Though the anticipation of who will walk away with the Emmy® is always exciting, the best part of the show is often seeing what the celebrities are wearing as they walk the Red Carpet. This year the carpet was filled with women in everything from flowing red-hot dresses to sleek black gowns while the men looked smashing in tuxedos of all kinds. It was repeat victories for ABC’s “Modern Family” and AMC’s “Mad Men” as they captured the marquee prizes at the 63rd Annual Emmy® Awards. The sitcom about a deliciously dysfunctional family won its second consecutive trophy for outstanding comedy series and four other awards, including honors for onscreen husband and wife Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen. Meanwhile, AMC’s stylish period drama about Madison Avenue advertising executives earned its fourth consecutive Emmy® for outstanding drama series. “Mad Men” made history that night by winning four in a row, it tied an Emmy® record with the iconic series “Hill Street Blues”, which won four consecutive Emmys between 1981’84, and “The West Wing,” which won between 2000-’03. The only other series to win four drama Emmys was L.A. Strangely, however, “Mad Men” has yet to win a single Emmy® for its acting, even though performers Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss were considered among the frontrunners this year in their respective categories. Though it was a surprise to many, HBO and its lavish miniseries “Mildred Pierce” didn’t fare as well.
HBO headed into the Emmys with 104 nominations. Though it won 15 trophies earlier in September at the Creative Arts Emmys, it managed to pick up merely four additional statuettes on the night of the primetime awards ceremonies. “Mildred Pierce” came out with two honors -- best actress in a miniseries or movie, which went to Kate Winslet and the best supporting actor trophy was presented to Guy Pearce. Despite all its firepower, the well-appointed miniseries was upstaged by the PBS miniseries “Downton Abbey,” which earned four awards, including outstanding miniseries or movie. The show’s creator, Julian Fellowes, admitted as much as he was thrilled to accept the top prize, “This is really a David and Goliath story,” he said, “It seems perfectly extraordinary that we won.” Fellowes also won for writing and Brian Percival for direction for a TV miniseries, movie or dramatic special. Maggie Smith won for supporting actress for the miniseries. “Downton Abbey” had been facing “Mildred Pierce” in all four categories. Other wins were what many considered, “Justified.” Margo Martindale -generally cast as a kind and tender woman -- picked up her first Emmy®, for supporting actress in a drama series. She embodied the role of a cutthroat matriarch of a backwoods, nothingbut-trouble family on FX’s “Justified,” a part that was universally acclaimed. Martindale, 60, was visibly moved by the win after years as a character actress. “Sometimes things just take time,” she said in a joking tone.
The writing award for a drama series went to Jason Katims for the recently departed sports drama “Friday Night Lights,” which was much loved but never built a big audience during its five-year run. The drama about a high school football coach in Texas also netted Kyle Chandler the trophy for lead actor in a drama series. Melissa McCarthy of “Mike & Molly” was honored as best lead actress in a comedy series with an Emmy® and a glitzy crown. “Holy smokes. Wow, it’s my first and best pageant ever,” said a beaming McCarthy. “I’m from Plainfield, Illinois, and I’m standing here and it’s kind of amazing.” Just moments earlier, she and her fellow nominees jumped up on stage as their names were called, led by Amy Poehler of “Parks and Recreation.” Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” earned his second trophy in the best actor category. His win means Steve Carell lost his final chance to win an Emmy® for playing clueless manager Michael Scott on “The Office.” In other categories, best lead actress in a drama series went to Julianna Margulies for CBS’ “The Good Wife” and Kyle Chandler won best lead actor in a Drama Series for “Friday Night Lights.” Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese picked up his first Emmy for directing the pilot episode of HBO’s period gangster series “Boardwalk Empire.” And Barry Pepper won lead actor in a TV miniseries
(opposite page): The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 63rd Primetime Emmy® Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on September 18, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. [Photo by Michael Becker/PictureGroup] (FROM LEFT - RIGHT): Jane Lynch, Host of the 2011 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 63rd Primetime Emmy® Awards [Photo by Michael Becker/PictureGroup] Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri and the crew of The Amazing Race accept the award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. [Photo by Michael Becker/PictureGroup]
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