The 2012 Emmy Awards will air on Sunday, Sept. 23, straight from Hollywood's Nokia Theater at 8 p.m. on ABC. 

E!'s "Live From the Red Carpet" will do their customary pre-show coverage, available on live stream. Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic, who will return after just having a baby boy with her husband Bill, will give coverage on all the night's fashion and speak to stars as they enter the big event. "Live" begins at 6 p.m. on E! However, the earliest coverage begins at 5 p.m. with "Countdown to the Red Carpet," hosted by Rancic, George Kotsiopoulos and Kelly Osbourne. 

TV Guide is offering "Watch with WitStream," a live ticker that compiles reactions from the Emmy's featured comedians, comedy writers and others via their Twitter posts. They did the same during the 2012 Olympic Games and the MTV Video Music Awards. "Watch with WitStream" will be available at around 7 p.m. Eastern Time. 

One category where the competition is tough is best drama series. AMC's period drama "Mad Men" has won the award four years in a row, but it faces a tough challenge from its AMC brother "Breaking Bad, Showtime's breakout hit "Homeland" and "Downton Abbey."

The ceremony will be hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who has promised he will attempt "the biggest prank ever pulled," but he added fans will have to tune in to be in on the joke.

Check out all the nominations for the Emmy Awards below.

 COMEDY SERIES

"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)
"Girls" (HBO)
"Modern Family" (ABC)
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Veep" (HBO)

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in "The Big Bang Theory" 
Larry David as Himself in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan in "House of Lies"
Louis C.K. as Louie in "Louie"
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in "30 Rock"
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in "Two and a Half Men"

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath in "Girls"
Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn in "Mike & Molly"
Zooey Deschanel as Jess Day in "New Girl"
Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton in "Nurse Jackie"
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in "Parks and Recreation"
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in "Veep"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in "Modern Family"
Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in "Modern Family"

Max Greenfield as Schmidt in "New Girl"
Bill Hader as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory"
Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey in "Desperate Housewives"
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in "Modern Family"
Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Merritt Wever as Zoey Barkow in "Nurse Jackie"
Kristen Wiig as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

DRAMA SERIES

"Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)
"Breaking Bad" (AMC)
"Downton Abbey" (PBS)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"Homeland" (Showtime)
"Mad Men" (AMC)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in "Damages" 
Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley in "Downton Abbey"
Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife"
Kathy Bates as Harriet Korn in "Harry's Law"
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in "Homeland"
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in "Mad Men"

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston as Walter White in "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in "Dexter"
Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"
Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in "Homeland"
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Anna Gunn as Skyler White in "Breaking Bad"
Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"
Joanne Froggatt as Anna in "Downton Abbey"
Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma in "The Good Wife"
Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in "The Good Wife"
Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway Harris in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad" 
Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring in "Breaking Bad" 
Brendan Coyle as John Bates in "Downton Abbey"
Jim Carter as Mr. Carson in "Downton Abbey"
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones"
Jared Harris as Lane Pryce "Mad Men"

MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

"American Horror Story" (FX)
"Game Change" (HBO)
"Hatfields & McCoys" (History)
"Hemingway & Gellhorn" (HBO)
"Luther" (BBC America)
"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia" (PBS)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon in "American Horror Story"
Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in "Game Change"
Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" 
Ashley Judd as Rebecca Winstone in "Missing"
Emma Thompson as She in "The Song of Lunch"

LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt in "Game Change"
Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" 
Idris Elba as John Luther in "Luther"
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Frances Conroy as Moira in "American Horror Story"
Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon in "American Horror Story"
Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace "Game Change"
Mare Winningham as Sally McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Judy Davis as Jill Tankard in "Page Eight"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey in "American Horror Story"
Ed Harris as John McCain in "Game Change"
Tom Berenger as Jim Vance in "Hatfields & McCoys"
David Strathairn as John Dos Passos in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

VARIETY SERIES

"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)