Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Emmys 2012: 'Homeland' and 'Modern Family' dominate — one surprisingly, one not

It was a night of unexpected drama winners and repeaters everywhere else

By Alan Sepinwall Sunday, Sep 23, 2012 11:46 PM

"Homeland" star Damian Lewis was one of the night's more surprising Emmy winners.

Credit: AP

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I always say that the easiest way to win an Emmy is to have already won an Emmy, and the 2012 Emmy Awards seemed to be going out of their way to prove me right. Twenty-five awards were handed out over the three-hour ceremony, and only eight of them went to people or shows that hadn't won an Emmy before. The first seven in a row went to past winners, and eight of the first nine.

It got to the point where, when "The Daily Show" won its tenth consecutive Emmy as the best variety, music or comedy series, presenter Ricky Gervais moaned, "Not again," and Jon Stewart ended his acceptance speech by saying, "Years from now, when the Earth is just a burning husk and aliens come to visit, they will find a box of these, and they will know just how predictable these (bleeping) things are."

But it was a night when one of the genres honored had some real surprises to offer. "Modern Family" may have predictably won every award for which it was nominated, but very few people(*) were picking Showtime's "Homeland" to dominate the drama categories. "Homeland" won not only for Claire Danes' performance — the safest bet of the night after a "Modern Family" win for Outstanding Comedy Series — but Damian Lewis beat out Bryan Cranston, Jon Hamm and the rest of the heavyweights in the drama lead acting category, the "Homeland" pilot script beat out three different "Mad Men" episodes for best drama writing, and "Homeland" became the first show to beat "Mad Men" for Outstanding Drama Series, a category the AMC drama had won for the first four years of its existence. (Had the streak continued this year, "Mad Men" would have passed "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law' and "The West Wing" for the most wins ever in the category.)

(*) Credit where it's due: Fienberg (who live-blogged the whole show) was one of those people, in that he predicted "Homeland" for both writing and drama series, and said Lewis had a shot to win if "Homeland" was a juggernaut.

On a night when Emmy director Glenn Weiss ruthlessly had the orchestra play over any winner whose speech ran long — including his own, when he won for directing the Tony Awards — "Homeland" showrunner Alex Gansa began his drama series acceptance speech by saying, "I don't know when they're going to cut me off, but this is the biggest night of my career. I'm going to keep talking until they do. I want to start by congratulating Showtime on its first best series Emmy ever."

Danes was a mortal lock to win for her work as bipolar CIA analyst Carrie Mathison. As liberated prisoner of war Nicholas Brody, Lewis had the less flashy part — he had to keep us guessing on whether Brody had been turned in captivity — but was just as impressive in his own way. I had hoped that if anyone was going to break "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston's own seemingly unstoppable Emmy streak, it would be Jon Hamm from "Mad Men" — who, like his co-stars, has yet to win an Emmy for acting on the show(**) — but I can't complain about Lewis, who's been doing tremendous work on television dating back to his lead performance in HBO's "Band of Brothers."

(**) Technically, a "Mad Men" actor did win an Emmy, but it was Danny Strong, who played copywriter Danny Siegel in the show's fourth season and won here for writing the script to HBO's Sarah Palin film "Game Change." Maybe Hamm or Christina Hendricks need to get into writing, too?

Many categories had results where you could say, "yeah, but…" In the drama supporting actor category, for instance, I wanted to see Giancarlo Esposito win in his first and only shot for playing iconic "Breaking Bad" villain Gus Fring, but I can't object to his co-star Aaron Paul (who won this award the last time he was eligible two years ago) getting another trophy for what's consistently one of the best performances on television. Or I wanted "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan to win for directing last season's insane final episode, but Tim Van Patten's Emmy-winning work on the "Boardwalk Empire" season 2 finale was great, too.

As for the "Homeland" drama series win, I would rank its debut season third behind "Breaking Bad" season 4 and "Mad Men" season 5, but there's no denying that it was a thrilling, excellently-crafted year of TV, and one that obviously struck a chord with Emmy voters. (The voters have honored "Breaking Bad" actors, but seem reluctant to embrace the series as a whole, in the same way they keep not recognizing the "Mad Men" cast.)

Things were less exciting on the comedy side of things — at least if you agree with me that "Modern Family" had a very uneven season that too frequently settled for repeating the same character quirks over and over again. In particular, I felt the show ruined Cam, who had once been my favorite character, by asking Eric Stonestreet to play the same overly sensitive/dramatic note again and again and again; that Stonestreet won his second Emmy in three tries suggests things will not change this season. Julie Bowen beat out co-star Sofia Vergara for the second year in a row, co-creator Steven Levitan won for directing the season finale, and when the show won its third Outstanding Comedy Series trophy in a row, Levitan said everyone on the show considers themselves "Lucky not only to have jobs in these challenging times, but to have jobs we love with people we love."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy for her third different comedy series, this time for "Veep" (after "Seinfeld" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine"), and while she's excellent in that role, Amy Poehler should have won for her work on "Parks and Recreation." (And for the second year in a row, Poehler got the biggest laughs with a pre-planned comedy bit, this time pretending to switch her acceptance speech with Louis-Drefys while giving her a congratulatory hug.) Jon Cryer won the comedy lead actor award after getting promoted out of the supporting category (where he had previously won) thanks to a strong submission episode where his character has a heart attack — once again illustrating how strange it is to honor someone we've watched for an entire season of television on the basis of a single episode.

"Something has clearly gone terribly wrong," Cryer said, self-deprecating. "I am stunned. I did not actually win this. This did not happen."

