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.
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