Some wins came as expected and some were a surprise during the 65th annual Emmy Awards on Sunday night.
After three years of nominations, “Breaking Bad” finally took home the award for Outstanding Drama Series. The win comes one week before the show’s series finale will air on AMC.
“Man, I did not see this coming,” the show’s creator Vince Gilligan said during his acceptance speech.
“Breaking Bad” beat “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” “House of Cards” and “Mad Men” for the coveted title.
“…Could’ve been any of ‘em, and even some others who were not nominated in this golden age of television that we feel so proud to be a part of,” Gilligan said.
“Modern Family” predictably won the outstanding comedy category for the fourth year in a row.
“Well, this may be the saddest Emmys of all time but we could not be happier,” “Modern Family” Executive Producer Steve Levitan, said when accepting his award.
Levitan was referring to the show kicking off with a tribute slideshow that commemorated the stars who died this past year, including Cory Monteith, Jonathan Winters, Jean Stapleton and James Gandolfini.
Another repeat win went to Claire Danes. For the second year in a row, “Homeland’s” Danes won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as CIA agent Carrie Mathison.
Many “Scandal” fans who hoped the honor would go to the show’s lead actress, Kerry Washington, who would have been the first African-American actress to take home the award.
There were also some moments during the show that led many to dub this year as the “weirdest” Emmys.
Jeff Daniels took home his first Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Will McAvoy on HBO’s “The Newsroom.”
Daniels beat some stiff competition, including Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad,” Damian Lewis of “Homeland” and Jon Hamm from “Mad Men.”
Many did not expect “The Newsroom” actor to win, even Daniels himself seemed a little surprised.
“No one in America is winning their office pool,” the host, Neil Patrick Harris, joked to the audience.
Another surprise win was Bobby Cannavale as Outstanding Supporting Actor for “Boardwalk Empire.” Many predicted that Mandy Patinkin of “Homeland” or “Breaking Bad’s” Aaron Paul or Jonathan Banks would snag the title.
“The Voice” dethroned “The Amazing Race” from The Best Reality Competition Series award, which “The Amazing Race” won nine times over of the last 10 years. The only other time the show lost was in 2010 to “Top Chef.”
Perhaps no one was as surprised as Merritt Wever, who delivered one of the shortest acceptance speeches ever while accepting her Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie.”
“Thank you so very much. Um, I gotta go, bye,” Weaver said before she dashed off the stage.
Weaver beat Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara of “Modern Family” who were both more favored to win.
One notable competitor this year was Netflix’s show, “House of Cards,” which was nominated in the outstanding drama category, but lost to “Breaking Bad.” This was the first year that a show distributed online competed in the prestigious categories of acting and best series.
While the show did not take home the award for best series, the director, David Fincher, won Outstanding Director for a Drama Series.
Ultimately, the Emmys were a success this year, at least in terms of the ratings. The three-hour show averaged 17.6 million viewers compared to last year’s 13.3 million, resulting in a 32 percent increase in viewers.
