EMMYS: Mad Men, Modern Family Snag Top Honors

Well, Neil Patrick Harris did not win the Emmy for supporting actor in a comedy but with two already at home, he seemed to be in terrific spirits during the telecast.

Neil also managed one of the funnier lines of the evening when he said: “I’d like to thank the Academy for allowing a gay man to host show two years in a row. Congratulatons Jimmy [Fallon] you’re doing a great job!”

It was a pretty wonderfully gay Emmys starting with that glorious opening musical number where cast members from Glee including Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Lea Michele and Amber Riley were joined by Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, Joel McHale, Jorge Garcia, Kate Gosselin (nooooo!) and a hilarious Betty White.

The first award went to Eric Stonestreet who plays one-half of the gay couple on ABC’s Modern Family followed by a win for openly gay Jane Lynch for role of straight cheer coach Sue Sylvester on Glee. Archie Panjabi, who plays lesbian law firm investigator Kalinda Sharma on CBS’s The Good Wife won for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series.

Openly gay Glee creator Ryan Murphy won the Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy series and said: “I’d like to dedicate this to all my teachers who taught me to sing and fingerpaint.”

In the outstanding drama series actor, there seemed to be utter shock when Michael C. Hall was, once again, inexplicably passed over so the Academy could give Bryan Cranston his third consecutive Emmy for Breaking Bad. In another threepeat, Mad Men won for outstanding drama series. I’d be happier for the show if its only gay character, played by Bryan Batt, not been written out. (Surprised to see Batt standing up for Matthew Weiner.)

But Modern Family, winner of outstanding comedy series, has two very prominent gay characters in Cam and Mitchell who are an equally vital part of the show as any straight characters. I sincerely hope the TV networks will see how rewarding it can be to be more LGBT inclusive.

It was a year for newbies at the Emmy Awards, with freshman series Modern Family taking home a leading six trophies and Kyra Sedgwick winning her first lead actress award after four previous nominations. Notable winners:

Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men
Outstanding Comedy Series: Modern Family
Lead Actor in a Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Lead Actress in a Drama: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Lead Actor in a Comedy: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Lead Actress in a Comedy: Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Supporting Actor in a Drama: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Supporting Actress in a Drama: Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Jane Lynch, Glee
Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart