Emmy nominations preview: What will be in ... and out?

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Make room for plenty of new Emmy Award contenders when the full slate of nominees is announced Thursday. The reason? An inordinate amount of last year’s nominees have been on an extended break this past season or have left the airwaves for good. That list includes several winners and longtime favorites. Below, the state of the derby.

DRAMA SERIES
Returning: winner ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Dexter,’ ‘The Good Wife,’ ‘True Blood’
Gone: ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Lost’
Contenders: ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ ‘Friday Night Lights,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘In Treatment,’ ‘Justified,’ ‘The Killing,’ ‘Shameless,’ ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ ‘The Walking Dead’

DRAMA ACTRESS
Returning: winner Kyra Sedgwick (‘The Closer’), Connie Britton (‘Friday Night Lights’), Mariska Hargitay (‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’), January Jones (‘Mad Men’), Julianna Margulies (‘The Good Wife’)
Gone: Glenn Close (‘Damages’)
Contenders: Kathy Bates (‘Harry’s Law’), Mireille Enos (‘The Killing’), Melissa Leo (‘Treme’), Elisabeth Moss (‘Mad Men’ -- moving from supporting), Anna Paquin (‘True Blood’), Piper Perabo (‘Covert Affairs’), Emmy Rossum (‘Shameless’), Anna Torv (‘Fringe’)

DRAMA ACTOR
Returning: Kyle Chandler (‘Friday Night Lights’), Michael C. Hall (‘Dexter’), Jon Hamm (‘Mad Men’), Hugh Laurie (‘House’)
Gone: Three-time champion Bryan Cranston (‘Breaking Bad’), Matthew Fox (‘Lost’)
Contenders: Sean Bean (‘Game of Thrones’), Steve Buscemi (‘Boardwalk Empire’), Gabriel Byrne (‘In Treatment’), Jeremy Irons (‘The Borgias’), William H. Macy (‘Shameless’), Timothy Olyphant (‘Justified’), Tom Selleck (‘Blue Bloods’)

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Returning: winner Archie Panjabi (‘The Good Wife’), Christine Baranski (‘The Good Wife’), Sharon Gless (‘Burn Notice’), Christina Hendricks (‘Mad Men’)
Gone: Rose Byrne (‘Damages’), Elisabeth Moss (‘Mad Men’)
Contenders: Michelle Forbes (‘The Killing’), Kelly Macdonald (‘Boardwalk Empire’), Margo Martindale (‘Justified’), Sara Ramirez (‘Grey’s Anatomy’), Amy Ryan (‘In Treatment’), Kiernan Shipka (‘Mad Men’), KaDee Strickland (‘Private Practice’), Debra Winger (‘In Treatment’).

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Returning: Andre Braugher (‘Men of a Certain Age’), John Slattery (‘Mad Men’)
Gone: winner Aaron Paul (‘Breaking Bad’), Michael Emerson (‘Lost’), Terry O’Quinn (‘Lost’), Martin Short (‘Damages’)
Contenders: Josh Charles (‘The Good Wife’), Alan Cumming (‘The Good Wife’), Peter Dinklage (‘Game of Thrones’), Walton Goggins (‘Justified’), John Noble (‘Fringe’), Chris Noth (‘The Good Wife’), Denis O’Hare (‘True Blood’), Michael Pitt (‘Boardwalk Empire’), Brent Sexton (‘The Killing’), Michael Shannon (‘Boardwalk Empire’)

COMEDY SERIES
Returning: winner ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Glee,’ ‘Nurse Jackie’, ‘The Office,’ ‘30 Rock’
Gone: ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
Contenders: ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ ‘The Big C,’ ‘Community,’ ‘Entourage,’ ‘Episodes,’ ‘Family Guy,’ ‘Hot in Cleveland,’ ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ ‘Louie,’ ‘Parks and Recreation,’ ‘Raising Hope’

COMEDY ACTRESS
Returning: winner Edie Falco (‘Nurse Jackie’), Toni Collette (‘United States of Tara’), Tina Fey (’30 Rock’), Lea Michele (‘Glee’), Amy Poehler (‘Parks and Recreation’)
Gone: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’)
Contenders: Courteney Cox (‘Cougar Town’), Kaley Cuoco (‘The Big Bang Theory’), Patricia Heaton (‘The Middle’), Laura Linney (‘The Big C’), Melissa McCarthy (‘Mike and Molly’), Martha Plimpton (‘Raising Hope’) COMEDY ACTOR
Returning: winner Jim Parsons (‘The Big Bang Theory’), Alec Baldwin (’30 Rock’), Steve Carell (‘The Office’), Matthew Morrison (‘Glee’)
Gone: Larry David (‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’), Tony Shalhoub (‘Monk’)
Contenders: Louis C.K.(‘Louie’), Johnny Galecki (‘The Big Bang Theory’), Thomas Jane (‘Hung’), Matt LeBlanc (‘Episodes’), Rob Lowe (‘Parks and Recreation’), Danny McBride (‘Eastbound and Down’), Joel McHale (‘Community’) or Lucas Neff (‘Raising Hope’)

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Returning: winner Jane Lynch (‘Glee’), Julie Bowen (‘Modern Family’), Jane Krakowski (’30 Rock’), Holland Taylor (‘Two and a Half Men’), Sofia Vergara (‘Modern Family’), Kristen Wiig (‘Saturday Night Live’)
Gone: None
Contenders: Tamsin Greig (‘Episodes’), Kathryn Joosten (‘Desperate Housewives’), Wendie Malick (‘Hot in Cleveland’), Amy Ryan (‘The Office’), Phyllis Somerville (‘The Big C’), Betty White (‘Hot in Cleveland’), Vanessa Williams (‘Desperate Housewives’)

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Returning: winner Eric Stonestreet (‘Modern Family’), Ty Burrell (‘Modern Family’), Chris Colfer (‘Glee’), Jon Cryer (‘Two and a Half Men’), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (‘Modern Family’), Neil Patrick Harris (‘How I Met Your Mother’)
Gone: None
Contenders: Aziz Ansari (‘Parks and Recreation’), Ed Helms (‘The Office’), Tracy Morgan (’30 Rock’), Nick Offerman (‘Parks and Recreation’), Ed O’Neill (‘Modern Family’), Jeremy Piven (‘Entourage’), Oliver Platt (‘The Big C’), Danny Pudi (‘Community’), Rainn Wilson (‘The Office’)

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-- Tom O’Neil

Left photo: Steve Buscemi in ‘Boardwalk Empire.’ Credit: HBO

Right photo: Cast members of ‘Breaking Bad.’ Credit: AMC