Louis C.K. (who had shared an Emmy as a member of "The Chris Rock Show" writing staff in the '90s) won the comedy writing award for his work on FX's "Louie" (and another award for writing his Internet comedy special "Live at the Beacon Theater"). On the one hand, the episode he submitted (the season 2 premiere, "Pregnant") was easily the weakest of the five scripts in the category, and the award is allegedly for a single script. On the other hand, season 2 of "Louie" was an incredible achievement, and one that warranted recognition.

After the "Homeland" rout, the most surprising aspect of the night — and only modestly surprising, at best, given the subject matter and HBO's track record in these categories — was the success HBO had with "Game Change," which also won for Julianne Moore's performance as Palin, Jay Roach's direction, and the Outstanding Miniseries or Movie award. The movies/minis categories seemed to be a showdown between the old-fashioned success of History's "Hatfields & McCoys" and the modern excesses of FX's "American Horror Story," but those projects instead only won for their former movie star castmembers: Jessica Lange from "American Horror Story" and Kevin Costner and Tom Berenger (who seemed most surprised of all the nominees to get played off by the band) for "Hatfields."

Some other Emmy thoughts:

* Jimmy Kimmel had an uneven first turn as host. He wasn't as vicious as he often is in this kind of self-congratulatory setting — every year he rips ABC (and the other networks) to shreds at the network's upfront presentation to advertisers — but he got off some good lines and sketches, and he didn't disappear from the show in a way that some hosts do as the night moves along.

* Speaking of comedy bits that worked, hands up, everyone who wants AMC — or any network, for that matter — to greenlight "The Breaking Bad Show," with Mr. White and Jesse committing murder on their way to the fishing hole.

* The telecast got around the issue of whether to end the In Memoriam clip reel with Andy Griffith or Dick Clark by having Ron Howard deliver a separate tribute to his TV dad Griffith before leading into the clips. (Where I got the biggest chills from that great "M*A*S*H" clip where Harry Morgan as Colonel Potter toasts his dead comrades: "I drink to your memories. I loved you fellas, one and all." Clark was the bigger/more important star, but that would have been an awfully perfect note to end the clip package on.)

* Unless my brain just shut off at some point, the only category where we saw extended clips of the nominated performances was for drama lead actress. Odd planning, that; my guess is the show started to run ahead of schedule for a few minutes, then caught back up again.

Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Emmys 2012, Modern Family, Homeland

Next 103 Comments

Solid Muldoon

Why do people who work in television have so little respect for people who work in television?

"Ooooh! Look! Movie people! Let's vote for them!"
September 23, 2012 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment
- Awards Film actors look down on tv actors, but are happily stealimg the great parts in cable short and miniseries
  (as they need to do their films as well)
  
  Tv producers pay them more than tv actors, and the rest in tv land votes for the film actors as they are so-called stars.
  
  So tv actors hoping that cable and mini series would bring them closer to film,
  now see that instead film actors take their tv jobs as well.
  
  Sad part is that most of those so called film-stars do not deserve the parts and are mediocre to bad actors,
  tv actors would do a better job.
  
  September 24, 2012 at 12:20AM EST
- Nate It's more of a two-way street. A ton of movie stars get their first big roles, including Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Will Smith, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Aniston, and James Franco. Or more recently Bryan Cratson and Jon Hamm (both of whom are doing a ton of TV work).
  
  I think Emmys are more a function of brand recognition. The voters will tend to vote for actors they recognize over actors they don't. So if you are a relative unknown you have to knock it out of the park, otherwise you will lose to a Jessica Lange or a Kevin Costner. You could say the same of Oscars, as many times a recipient will win with a lesser movie or part, reflecting awards that highlight a body of work rather than an individual job.
  September 25, 2012 at 6:26PM EST
ClayDavis

hamm and cranston were robbed in the last 2 years. some had predicted a downton abbey sweep it was homeland instead.
all this says is the megan backlash was real and not just outside the industry.
breaking bad is likely to become the next wire, never gonna win it im sad to say
September 24, 2012 at 12:00AM EST Reply to Comment
- Amanda Oh Megan. Too heavy handed with an unfamiliar character. But oh-that look in Don's eye on that last cut...next year is will be better
  September 24, 2012 at 12:12AM EST
- Omagus "hamm and cranston were robbed in the last 2 years."
  --
  
  Were they deserving? Sure. But they lost to equally deserving competition in Kyle Chandler for "Friday Night Lights" and Damian Lewis for "Homeland." They absolutely were not robbed.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:38AM EST
- unclevanya @claydavis. Maybe next year. BB is too swift for these voters. Maybe Mr. Obama shouldn't have said he watches Homeland. I really couldn't imagine him saying he likes MM or BB,,!!! Oh well
  September 24, 2012 at 12:59AM EST
Stan

Ladies and gentlemen, the best show of the year was... a little girl on a cell phone talking her brainwashed terrorist father out of being a terrorist.
September 24, 2012 at 12:00AM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave That's not really fair. They submit one episode, and there have been plenty of times where Homeland was absolutely fantastic. I don't know which episode they submitted, but if it was the one in the Cabin (where Lewis and Danes finally confront), then that's good.
  
