By Paul Sheehan, Special to the Envelope

Three years ago the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences created a new, interim step in the Emmy voting process. Now the final five nominees in the race for best comedy and drama series are chosen from a list of Top 10 favorites after a popular vote of academy members.

After the semifinalists are determined in late June, each contender submits a sample TV episode to be evaluated by judges. Their scores are mixed on a 50/50 basis with results of the original popular vote in order to determine nominees that will be unveiled on July 17.