Actresses Sofía Vergara (L) and Sarah Hyland pose in the press room after winning the Outstanding Comedy Series Award for "Modern Family" during the 66th Emmy Awards, August 25, 2014 at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
©AFP PHOTO / Mark Ralston
The 66th Emmy Awards took place on August 25, 2014, honouring Breaking Bad and Modern Family once again in the top categories. Below is a recap of the ceremony.
Breaking Bad goes out with a bang
Widely regarded as one of the best TV series of its time, AMC's drama ended in 2013 after five seasons. In addition to earning the coveted Emmy Award for best drama for the second consecutive year, Breaking Bad was also in the limelight in the acting categories.
After taking home the Emmy for best actor in a drama in 2008, 2009 and 2010, Bryan Cranston claimed the honors one last time for his role as Walter White. The drama's supporting actors were not left out: Aaron Paul won his third Emmy in the category for playing Jesse Pinkman, while Anna Gunn won her second statuette for her performance as Walter's wife, Skyler.
Modern Family matches record set by Frasier
After winning the best comedy award for the fifth consecutive year, the ABC sitcom with Sofia Vergara and Ed O'Neill is tied with Frasier for the record streak in the category. The comedy with Kelsey Grammer, which aired on NBC from 1993 to 2004, won the top Emmy in its category from 1994 to 1998.
Game of Thrones and True Detective fall short of expectations
Despite being poised to dominate this year's Emmy Awards, HBO's two star drama series left the ceremony virtually empty-handed. Notwithstanding its 19 nominations, Game of Thrones received only minor awards, such as best art direction for a single-camera fantasy series for the episode "The Laws of Gods and Men." The evening was equally disappointing for True Detective, which took home only a handful of awards in secondary categories, including best casting for a drama and best cinematography for a single-camera series. The show's most significant prize went to its director Cary Fukunaga, who claimed the best directing award in drama for the episode "Who Goes There."
Big names in comedy hold on to their titles
There was little change from last year in the comedy categories, where the same names claimed the major trophies. While Modern Family retained the title of best comedy, despite criticism that the show had grown somewhat lazy in its fifth season, the acting awards also went to the old standbys.
Nominated a fifth time for his role as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parsons won the best actor award for the fourth time, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home her third consecutive best actress trophy for playing the title role on Veep.
A triumph for Sherlock
Thanks to the final episode of its third season, "His Last Vow," Steven Moffat's series won the award for best writing in the category of miniseries, TV movie or dramatic special, while lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch was named best actor in the category and his co-star Martin Freeman won the award for best supporting actor.
The top award in the TV movie category, however, went to HBO's The Normal Heart, which stars Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer and is set against the backdrop of the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic during the 1980s.
The award for best miniseries went to Fargo, the crime series adapted from the Coen brothers' film, which has been renewed for its second season.
Netflix still on the outside looking in
Once again, the Emmy Awards declined to shine the spotlight on the online platform, despite shortlisting the critically acclaimed series House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black in a number of categories. In spite of its 12 nominations, the series on life inside a women's prison was honored only for best casting in a comedy and for best guest actress in a comedy, with the latter prize awarded to Uzo Aduba for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren.
The political drama with Kevin Spacey, though nominated in the best actor and best drama categories, went home empty-handed.
Jon Hamm loses gracefully
Nominated seven years in a row in the best actor in a drama category for playing Don Draper on Mad Men, Jon Hamm has never claimed the coveted trophy. After losing once again to Bryan Cranston, the actor now holds the category record for most nominations without wins. - AFP RELAXNEWS