  I would've loved to see Breaking Bad win the Drama award tho. Season 4 was absolutely amazing.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:03AM EST
- WaltEagle For best series, they submit six episodes.
  September 24, 2012 at 1:33AM EST
- Ricardo And that scene was excellent!
  September 24, 2012 at 5:47AM EST
- Brandon I agree with Stan. The show was decent, but that ending was a cop out and deprived the show of a gutsy ending that was really the only logical one.
  September 25, 2012 at 1:41PM EST
alamble

For Jon Hamm to win an Emmy, he's probably going to have to pull what I call a 'reverse Cranston" - after Mad Men is over, jump on a great comedy show, probably as a second banana, and start dominating the comedy category instead of drama.
September 24, 2012 at 12:00AM EST Reply to Comment
- Solid Muldoon Then why didn't he win for his guest spot on 30 Rock? It was the hardest I laughed all year.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:13AM EST
- Teresa I actually prefer him as a comedic actor. His work on 30 Rock and SNL has been hysterical. Talk about a versatile actor.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:18AM EST
- Hank Scorpio I'm sure he is looking at the Alec Baldwin career roadmap for Emmy wins. Do you think he really cares?
  September 24, 2012 at 10:21AM EST
ZacharyTF

Mad Men is now 0 for 25 in the acting categories! Unbelievable.
September 24, 2012 at 12:01AM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave Yeah, but that's what the money is for!!
  September 24, 2012 at 12:07AM EST
- LJA "Miss Blankenship, call the Pen and Pencil, see if someone found my award.
  
  "What's the category"
  
  "Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special."
  September 24, 2012 at 12:26AM EST
- unclevanya Actually, think they got that right. Mad Men is good, but not always. Hamm is virtually "new" to acting. Not that seasoned. bottom line Breaking Bad must be to clever to not get best in show. Bryan, was such a "lock" he looked a little disappointed, as well as Hamm. Alan, you said it if you don't give it to Bryan then give it to Hamm. Damien Lewis was far better than Hamm. Thank god for Aaron, he saved the night. He is so gracious, I bet he feels bad for his co star Bryan Cranston. They still have 2013 to take it home.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:47AM EST
- Ben Bryan Cranston not only has those three Best Actor Emmys already, but he's so brilliant in the role that he's one of the few repeat winners to have almost no backlash (and to that limited extent, it comes from Jon Hamm fans who justly can't believe the voters have never felt Hamm was the best dramatic actor on TV, at any time) and it would not shock me to see him and Paul get more wins over the next two Emmys.
  As for Mad Men, I give up: it's a mystery mixed with a travesty that voters don't think the acting on this show is ever at the "greatest right now" level, and just as it was when "The Wire" never won a single Emmy, I don't think that has a single damn thing to do with the talent level of Hamm, Moss, Hendricks and everyone else there.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:34PM EST
- rdave I was looking at the 2010 Best Actor category: Chandler (FNL), Laurie (House), Cranston (Breaking Bad), Hall (Dexter), Fox (LOST), Hamm (Mad Men). That is one stacked group. I feel like all 6 actors deserve at least one Emmy. It's a shame Laurie and Hall (and now maybe even Hamm) will never win an award for their roles.
  September 24, 2012 at 1:12PM EST
- Lee Hall must wonder why he bothers to show up every year. Ditto Hamm.
  September 24, 2012 at 1:37PM EST
Alex

The Homeland sweep was the most surprising part of the night. Also, Jon Cryer...he wasn't kidding when he said "Something has clearly gone terribly wrong..."
September 24, 2012 at 12:01AM EST Reply to Comment
rdave

While I'm happy for Homeland (definitely a great show), I feel bad for Jon Hamm. Thought this may have been the year. I guess he's officially in Hugh Laurie territory now.

I love P&R and Community more so than Modern Family, but I kind of expected MF to win.

The only shocking one of the night is Jon Cryer. How does he have two Emmy's while Steve Carell has none? It absolutely makes no sense.
September 24, 2012 at 12:01AM EST Reply to Comment
- unclevanya Amy Poehler should have won. genuine comedic brilliance. Julie is cute, but not worthy of holding that Emmy. I really can't take that show. ( emmy's). Too seriously.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:51AM EST
marc

Kinda weird that Mad Men's streak ended after the show had its best season yet.
September 24, 2012 at 12:01AM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave I would have to disagree with you there. Season 5 was good, but not the best. (Although the latter episodes with Joan's actions, Lane's decision and Peggy's storyline were very good).
  September 24, 2012 at 12:06AM EST
- ClayDavis it was not the best season. i think only allan think it is but like i said the Megan factor is the elephant in the room
  September 24, 2012 at 12:07AM EST
- ari It's possibly my least favorite season. I really don't like Megan.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:45AM EST
- marc Why would one character ruin a whole season for you?
  September 24, 2012 at 7:22AM EST
- amg Marc--I certainly can't speak for Ari, but from my perspective, though Megan didn't "ruin" the entire season, the portions of this season that were phenomenal had nothing to do with her, and the parts that were most problematic, had everything to do with her.
  
  This is in part because her presence caused Don to become a different person (and by that I don't take issue with his non-cheating; but the fact that he didn't care about work, didn't respect his relationship with Peggy for much of it, and his general Stepford-like qualities for most of the season just weren't believable to me). That last part is only part related to Megan as a person, but how badly they set up his infatuation with her. They gave his relationship with Faye a muti-episode arc last year, letting us see how that relationship grew and developed into a respectful, honest relationship unlike Don had ever been in before. Then in a matter of about 30 minutes, we are to believe he loses all interest in Faye and is compelled to propose to Megan because she is younger and (supposedly) prettier and better with the kids. And that he trusted so much that he also told her everything in 30 minutes, and on and on.
  
  If Season 5 had dealt with the fact that that was an insane decision (as Todd VW put it "a collosal mistake") that would be one thing. And to be fair, they certainly show issues in that relationship. But I never bought that he would be SO deeply in love with her that he would do and say all the things he did, and she would fundamentally change him as a person. On top of that her character was irritating to me, because unlike Peggy, Joan, even Betty, she has not had a lot of hardship, and isn't that complex as a character. She pouts, throws fits, and smiles a lot. Just not the kind of show I think Mad Men is at its best.
  
