Sarah Silverman, who is known for constantly pushing the envelope with her comedy, has been embraced by the Emmys this year with a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Silverman tells us she couldn't be happier and more surprised about it.

We caught up with the spunky brunette this week on the set of her Comedy Central show "The Sarah Silverman Program" where the jovial cast was finishing filming season three.

"I could not believe it," Silverman recalls of receiving her Emmy nomination news. "We didn't even know they were announcing the Emmys. It was so far off our radar because we assumed we were off their radar," she notes.

"I just woke up to my alarm clock at 8:30 and I looked at my phone and I had six messages. I thought my mother died. My heart sank because I had messages from family and it was so early in the morning. Then, I listened to the first message and I really couldn't believe it. It really makes me happy. I'm so excited to get to go."

Even the cast and crew are ecstatic for the talented comic who was showing them pictures of her Emmy gown on her iPhone.

So does this nomination mean that Silverman, who is often known for being controversial, is now becoming more mainstream?

She doesn't think so. She says the audience is changing -- not her.

"Words like mainstream and alternative -- the meanings are constantly changing because the world is constantly changing. When people talk about alternative comedy, it's like alternative to what? Someone like Patton Oswalt could headline any mainstream theater in any city in the country and kill. He is mainstream because the audience has come to the alternative side. It's really no longer alternative. It's still awesome."

Silverman certainly doesn't believe the Emmys are too mainstream to actually acknowledge her work either. "I think the Emmys have acknowledged stuff that even audiences haven't, so in a way, they have been in front of the curve in some ways.

"I don't know who the Emmys are really. It's the artists, I guess. The actors vote for the actors," she adds. "In terms of both mainstream and non-mainstream peers, they get acknowledged even if the audiences haven't acknowledged them. Some shows never get audiences and are still lauded critically." So you're saying there's a chance!

Emily-Fortune Feimster