominations including "Californication" and "Weeds" for best comedy series, as well as detective program "Dexter" for drama series.

HBO's Emmy-award winning "Recount", about the razor-thin 2000 U.S. presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, was nominated as best made for TV movie or mini-series and picked up acting nominations for Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson, Laura Dern and Denis Leary.

"In Treatment", also from HBO, was nominated for the top honor -- best TV drama -- and picked up four acting nods including best actor for therapist Gabriel Byrne.

Other best TV drama nominations went to "Dexter", the Fox medical drama "House", Emmy-winning 1960s advertising series "Mad Men" (AMC) and HBO's new vampire program "True Blood",

The Golden Globes are given out annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and while they are closely followed for their film honors during Oscar season, they traditionally shine a spotlight on new, lesser-known TV series and actors.

Briton Hugh Laurie, who plays the grouchy doctor in "House", Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") and Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") will compete with Byrne for best actor in a TV drama.

Mariska Hargitay, who plays an investigator in NBC's popular "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit", picked up a best dramatic actress nomination, along with Sally Field ("Brothers and Sisters"), January Jones ("Mad Men"), former child star and Oscar winner Anna Paquin ("True Blood") and Kyra Sedgwick who plays a police officer in "The Closer".

NBC's "30 Rock", which won U.S. television top prize, the Emmy, for best comedy series in September, picked up Golden Globe nominations for its writer and star Tina Fey, actor Alan Baldwin, and one for best comedy series. It will square off against NBC's "The Office", HBO's inside Hollywood series "Entourage", "Weeds" and "Californication."

"Californication" star David Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed writer and who in real life underwent treatment for sex addiction, was nominated for best actor in a comedy along with Baldwin in "30 Rock." Other best actor comedy nominees include Steve Carell for "The Office", Kevin Connolly for "Entourage" and Tony Shalhoub for his obsessive-compulsive detective in "Monk" (USA).

Along with Tina Fey for "30 Rock," nominees for best TV comedy actress included Samantha Applegate who plays an amnesiac in ABC's "Samantha Who" , America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty", Debra Messing for "The Starter Wife", and Mary Louise Parker as a dope-dealing housewife in "Weeds."

The HBO miniseries "John Adams", about the second U.S. president, picked up four nominations, including best made for TV movie or mini-series and a best actor nod for its star Paul Giamatti.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)