  September 24, 2012 at 11:27AM EST
- marc "Then in a matter of about 30 minutes, we are to believe he loses all interest in Faye and is compelled to propose to Megan because she is younger and (supposedly) prettier and better with the kids"
  
  yeah, but this is absolutely true to his character and exactly how Don works. It's the same reason why he ever chose Betty (and why he left her... and why he's leaving Megan now).
  September 24, 2012 at 11:34AM EST
- amg "...and why he's leaving Megan now"
  
  I certainly hope you are right! =)
  September 24, 2012 at 12:38PM EST
- John I don't think it had its best season, and I certainly don't think it was the best drama on TV (I had it fourth, behind Breaking Bad--a clear and obvious No. 1--Game of Thrones and Homeland). I think the third season of Mad Men was probably its best. I really liked this season, but while it had some all-time classics ("At The Codfish Ball," "Lady Lazarus," "Commissions and Fees"), it also had some mediocre episodes (the Fat Betty one comes to mind) and some downright bad ones (the fever dream episode and "Far Away Places," which gets The Sopranos' "The Test Dream" award for single worst episode ever on a great show).
  September 24, 2012 at 4:21PM EST
- Ms. Hofstadt "It's the same reason why he ever chose Betty (and why he left her... "
  
  @Marc: Betty left Don, not the other way around.
  September 24, 2012 at 8:40PM EST
Amanda

I was hoping for a BB or MM win for Best Drama. Also a little disappointed that Hamm or Cranston didn't take one home. Oh Well- MM isn't going to win an acting Emmy until it's last season.
September 24, 2012 at 12:06AM EST Reply to Comment
Lars

Nope Alan, you're right. The clips for best actress drama were longer, and I found that extremely unfair and strange. Happy that Homeland won instead of Mad Men again, but was rooting for Breaking Bad all the way. This was its best chance since I think splitting the 5th season in half weakens the tension for the last season. So I'll plan to watch it before the 2nd half airs next year.
September 24, 2012 at 12:34AM EST Reply to Comment
- unclevanya I will agree with you on that. if it wasn't BB, I am glad it was Homeland.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:54AM EST
awutv

This was the third year, not the second, that Amy Poehler masterminded a bit with her fellow nominees. Last year it was all of them rushing the stage as their names were called, then crowning Melissa McCarthy as if she were a pageant winner. The year before, they all wore funny glasses. Though you're right that the most recent two were highlights of the broadcasts. Can someone give Poehler an Emmy for Emmy bits, if not for playing Leslie Knope?
September 24, 2012 at 12:37AM EST Reply to Comment
- unclevanya She was worthy of holding that Emmy for her acting. She is gifted in her many shows, this time it was hers.
  Mad Men, whenever a show is good, everyone is so happy, but it really misses a great many time. With that group it deserved Not to win. If it wasn't Bb homeland was a good choice.
  September 25, 2012 at 1:04AM EST
Hank Scorpio

Surprise of the night: Rickey Gervais hilarious, Louis CK depressing
September 24, 2012 at 12:38AM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave I thought it was totally opposite. Louis CK, when he's awkward and sad, is at his funniest.
  September 24, 2012 at 1:03PM EST
Kendra

I hoped against hope that Breaking Bad would win for Best Drama but I knew as soon as the Homeland writer won that Homeland would take it.

I really wanted Cranston to win his fourth. He certainly had the material for it. But I also felt like Lewis's work in the finale of Homeland was some of the finest acting on TV this season so I don't begrudge his win and figured he'd be the most likely to beat Bryan. While Hamm is excellent, I don't think he had quite the same material that he has had in the past or that Cranston and Lewis had in BB S4 & Homeland S1. So much like giving CK the writing win was for "body of work" that's what Jon's win would have seemed like to me.

Ugh is about all I can say about the Modern Family wins. I was thrilled that Julia Louis Dreyfuss won for best actress even though I would've been thrilled with Amy too.

But my best non-win was Kristin Wiig. I'll even take a MF win if it kept her from winning.
September 24, 2012 at 12:42AM EST Reply to Comment
WaltEagle

Now that Hamm is a producer, Mad Men isn't allowed to win Drama Series anymore because he is cursed.
September 24, 2012 at 1:34AM EST Reply to Comment
unclevanya

The people who won and then didn't win? Is that what you say is easy? maybe that's why it's 2 am and all I can think of Bryan Cranston didn't win. !!! I have a personal investment in BB. Help!! The whole show is two damn good!
September 24, 2012 at 1:49AM EST Reply to Comment
Scott Rosenberg

In terms of recognizing deserving candidates, there have been times when the Emmy's have done far worse, so I find it hard to complain on that front. However, the broadcast itself was appalling in a few different ways. The writing was uniformly terrible. The only thing that landed in the opening sketch was the sight gag of Lena Dunham. The opening monologue was noticeably unamusing. Rather than shifting to voiceover later in the broadcast, they kept bringing Jimmy back to introduce presenters, and aside from being consistently unfunny some of his lead-ins were downright awkward. Coupled with the heavy-handed use of ABC properties as presenters and the conceit of playing off all comers in the final third of the show to make time so the likes of Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, and Donna Summer in the Necrology, it was a sad mess. An on-time mess, perhaps, but a mess.
September 24, 2012 at 2:09AM EST Reply to Comment
Col Bat Guano

