64th Primetime Emmy Awards

64th Primetime Emmy Awards
64th Primetime Emmy Awards
	Promotional poster
Date	September 23, 2012 ; (Ceremony); September 15, 2012 ; (Creative Arts Awards);
Location	Nokia Theatre, ; Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted by	Jimmy Kimmel
Highlights
Most awards	Major: Game Change Homeland; Modern Family (4); ; All: Game of Thrones (6);
Most nominations	Downton Abbey; Modern Family; Mad Men (9);
Outstanding Comedy Series	Modern Family
Outstanding Drama Series	Homeland
Outstanding Miniseries or Movie	Game Change
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	The Amazing Race
Outstanding Variety Series	The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Website	http://www.emmys.com/
Television/radio coverage
Network	ABC
Produced by	Don Mischer
Directed by	Glenn Weiss
	← 63rd · Primetime Emmy Awards · 65th →

The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2011, until May 31, 2012, were held on Sunday, September 23, 2012, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California, where 26 awards were presented. ABC televised the ceremony in the United States. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Primetime Emmys for the first time.^[1] Kimmel and Kerry Washington announced the nominations on July 19, 2012. Nick Offerman was originally scheduled to co-announce the nominations, but had to cancel due to travel delays.^[2] The Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony was held on September 15 and was televised on September 22, 2012, on ReelzChannel.^[3]

Quick facts Date, Location ...

The award for Outstanding Drama Series went to Showtime crime drama Homeland, the first for that network, and which broke Mad Men's four-year hold on the award; while the Outstanding Comedy Series award went for the third year in a row to ABC's Modern Family. This was the first ceremony that none of the four major American broadcasting TV networks were nominated in the categories of Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.^[4] For Britain, the ceremony was noted for the successes of actors Damian Lewis of Homeland and Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Of the latter, Dame Maggie not only was PBS' first win in her category, she had won the previous year, for the same role in another category. Hers was also the first win in a major acting category for a Drama Series for PBS since 1975.

Mad Men set a new record for the largest "shutout" in Emmy history, receiving nominations for 17 awards and winning none. This broke the previous record of 16 nominations without a win, set by Northern Exposure in 1993 and The Larry Sanders Show in 1997. This record was broken by The Handmaid's Tale in 2021, which did not win any of its 21 nominations that year.^[8]

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Outstanding Comedy Series Modern Family (ABC) 30 Rock (NBC) The Big Bang Theory (CBS) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) Girls (HBO) Veep (HBO)	Outstanding Drama Series Homeland (Showtime) Boardwalk Empire (HBO) Breaking Bad (AMC) Downton Abbey (PBS) Game of Thrones (HBO) Mad Men (AMC)
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Saturday Night Live (NBC)	Outstanding Miniseries or Movie Game Change (HBO) American Horror Story (FX) Hatfields & McCoys (History) Hemingway & Gellhorn (HBO) Luther (BBC America) Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (PBS)
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program The Amazing Race (CBS) Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Project Runway (Lifetime) So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) Top Chef (Bravo) The Voice (NBC)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series *Jon Cryer – Two and a Half Men* as Dr. Alan Harper (CBS)** Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock as Jack Donaghy (NBC) Louis C.K. – Louie as Louie (FX) Don Cheadle – House of Lies as Marty Kaan (Showtime) Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself (HBO) Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory as Dr. Sheldon Cooper (CBS) (Episode: “The Werewolf Transformation”)	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series *Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Veep* as Vice President Selina Meyer (HBO)** Zooey Deschanel – New Girl as Jessica Day (Fox) Lena Dunham – Girls as Hannah Horvath (HBO) Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie as Jackie Peyton, RN (Showtime) Tina Fey – 30 Rock as Liz Lemon (NBC) Melissa McCarthy – Mike & Molly as Molly Flynn (CBS) Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation as Leslie Knope (NBC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series *Damian Lewis – Homeland* as Nicholas Brody (Showtime)** Hugh Bonneville – Downton Abbey as Robert, Earl of Grantham (PBS) Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire as Nucky Thompson (HBO) Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad as Walter White (AMC) Michael C. Hall – Dexter as Dexter Morgan (Showtime) Jon Hamm – Mad Men as Don Draper (AMC)	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series *Claire Danes – Homeland* as Carrie Mathison (Showtime)** Kathy Bates – Harry's Law as Harriet "Harry" Korn (NBC) Glenn Close – Damages as Patty Hewes (Audience Network) Michelle Dockery – Downton Abbey as Lady Mary Crawley (PBS) Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife as Alicia Florrick (CBS) Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men as Peggy Olson (AMC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie *Kevin Costner – Hatfields & McCoys* as Devil Anse Hatfield (History)** Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia as Sherlock Holmes (PBS) Idris Elba – Luther as DCI John Luther (BBC America) Woody Harrelson – Game Change as Steve Schmidt (HBO) Clive Owen – Hemingway & Gellhorn as Ernest Hemingway (HBO) Bill Paxton – Hatfields & McCoys as Randolph McCoy (History)	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie *Julianne Moore – Game Change* as Sarah Palin (HBO)** Connie Britton – American Horror Story as Vivien Harmon (FX) Ashley Judd – Missing as Rebecca Winstone (ABC) Nicole Kidman – Hemingway & Gellhorn as Martha Gellhorn (HBO) Emma Thompson – The Song of Lunch as She (PBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series *Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family* as Cameron Tucker (ABC)*(Episode: “Treehouse”) Ty Burrell – Modern Family* as Phil Dunphy (ABC) (Episode: “Lifetime Supply”) Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Modern Family as Mitchell Pritchett (ABC) (Episode: “Leap Day”) Max Greenfield – New Girl as Schmidt (Fox) Bill Hader – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Ed O'Neill – Modern Family as Jay Pritchett (ABC) (Episode: “Baby on Board”)	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series *Julie Bowen – Modern Family* as Claire Dunphy (ABC)** (Episode: “Go Bullfrogs!”) Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler (CBS) (Episode: “The Shiny Trinket Maneuver”) Kathryn Joosten – Desperate Housewives as Karen McCluskey (ABC) (Episodes: “Give Me the Blame” and “Finishing the Hat”) Sofía Vergara – Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (ABC) (Episodes: “Tableau Vivant”) Merritt Wever – Nurse Jackie as Zoey Barkow, RN (Showtime) Kristen Wiig – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series *Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad* as Jesse Pinkman (AMC)** Jim Carter – Downton Abbey as Charles Carson (PBS) Brendan Coyle – Downton Abbey as John Bates (PBS) Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones as Tyrion Lannister (HBO) Giancarlo Esposito – Breaking Bad as Gus Fring (AMC) Jared Harris – Mad Men as Lane Pryce (AMC)	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series *Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey* as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (PBS)** Christine Baranski – The Good Wife as Diane Lockhart (CBS) Joanne Froggatt – Downton Abbey as Anna Bates (PBS) Anna Gunn – Breaking Bad as Skyler White (AMC) Christina Hendricks – Mad Men as Joan Harris (AMC) Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife as Kalinda Sharma (CBS)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie *Tom Berenger – Hatfields & McCoys* as Jim Vance (History)** Martin Freeman – Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia as Dr. John Watson (PBS) Ed Harris – Game Change as John McCain (HBO) Denis O'Hare – American Horror Story as Larry Harvey (FX) David Strathairn – Hemingway & Gellhorn as John Dos Passos (HBO)	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie *Jessica Lange – American Horror Story* as Constance Langdon (FX)** Frances Conroy – American Horror Story as Moira O'Hara (FX) Judy Davis – Page Eight as Jill Tankard (PBS) Sarah Paulson – Game Change as Nicolle Wallace (HBO) Mare Winningham – Hatfields & McCoys as Sally McCoy (History)

