While a few shows and performers won as expected, surprises seemed to be the norm at the 65th Annual Primetime Emmys that took place Sept. 22 on CBS.
The ABC show Modern Familywhich includes a gay family among its main characterswon its fourth award for best comedy (tying it with All in the Family and Cheers, The Star-Ledger noted). However, none of the ensemble won, as Nurse Jackie's Merrit Weaver (who gave a 15-second acceptance speech) and Veep's Tony Hale won for best supporting actress and actor in a comedy.
Another surprise was the AMC drama Breaking Bad, which topped fellow network series Mad Men, Netflix's House of Cards, PBS' Downton Abbey, HBO's Game of Thrones and Showtime series Homeland to win Best Drama.
The most unexpected victor may have been Jeff Daniels (of the HBO drama The Newsroom), who prevailed over Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, Mad Man's Jon Hamm, House of Cards' Kevin Spacey and Homeland's Damian Lewis. Also, NBC's The Voice won for best reality show, ending The Amazing Race's dominance.
Homeland's Claire Danes, like Modern Family, prevented the awards from being totally full of surprises, winning her second consecutive award for best actress in a drama. Also, Jim Parsons won again for best actor in a comedy for The Big Bang Theory; in his speech, he thanked his "favorite person on the planet," partner Todd Spiewak.
Behind the Candelabraa movie about the life of late gay icon Liberacetook home several awards. Michael Douglas, who played the piano player, was honored as best actor in a miniseries/movie, besting co-star Matt Damon, who played Liberace's lover/chauffeur, Scott Thorson. The film also captured a top trophy as best movie or miniseries.
Damon and Douglas appeared together on stage to introduce Elton John, who paid tribute to Liberace with his new song "Home Again."
The "In Memoriam" segment took on a different tone this year, as several individuals (James Gandolfini, Gary David Goldberg, Jean Stapleton, Cory Monteith and Jonathan Winters) were spotlighted via personal speeches by close friends and colleagues in addition to the traditional montage. This approach did create some controversy, as some maintained that actors such as Larry Hagman and Jack Klugman deserved individual praise as well.
Neil Patrick Harris hosted, cracking jokes while keeping his rep as a song-and-dance man in an overall performance that garnered mixed reviews. USA Today's Robert Bianco wrote that Harris "was as dull and off-kilter as his oddly downbeat showa talented man who seemed trapped between his desire not to repeat himself and our desire to be entertained."
Andrew Davis