Jon Cryer won an award Steve Carell never did. That is all I need to know about the Emmys.
September 24, 2012 at 2:35AM EST Reply to Comment
- Shawn Mahone I will say this in defence of Jon Cryer:
  
  1) Two and a half men is his first successful series ever, he went a lot of years failing and having his shows cancelled early..so I will not begrudge him his 2 Emmy wins.
  2) he had to deal with Charlie Sheen and his shinanigans for 8 years! On screen and off! Call these 2 wins mercy because no amount of money would want me to work with a nut job like Shhen.
  3) it is the episode that counts not the season or show or anything else just the episode and the episode he submitted he killed it. Itbwas a fantastic and funny showcase for him and I will say it is the Emmys fault for not going and doing more research.
  4) if the Emmys are going to give awards to people fans feel are unworthy it is not the actors fault. As Aaron Paul said in his speech all these girls and guys are there chasing a dream and that includes Cryer...more fool the Emmys if they got it wrong.
  
  I have no problem with cryer winning....his performances and skill keep a lot of people employed like the cast, crew, marketing, advertising, admin, etc.... What he does is provide a lot of people stable income in a down economy...fair play to him. All these low rated shows should maybe try and up their ratings instead of hanging all their hopes on selfish pursuits like self interest Emmy award chasing.
  September 24, 2012 at 11:41AM EST
eakawie

Modern Family was not even my 10th favorite comedy this year:

Archer
Louis
Community
Parks and Rec
30 Rock
Happy Endings
Don't Trust the B...
Suburgatory
Phineas and Pherb
Bob's Burgers

all easily come in higher for me. Modern Family is probably my least favorite show that I still watch every week, and I really loved the first season.

September 24, 2012 at 2:45AM EST Reply to Comment
- unclevanya Not one of the comedy shows are as good as past shows. Seinfeld, friends, mash, all in the family, TAXI, the reason is, the writers cater to a different generation. Unfortunately they even watch the shows I mentioned. The only. Contender that should have one is CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM . These voters know, they are just can't do it!
  September 25, 2012 at 1:11AM EST
Ln

why is Julie Bowen having won two Emmy's for this role so depressing to me? Also; in 20 years do you think we will all remember Modern Family as the best comedy of this period, or does actual quality hold up better to the passage of time?
September 24, 2012 at 3:41AM EST Reply to Comment
- Peter Hmm, that is an interesting question. I think that syndication will play a huge role in how we will remember the show, for comedies in particular. I have a feeling shows like BBT will be repeated in syndication for years whereas shows like Community or Parks are probably going to fade. Community is probaby going to end up as one of those gems you need to scour the internet for where BBT (and possibly modern family) will be the Friends-type show that is almost constantly on TV.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:38PM EST
- John Well, comedy is so subjective, so it's hard to say what exactly is the "best" comedy of a particular era. I think Curb Your Enthusiasm has been the best comedy of this era (the post-The Simpsons being great era--the golden age of comedies was actually in the 1990s with The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Married...With Children, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Larry Sanders Show, etc.), though I would have voted for other shows (The Office, Arrested Development and Modern Family) in particular years.
  
  But though I would have only voted for Modern Family once (last season, when Curb wasn't eligible--though the first 10 episodes of Modern Family are Emmy deserving by themselves), I have had no problem with it winning. And given its massive ratings, critical acclaim (it did just win The TV Critics Choice Award as well--just because Sepinwall isn't a big fan, that doesn't mean that other critics aren't) and Emmy domination, yes it probably will be remembered as the best comedy of the era. And it really is a very funny show. We're not in Frasier (which somehow won five straight Emmys over superior seasons of Seinfeld--not to mention The Simpsons and others--and has almost completely vanished from the cultural landscape while Seinfeld is a staple on TBS) territory here.
  September 24, 2012 at 4:16PM EST
- sepinwall Just to clarify, the TV Critics Choice Award is largely voted on by non-critics. The Television Critics Association Award is largely voted on by critics, and Modern Family didn't win it this year; Louie did. But I do know many TV critics who are still big MF fans (one of them lamented to me before the TCA Awards began that he wished Ty Burrell was there).
  September 24, 2012 at 5:45PM EST
- Jbagels Fresh prince of Bel Air?
  September 25, 2012 at 5:26AM EST
0nyx

How does this awards show even hold such importance when the voters only judge the show based on one episode.
September 24, 2012 at 5:42AM EST Reply to Comment
Jonathan

I don't entirely blame Kimmel for defanging himself a bit, it's clear from his show he has a LOT of friends, judging by the number of celebs he gets to participate in bits on JKL.

When you seem to be buddies with most of Hollywood, it's hard to be too mean to them.
September 24, 2012 at 6:07AM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave He needs guests to come on his show. When Conan hosted it, he didn't go the "Ricky Gervais" route and insult everyone either.
  September 24, 2012 at 1:04PM EST
guest

Emmys lack credibility...why are they even watched?
September 24, 2012 at 7:16AM EST Reply to Comment
Mike

