Six Feet Under tops awards list

Six Feet Under shares the most nominations with Sex and the City

Top US TV shows Sex and the City and Six Feet Under have taken three nominations each in the Directors Guild of America awards announced on Tuesday.

Sex and the City has three nominations in the comedy category, while Six Feet Under has an equal number for drama.

Long-standing TV director James Burrows picked up his 20th nomination for comedy nominee Will and Grace.

The awards, the 56th, will be presented at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on 7 February.

Other award categories include musical variety, daytime serials and children's shows.

James Widdoes is nominated in the comedy category for an episode of the ABC comedy 8 Simple Rules About Dating My Teenage Daughter.

The episode was the first to be shot after the death of the show's star, John Ritter, last September.

Other shows honoured include an episode of long-running comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live, featuring actor Christopher Walken and rock band The Foo Fighters.

Another musical nominee is HBO's Rolling Stones: Forty Licks World Tour Live at Madison Square Garden, documenting the British band's recent New York concert.

The awards' film nominees were announced last week - they included Return of the King director Peter Jackson and Clint Eastwood for the thriller Mystic River.