The night was one for predictable results at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Expectant victories arose from Modern Family, Homeland, and Breaking Bad, making this about as anti-climactic as years past; however, the hosting of Jimmy Kimmel saved the ceremony from pure obscurity. His cold open with a handful of nominees punching him in the face coupled with a few cutaway segments throughout the show made this a quality telecast that was worthy of an Emmy itself. If it were not for the rotating broadcaster schedule, it would be a no-brainer to have him back next year.
In terms of shock value, the only real surprise this time around was Bryan Cranston not going four for four and taking the trophy for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. That one instead went to Damian Lewis of Showtime’s Homeland who got snubbed by the Golden Globes nine months ago. This really was the only question mark for Homeland going into the night and adding this notch definitely helped to cement its status as this year’s big winner.
Regarding the minor categories related to mini-series/movies, Game Change, Downton Abbey, Hatfields & McCoys, and even the controversial entrant American Horror Story each avoided getting blanked with Jay Roach’s political drama winning the most. Jessica Lange and Kevin Costner are both noteworthy individual winners in the genre. Costner is probably the better story of the two given that Hatfields & McCoys is accredited with reviving the actor’s seemingly stale career. Thanks to his recent success, fans will be able to see him in Paramount’s big Jack Ryan reboot and its planned spin-off, Without Remorse.
ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES
64th Primetime Emmy Awards
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
ERIC STONESTREET as Cameron Tucker ABC
Modern Family
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
LOUIS C.K., Written By FX NETWORKS
Louie
Pregnant
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
JULIE BOWEN as Claire Dunphy ABC
Modern Family
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
STEVEN LEVITAN, Director ABC
Modern Family
Baby On Board
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
JON CRYER as Alan Harper CBS
Two and a Half Men
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS as Selina Meyer HBO
Veep
OUTSTANDING REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race CBS
Bertram van Munster, Executive Producer
Elise Doganieri, Executive Producer
Jerry Bruckheimer, Executive Producer
Jonathan Littman, Executive Producer
Mark Vertullo, Executive Producer
Dan Coffie, Co-Executive Producer
Giselle Parets, Co-Executive Producer
Phil Keoghan, Co-Executive Producer
Michael Norton, Supervising Producer
Matt Schmidt, Supervising Producer
Patrick Cariaga, Supervising Producer
Michael Miller, Supervising Producer
Darren Bunkley, Senior Producer
Chad Baron, Senior Producer
Neil Jahss, Senior ProducerOUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OR
REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
TOM BERGERON, Host ABC
Dancing with the StarsOUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
AARON PAUL as Jesse Pinkman AMC
Breaking BadOUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALEX GANSA, Written By SHOWTIME
HOWARD GORDON, Written By
GIDEON RAFF, Written By
Homeland
PilotOUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
MAGGIE SMITH as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham PBS
Downton Abbey
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
TIM VAN PATTEN, Director HBO
Boardwalk Empire
To The Lost
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
DAMIAN LEWIS as Nicholas Brody SHOWTIME
Homeland
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
CLAIRE DANES as Carrie Mathison SHOWTIME
Homeland
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
LOUIS C.K., Written By FX NETWORKS
Louis C.K. Live At The Beacon Theatre
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Glenn Weiss, Director CBS
65th Annual Tony Awards
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SERIES
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart COMEDY CENTRAL
Jon Stewart, Executive Producer/Host
Rory Albanese, Executive Producer
Kahane Cooperman, Co-Executive Producer
Steve Bodow, Co-Executive Producer
Jennifer Flanz, Co-Executive Producer
Adam Lowitt, Co-Executive Producer
Jim Margolis, Co-Executive Producer
Pamela DePace, Supervising Producer
Hillary Kun, Supervising Producer
Timothy Greenberg, Supervising Producer
Stuart Miller, Supervising Producer
Jill Katz, Producer
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
JESSICA LANGE as Constance Langdon FX NETWORKS
American Horror Story
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
TOM BERENGER as Jim Vance HISTORY
Hatfields & McCoys
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
DANNY STRONG, Written By HBO
Game Change
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
JULIANNE MOORE as Sarah Palin HBO
Game Change
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
JAY ROACH, Director HBO
Game Change
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
KEVIN COSTNER as ‘Devil’ Anse Hatfield HISTORY
Hatfields & McCoys
OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MOVIE
GAME CHANGE HBO
Tom Hanks, Executive Producer
Gary Goetzman, Executive Producer
Jay Roach, Executive Producer
Danny Strong, Co-Executive Producer
Steven Shareshian, Co-Executive Producer
Amy Sayres, Produced By
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Homeland SHOWTIME
Alex Gansa, Executive Producer
Howard Gordon, Executive Producer
Michael Cuesta, Executive Producer
Gideon Raff, Executive Producer
Avi Nir, Executive Producer
Ran Telem, Executive Producer
Alexander Cary, Co-Executive Producer
Chip Johannessen, Co-Executive Producer
Henry Bromell, Consulting Producer
Meredith Stiehm, Consulting Producer
Michael Klick, Produced By
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Modern Family ABC
Steven Levitan, Executive Producer
Christopher Lloyd, Executive Producer
Danny Zuker, Executive Producer
Dan O’Shannon, Executive Producer
Bill Wrubel, Executive Producer
Paul Corrigan, Executive Producer
Brad Walsh, Executive Producer
Jeff Morton, Co-Executive Producer
Jeffery Richman, Co-Executive Producer
Abraham Higginbotham, Co-Executive Producer
Cindy Chupack, Co-Executive Producer
Chris Smirnoff, Producer