I tend to look at the Emmys the same way you seem to here. If someone you feel is deserving wins, because of the low expectations I have for the Emmys, even if they are not 'most' deserving (Lewis v. Cranston, JLD v. Poehler, Louis C.K. v. McKenna, for instance) I'm still happy about it. It's when Julie Bowen or Eric Stonestreet win awards that I cringe.
One area where I don't subscribe to that is with the Daily Show winning again. I, actually for the same reason Jon cited in his speech (the Super PAC coverage), really felt like this was Colbert's year to win that award.
Also, Giancarlo Esposito's enthusiastic "Yes!" when Jesse won might have been my 2nd favorite line of the night behind Stewart's speech about how predictable the Emmys are.
September 24, 2012 at 7:34AM EST Reply to Comment
- Dwight Mannsburden Agree that Colbert should have taken the award this year. The whole super PAC story line outdid 60 Minutes as meaningful journalism
  September 24, 2012 at 7:57AM EST
- Hank Scorpio It would be great to see the Emmys do what the Oscars do (sometimes) and reward the shows that are often overlooked by viewers. How many people go see challenging films in February just to seethe movies that might win Best Picture? The Emmys mean nothing when they validate the stale, repetitive comedy in Modern Family. Would a comedy win for Community help turn more viewers onto that show? They have been better about dramas, but is Downton really a better show than The Hour or Justified? Also, does ABC get consideration for hosting? Maybe it should rotate every year to avoid even the appearance of favoritism.
  September 24, 2012 at 10:28AM EST
- mrbilliam Hank, I very much agree with you, except that the Emmy voters obviously love Modern Family and have no interest in Community. I personally would be less inclined to vote for the most popular thing, but if it really was my favorite, I would probably vote for it anyway. It did make me very sad though that the Emmy voters adored a season of MF that I really thought was lazy and not their best work.
  September 24, 2012 at 10:50AM EST
bmfc1

I've watched every ep of Homeland, BB, MM and Boardwalk and like them all, but there isn't a single ep of Homeland that is written as well as the other three shows. And there's no way that Lewis is even close to Cranston, Buscemi and Hamm.
September 24, 2012 at 8:10AM EST Reply to Comment
- madaboutmen I AGREE! Lewis cannot really hold a candle to Hamm OR Cranston. I, too, have watched every episode of MM, BB and Homeland. And, by the way, the Israeli version of Homeland, Prisoners of War (available on Hulu Plus) is BETTER than Homeland! They never even acknowledged Gideon Raff who has written and produced both the American and Israeli versions.
  
  September 24, 2012 at 10:37AM EST
- Mike Umm... yes they did. Claire Danes and Gordon/Ganza both explicitly thanked Gideon Raff in their speeches (albeit the writers thanked him after they had started getting played off, but Claire explictly said early in her speech "To Gideon, for coming up with this great conceit").
  September 24, 2012 at 11:16AM EST
- mad His name was mentioned, pretty much in passing. He was standing on the stage with the writers and they didn't even look at him. It was his show, his idea , saying only "thanks Gideon"seems pretty lame
  September 24, 2012 at 11:37AM EST
- sepinwall They're under an absurd amount of time pressure on the stage there. Gordon and Gansa have sung Raff's praises in many, many interviews. I interviewed Gordon last month over breakfast; Raff happened to enter the restaurant, and Gordon smiled, jumped up, pulled him over and introduced us. There was no intent to blow off Raff. It's just the Emmys.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:02PM EST
- madaboutmen Thanks Alan, glad to hear that, as I really am a fan of Prisoners of War. I guess I am so disappointed with the diss of Hamm and Cranston and BB and MM that I am a bit cranky, even though I do like Homeland.
  September 24, 2012 at 12:32PM EST
- virginia Just putting in a plug for the super talented Damian Lewis. He's a versatile and gifted actor. Check out his work in Britain. And his amazing turn in the flick about the disturbed man looking for his lost child in NYC. All of the actors nominated are total pros -- Any one of them is deserving. I was happy to see the Academy change it up this year in the Drama category and I trust that Jon Hamm will be receiving his next year. Slattery is another one who is completely deserving -- as was Jared Harris for his wonderful turn as Lane Price. And Jonathan Banks not being awarded? Criminal!
  September 24, 2012 at 3:07PM EST
- Mike Jonathan Banks' chance comes next year Virginia. The season of Breaking Bad we just saw Paul win for was season 4.
  September 24, 2012 at 4:31PM EST
- unclevanya Since you watch all four of those best dramas and I only watch BB, that makes me feel worse. I always know it should be BB, but you should know. Get the commenters to vote next year!
  September 25, 2012 at 1:19AM EST
Andy

I am so tired of Modern Family sweeping all the comedy awards year after year. It's a very good show but not good enough for this to keep happening.

I think I'll go on life tilt next year if it happens again.
September 24, 2012 at 8:47AM EST Reply to Comment
Andy

I am so tired of Modern Family sweeping the comedy Emmys every year. It's a very good show but not good enough for this to keep happening.

I may go on life tilt next year if it happens again.
September 24, 2012 at 8:49AM EST Reply to Comment
runningpal

Jared Harris should have won for his superb work on this season's Mad Men. At least he lost it to Aaron Paul.
September 24, 2012 at 12:03PM EST Reply to Comment
Dr. Dunkenstein

In general I agree with the idea that you can't really be surprised by the fact that the Emmys are so predictable. Even the Homeland win, by the end of the night, seemed pretty predictable.

The really unfortunate thing is that the whole thing seems so tone deaf and random that even when they make a choice I genuinely like, like Kyle Chandler or Dinklage or Louis CK, I don't have any respect for the award itself so it's tough to see it as much of an honor. Still, I suppose I'm happy that they're happy.
September 24, 2012 at 12:13PM EST Reply to Comment
Ben

These Emmys reminded me of a typical law school class per Scott Turow's ONE L breakdown: a few earned A's (especially Louis CK for writing and Lewis for Homeland), a few richly earned F's (I first thought Cryer won Best Actor for the episode where he was convinced he'd become Charlie, but then I learnt it was a later and unfunny show centering around his heart attack), and a huge expanse of B's. Not terrible, not great, just kind of there in bland ways.
September 24, 2012 at 12:36PM EST Reply to Comment
The Winners

Homeland is unstoppable...it will be the best show of all time!
September 24, 2012 at 1:05PM EST Reply to Comment

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Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Solid Muldoon Why do people who work in television have so little respect for people who work in television?"Ooooh! Look! Movie people! Let's vote for them!"

