Neil Patrick Harris hosts the 61st annual Emmy Awards.

Perhaps we’re being a bit kind in ending that headline with an exclamation point, given Emmy’s longstanding reputation of  confusing and disappointing us.

Then again, one never knows. Last year wasn’t too terrible, with many legitimately deserving series, actors and actresses getting their due. Think about it — only two or three seasons ago, a show like AMC’s  “Mad Men” would have had about the same chance of being nominated for Outstanding Drama as Chris Kattan has of winning an Oscar.

Not only did it score a nod in that category last summer, after only one season on the air, but it won the top drama award in September. On that same night, Bryan Cranston took home some metal for his turn in “Breaking Bad.” This might not be evidence of a lasting change for the better among Emmy voters, but at the very least it’s  two slivers of proof that they may have actually started watching television.

On the other hand, there were major missteps that have a chance (a slim one, but still) of being corrected on Thursday.  If the final season of “The Shield” and castmember Walton Goggins come up empty again, it will be difficult to turn this writer’s frown upside down.  One also hopes (beyond hope) that the final season of “Battlestar Galactica” will get a little love. Other shows on the wish list are likely to be lost causes — farewell “Pushing Daisies,” we barely got to know ya, and we doubt ever Emmy did either.

So, considering all of last year’s hits — and the years of misses that preceded it — do we dare to have high expectations for Thursday’s nominations announcement? Oh, go ahead. This is supposed to be the era of hope, after all.

We’ll be listing the major nods  shortly after “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Chandra Wilson and “Big Bang Theory’s” Jim Parsons, along with  Television Academy chair John Shaffner, reveal them on Thursday morning. Feel free to drop by and discuss what the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences got right and where it went wrong right here in our comments section.

And regardless of how things shake out this week, take solace in knowing you can count on one sure thing: with Neil Patrick Harris hosting and serving as a producer on the 61st Emmy Awards telecast, it’s bound to be an interesting evening. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Sept. 20 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on CBS.

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