"Six Feet Under," the darkly comic series on HBO about a troubled family running a funeral business, earned a leading 23 Emmy nominations today, a signal once again of the creative strength of cable over the networks.

Alan Ball, on SFU: "Nobody ever suggested bringing people from a mall to get their opinion of the show."

The HBO drama mini-series, "Band of Brothers," about soldiers in World War II, earned 13 nominations. HBO's off-center series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," created by Larry David, received a nomination for best comedy series.

As networks struggle to retain viewers, the Emmys reflect the shifting tastes of audiences. HBO collected the most nominations, 93.