ClayDavis hamm and cranston were robbed in the last 2 years. some had predicted a downton abbey sweep it was homeland instead. all this says is the megan backlash was real and not just outside the industry. breaking bad is likely to become the next wire, never gonna win it im sad to say

Amanda Oh Megan. Too heavy handed with an unfamiliar character. But oh-that look in Don's eye on that last cut...next year is will be better

Omagus "hamm and cranston were robbed in the last 2 years."--Were they deserving? Sure. But they lost to equally deserving competition in Kyle Chandler for "Friday Night Lights" and Damian Lewis for "Homeland." They absolutely were not robbed.

unclevanya @claydavis. Maybe next year. BB is too swift for these voters. Maybe Mr. Obama shouldn't have said he watches Homeland. I really couldn't imagine him saying he likes MM or BB,,!!! Oh well

Stan Ladies and gentlemen, the best show of the year was... a little girl on a cell phone talking her brainwashed terrorist father out of being a terrorist.

WaltEagle For best series, they submit six episodes.

Ricardo And that scene was excellent!

Brandon I agree with Stan. The show was decent, but that ending was a cop out and deprived the show of a gutsy ending that was really the only logical one.

alamble For Jon Hamm to win an Emmy, he's probably going to have to pull what I call a 'reverse Cranston" - after Mad Men is over, jump on a great comedy show, probably as a second banana, and start dominating the comedy category instead of drama.

Solid Muldoon Then why didn't he win for his guest spot on 30 Rock? It was the hardest I laughed all year.

Teresa I actually prefer him as a comedic actor. His work on 30 Rock and SNL has been hysterical. Talk about a versatile actor.

Hank Scorpio I'm sure he is looking at the Alec Baldwin career roadmap for Emmy wins. Do you think he really cares?

ZacharyTF Mad Men is now 0 for 25 in the acting categories! Unbelievable.

rdave Yeah, but that's what the money is for!!

LJA "Miss Blankenship, call the Pen and Pencil, see if someone found my award."What's the category" "Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special."

Lee Hall must wonder why he bothers to show up every year. Ditto Hamm.

Alex The Homeland sweep was the most surprising part of the night. Also, Jon Cryer...he wasn't kidding when he said "Something has clearly gone terribly wrong..."

unclevanya Amy Poehler should have won. genuine comedic brilliance. Julie is cute, but not worthy of holding that Emmy. I really can't take that show. ( emmy's). Too seriously.

marc Kinda weird that Mad Men's streak ended after the show had its best season yet.

rdave I would have to disagree with you there. Season 5 was good, but not the best. (Although the latter episodes with Joan's actions, Lane's decision and Peggy's storyline were very good).

ClayDavis it was not the best season. i think only allan think it is but like i said the Megan factor is the elephant in the room

ari It's possibly my least favorite season. I really don't like Megan.

marc Why would one character ruin a whole season for you?

amg "...and why he's leaving Megan now"I certainly hope you are right! =)

Ms. Hofstadt "It's the same reason why he ever chose Betty (and why he left her... "@Marc: Betty left Don, not the other way around.

Amanda I was hoping for a BB or MM win for Best Drama. Also a little disappointed that Hamm or Cranston didn't take one home. Oh Well- MM isn't going to win an acting Emmy until it's last season.

unclevanya I will agree with you on that. if it wasn't BB, I am glad it was Homeland.

unclevanya She was worthy of holding that Emmy for her acting. She is gifted in her many shows, this time it was hers. Mad Men, whenever a show is good, everyone is so happy, but it really misses a great many time. With that group it deserved Not to win. If it wasn't Bb homeland was a good choice.

Hank Scorpio Surprise of the night: Rickey Gervais hilarious, Louis CK depressing

rdave I thought it was totally opposite. Louis CK, when he's awkward and sad, is at his funniest.

WaltEagle Now that Hamm is a producer, Mad Men isn't allowed to win Drama Series anymore because he is cursed.

unclevanya The people who won and then didn't win? Is that what you say is easy? maybe that's why it's 2 am and all I can think of Bryan Cranston didn't win. !!! I have a personal investment in BB. Help!! The whole show is two damn good!

Col Bat Guano Jon Cryer won an award Steve Carell never did. That is all I need to know about the Emmys.

Ln why is Julie Bowen having won two Emmy's for this role so depressing to me? Also; in 20 years do you think we will all remember Modern Family as the best comedy of this period, or does actual quality hold up better to the passage of time?

Jbagels Fresh prince of Bel Air?

0nyx How does this awards show even hold such importance when the voters only judge the show based on one episode.

Jonathan I don't entirely blame Kimmel for defanging himself a bit, it's clear from his show he has a LOT of friends, judging by the number of celebs he gets to participate in bits on JKL.When you seem to be buddies with most of Hollywood, it's hard to be too mean to them.

rdave He needs guests to come on his show. When Conan hosted it, he didn't go the "Ricky Gervais" route and insult everyone either.

guest Emmys lack credibility...why are they even watched?

Dwight Mannsburden Agree that Colbert should have taken the award this year. The whole super PAC story line outdid 60 Minutes as meaningful journalism

bmfc1 I've watched every ep of Homeland, BB, MM and Boardwalk and like them all, but there isn't a single ep of Homeland that is written as well as the other three shows. And there's no way that Lewis is even close to Cranston, Buscemi and Hamm.

