In an effort to bring the fractured country back together, Emmy voters showered its awards on both Mitt Romney’s favorite show – “Modern Family” and Barack Obama’s favorite, “Homeland.”
And it was the film about a politician from the last Presidential election cycle, Sarah Palin, that dominated the movie and miniseries category.
“Homeland” in its first season scored a coup for Showtime, winning six Emmys overall including best drama series, and best lead actor and actress in Damian Lewis and Claire Danes. “I don’t really believe in judging art, but I thought I’d show up just in case,” Lewis said.
“Modern Family” won best comedy for third straight year, and its Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet won their second Emmys as supporting actors in the series. Lead acting honors in comedy went to Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” and Julia Louie-Dreyfus in the HBO comedy “Veep.”
“Game Change,” the HBO movie about the 2008 election won Emmy as best film as well as an award for Julianne Moore’s portrayal of Palin, as well as writing and directing. “I feel so validated because Sarah Palin gave me a big thumb’s-down,” Moore said.
Some of the most nominated shows were completely shut out, such as “Mad Men,” which left empty handed despite 17 nominations. “Downton Abbey” didn’t do quite as badly, but it was a bad year for costume dramas, with only Maggie Smith (absent from the proceedings) winning for best supporting actress.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the event with a mix of dry wit and self-centered bits; the show started with his fears of hosting the show because of a botched Botox job; some time was spent “In Memoriam” of his career, while many winners had their speeches cut short for time later.
He tried a prank by having Tracy Morgan pretend he had fainted on stage and had viewers tweet or post to Facebook about the shock. But the funniest bit may have been the win by Louie-Dreyfus, who mixed up her speech with Amy Poehler’s while on her way to the stage.
“The Amazing Race” won once more as best reality competition, and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” won variety category again, showing, he said, how predictable the show could be.