Mad Men and 30 Rock led a pack of Emmy winners that successfully defended their titles at Sunday's show, while Australian Toni Collette of United States of Tara was honored as best lead actress in a comedy series for her role as a mother with multiple personalities.
AMC's glossy 1960s Madison Avenue saga Mad Men, which last year became the first basic cable show to win a top series award, won the best drama trophy for a second time.
“It is an amazing time to work in TV,” Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner said. “And, I know that everything is changing, but I'm not afraid of it because I feel like all these different media is just more choice and more entertainment. It's better for the viewers in the end and I'm glad to be a part of it.”
NBC's 30 Rock, a satirical take on life inside a TV variety show, was honored for the third time as best comedy series, while star Alec Baldwin won his second award as best comedy actor.
“We want to thank our friends at NBC for keeping us on the air ... even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show,” said 30 Rock creator and star Tina Fey, referring to Jay Leno's new daily prime-time comedy show, which NBC likes to note is cheaper to produce than a scripted series.
Baldwin, accepting his acting trophy for 30 Rock from Brothers & Sisters star Rob Lowe, joked: “I'll be honest with you. I'd trade this to look like him.”
Glenn Close's performance as a ruthless trial attorney on Damages and Bryan Cranston's turn as a meth-making, cancer-stricken teacher on Breaking Bad were honored with the top drama series acting Emmys, the second consecutive trophies for both.
Iranian Shohreh Aghdashloo won for her role in HBO's House of Saddam. Aghdashloo won best supporting actress in a TV movie or miniseries for playing Saddam's wife Sajidah Khairallah Tulfah.
The BBC's Dickens adaptation Little Dorrit, co-produced with PBS' Boston affiliate WGBH, won for best miniseries as well as awards for cinematography, art direction, casting and costumes.
In the night's biggest surprise victory, Collette deprived Fey of 30 Rock of winning a second consecutive award in the category.
Fey took the stage a few moments later to acknowledge a guest actor award she received for her Sarah Palin impersonation on Saturday Night Live.
Close called it a “huge privilege” to be part of entertainment community, then tweaked her show's writers.
Her role is “maybe the character of my lifetime, depending on what they do this season,” Close said.
Presenter Ricky Gervais razzed the Emmycast, which in recent years has had eroding viewership.
He noted a joke was “just for the 5,000 people in this room not for the 5,000 people watching at home.”
Michael Emerson, who plays the cruelly devious Ben on Lost, and Cherry Jones, the stalwart US president on 24, were honored as best supporting actors in drama series.
Kristin Chenoweth of Pushing Daisies and Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men won supporting acting Emmys for their comedies and proved that acceptance speeches can be entertaining.
“I'm not employed now so I'd like to be on Mad Men. I also like The Office and 24,” said Chenoweth, alternating between tears and smiles as she accepted for her canceled ABC series.
“Thank you so much to the academy for recognizing a show that's no longer on the air,” she said.
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” won the trophy for best variety, music or comedy series, its seventh in a row.
“Grey Gardens,” the story of a reclusive mother and daughter who were relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, won for best TV movie.
Neil Patrick Harris, the show's host as well as a nominee, lost to Cryer for his role on “How I Met Your Mother” but won on-stage accolades for his emcee work, including a heartfelt compliment from Jon Stewart.
Harris, who moved the show along with good-natured humor, started the evening on a lively note, performing “Don't Touch That Remote,” a custom-made tune from Broadway composers Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman of “Hairspray” fame. Harris implored viewers to stay glued to the show and called attention to some of the stars in the house.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
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