Mike Umm... yes they did. Claire Danes and Gordon/Ganza both explicitly thanked Gideon Raff in their speeches (albeit the writers thanked him after they had started getting played off, but Claire explictly said early in her speech "To Gideon, for coming up with this great conceit").

mad His name was mentioned, pretty much in passing. He was standing on the stage with the writers and they didn't even look at him. It was his show, his idea , saying only "thanks Gideon"seems pretty lame

madaboutmen Thanks Alan, glad to hear that, as I really am a fan of Prisoners of War. I guess I am so disappointed with the diss of Hamm and Cranston and BB and MM that I am a bit cranky, even though I do like Homeland.

Mike Jonathan Banks' chance comes next year Virginia. The season of Breaking Bad we just saw Paul win for was season 4.

unclevanya Since you watch all four of those best dramas and I only watch BB, that makes me feel worse. I always know it should be BB, but you should know. Get the commenters to vote next year!

Andy I am so tired of Modern Family sweeping all the comedy awards year after year. It's a very good show but not good enough for this to keep happening.I think I'll go on life tilt next year if it happens again.

Andy I am so tired of Modern Family sweeping the comedy Emmys every year. It's a very good show but not good enough for this to keep happening.I may go on life tilt next year if it happens again.

runningpal Jared Harris should have won for his superb work on this season's Mad Men. At least he lost it to Aaron Paul.

The Winners Homeland is unstoppable...it will be the best show of all time!

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Emmy Awards 2012 is updated

Solid Muldoon

Why do people who work in television have so little respect for people who work in television?

"Ooooh! Look! Movie people! Let's vote for them!"

ClayDavis

hamm and cranston were robbed in the last 2 years. some had predicted a downton abbey sweep it was homeland instead.
all this says is the megan backlash was real and not just outside the industry.
breaking bad is likely to become the next wire, never gonna win it im sad to say

Omagus "hamm and cranston were robbed in the last 2 years."
--

Were they deserving? Sure. But they lost to equally deserving competition in Kyle Chandler for "Friday Night Lights" and Damian Lewis for "Homeland." They absolutely were not robbed.

Stan

Ladies and gentlemen, the best show of the year was... a little girl on a cell phone talking her brainwashed terrorist father out of being a terrorist.

alamble

For Jon Hamm to win an Emmy, he's probably going to have to pull what I call a 'reverse Cranston" - after Mad Men is over, jump on a great comedy show, probably as a second banana, and start dominating the comedy category instead of drama.

ZacharyTF

Mad Men is now 0 for 25 in the acting categories! Unbelievable.

LJA "Miss Blankenship, call the Pen and Pencil, see if someone found my award.

"What's the category"

"Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special."

Alex

The Homeland sweep was the most surprising part of the night. Also, Jon Cryer...he wasn't kidding when he said "Something has clearly gone terribly wrong..."

marc

Kinda weird that Mad Men's streak ended after the show had its best season yet.

amg "...and why he's leaving Megan now"

I certainly hope you are right! =)

Ms. Hofstadt "It's the same reason why he ever chose Betty (and why he left her... "

@Marc: Betty left Don, not the other way around.

Amanda

I was hoping for a BB or MM win for Best Drama. Also a little disappointed that Hamm or Cranston didn't take one home. Oh Well- MM isn't going to win an acting Emmy until it's last season.

unclevanya She was worthy of holding that Emmy for her acting. She is gifted in her many shows, this time it was hers.
Mad Men, whenever a show is good, everyone is so happy, but it really misses a great many time. With that group it deserved Not to win. If it wasn't Bb homeland was a good choice.

Hank Scorpio

Surprise of the night: Rickey Gervais hilarious, Louis CK depressing

WaltEagle

Now that Hamm is a producer, Mad Men isn't allowed to win Drama Series anymore because he is cursed.

unclevanya

The people who won and then didn't win? Is that what you say is easy? maybe that's why it's 2 am and all I can think of Bryan Cranston didn't win. !!! I have a personal investment in BB. Help!! The whole show is two damn good!

Col Bat Guano

Jon Cryer won an award Steve Carell never did. That is all I need to know about the Emmys.

Ln

why is Julie Bowen having won two Emmy's for this role so depressing to me? Also; in 20 years do you think we will all remember Modern Family as the best comedy of this period, or does actual quality hold up better to the passage of time?

0nyx

How does this awards show even hold such importance when the voters only judge the show based on one episode.

Jonathan

I don't entirely blame Kimmel for defanging himself a bit, it's clear from his show he has a LOT of friends, judging by the number of celebs he gets to participate in bits on JKL.

When you seem to be buddies with most of Hollywood, it's hard to be too mean to them.

guest

Emmys lack credibility...why are they even watched?

bmfc1

I've watched every ep of Homeland, BB, MM and Boardwalk and like them all, but there isn't a single ep of Homeland that is written as well as the other three shows. And there's no way that Lewis is even close to Cranston, Buscemi and Hamm.

Andy

I am so tired of Modern Family sweeping all the comedy awards year after year. It's a very good show but not good enough for this to keep happening.

I think I'll go on life tilt next year if it happens again.

Andy

I am so tired of Modern Family sweeping the comedy Emmys every year. It's a very good show but not good enough for this to keep happening.

I may go on life tilt next year if it happens again.

runningpal

Jared Harris should have won for his superb work on this season's Mad Men. At least he lost it to Aaron Paul.

The Winners

Homeland is unstoppable...it will be the best show of all time!

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