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Modern Family: "Baby on Board" – Steven Levitan (ABC) Curb Your Enthusiasm: "Palestinian Chicken" – Robert B. Weide (HBO) Girls: "She Did" – Lena Dunham (HBO) Louie: "Duckling" – Louis C.K. (FX) Modern Family: "Virgin Territory" – Jason Winer (ABC) New Girl: "Pilot" – Jake Kasdan (Fox)	Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Boardwalk Empire: "To the Lost" – Tim Van Patten (HBO) Breaking Bad: "Face Off" – Vince Gilligan (AMC) Downton Abbey: "Episode Seven" – Brian Percival (PBS) Homeland: "Pilot" – Michael Cuesta (Showtime) Mad Men: "The Other Woman" – Phil Abraham (AMC)
Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special 65th Tony Awards – Glenn Weiss (CBS) 84th Academy Awards – Don Mischer (ABC) 54th Grammy Awards – Louis J. Horvitz (CBS) Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater – Louis C.K. (FX) New York City Ballet: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (Live from Lincoln Center) – Alan Skog (PBS)	Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Game Change – Jay Roach (HBO) Hatfields & McCoys – Kevin Reynolds (History) Hemingway & Gellhorn – Philip Kaufman (HBO) Luther – Sam Miller (BBC America) Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia – Paul McGuigan (PBS)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Louie: "Pregnant" – Louis C.K. (FX) Community: "Remedial Chaos Theory" – Chris McKenna (NBC) Girls: "Pilot" – Lena Dunham (HBO) Parks and Recreation: "The Debate" – Amy Poehler (NBC) Parks and Recreation: "Win, Lose, or Draw" – Michael Schur (NBC)	Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Homeland: "Pilot" – Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, and Gideon Raff (Showtime) Downton Abbey: "Episode Seven" – Julian Fellowes (PBS) Mad Men: "Commissions and Fees" – Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton (AMC) Mad Men: "Far Away Places" – Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner (AMC) Mad Men: "The Other Woman" – Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner (AMC)
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater – Louis C.K. (FX) 84th Academy Awards (ABC) Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl (NBC) Kennedy Center Honors (CBS) 65th Tony Awards (CBS)	Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Game Change – Danny Strong (HBO) Hatfields & McCoys – Bill Kerby, Ted Mann, and Ronald Parker (History) The Hour – Abi Morgan (BBC America) Luther – Neil Cross (BBC America) Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia – Steven Moffat (PBS)

64th Primetime Emmy Awards

Winners and nominees

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Hosting

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

Most major awards

Presenters

In Memoriam

Televised ceremony ratings

References

External links

Wikiwand - on

Networks with multiple major nominations^{[note 1]}
Network	No. of Nominations
HBO	27
PBS	17
ABC	16
AMC	15
NBC	15
CBS	14
Showtime	9

Networks with multiple major awards^{[note 1]}
Network	No. of Awards
HBO	6
ABC	5
Showtime	4
CBS	3
FX	3
History	2