
Television's biggest night might have aired on Fox, but it was ABC's Modern Family that was the evening's biggest winner.
Like Titanic at the Academy Awards, Modern Family was an unstoppable force, sweeping all of the major comedy categories, from the night's top prize, Best Comedy Series, to both supporting actor awards (on-screen spouses Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell), as well as writing and directing.
Despite losing all the other major categories, AMC's Mad Men scored the best drama award for the fourth year in a row. Even show creator Matthew Weiner seemed surprised: "Oh my goodness! I did not think that was gonna to happen."
CBS took home three out of the four lead actor awards, with Jim Parsons winning his second consecutive award for The Big Bang Theory and Julianna Margulies her own repeat hardware for The Good Wife. Melissa McCarthy won her first Emmy for best actress in a comedy in one of the night's funniest moments.
All six funny ladies nominated for lead actress in a comedy walked on stage, as if they were the finalists in a beauty pageant. Standing hand-in-hand, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Edie Falco and Laura Linney giggled and looked ready to cry as McCarthy was bestowed flowers and tiara along with her Emmy.
"Holy smokes. Wow, it’s my first and best pageant ever," McCarthy told the crowd. "I'm from Plainfield, Illinois, and I'm standing here, and it's kind of amazing."
NBC's critically revered Friday Night Lights finally earned some Emmy love for its final season, snagging two awards: one for writing (Jason Katims) and one for lead actor in a drama, which went to Kyle Chandler for his performance as Coach Eric Taylor. It was a surprising win, since the show had been virtually ignored for five seasons, and Chandler looked genuinely shocked.
As always, film stars fared well at the Emmys. Guy Pearce gave one of the best acceptance speeches of the night after nabbing his Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries.
"This was really a delightful experience making Mildred Pierce. I got to have sex with Kate Winslet many, many times...," he dead-panned. "So Kate, I share this with you, because you're an extraordinary woman. Thank you for allowing me to insert myself into your world of Mildred. And to my wife Kate, who had to listen to me talk about that every day when I came home from work. Thank you my darling, and I'm sorry."
Other film performers to grab some gold: Kate Winslet won Lead Actress in a Movie or Musical for playing the titular character in HBO's Mildred Pierce; Peter Dinklage won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his riveting performance in HBO's epic Game of Thrones; Maggie Smith won Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for PBS' Downton Abbey; and drector Martin Scorsese earned his very first Emmy for directing Boardwalk Empire, which he also produces.
Winners List:
Best Series, Drama
Mad Men
Best Series, Comedy
Modern Family
Best Actor, Drama:
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Best Actress, Drama
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Best Actor, Comedy
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Best Actress, Comedy
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Margo Martindale, Justified
Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Outstanding Reality Program
Deadliest Catch
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race
Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Paul McCrane, Harry's Law
Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Gwyneth Platrow, Glee
Made For Television Movie/Minieseries
Downton Abbey
Lead Actor in a Miniseries or A Movie
Barry Pepper, The Kennedys
Lead Actress in a Miniseries or A Movie
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or A Movie
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or A Movie
Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey
Check out a complete list of winners at Emmys.com.
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/modern-family-mad-men-cbs-win-big-2011-emmys/1-a-383698
Brie Larson Carre Otis Cash Warren Cedric Yarbrough Chris Wedge