Mad Men, the 1960s Madison Avenue saga, won its fourth consecutive best drama series award at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, while big-hearted romp Modern Family claimed its second best comedy trophy.
Modern Family won the first four Emmys, capturing best supporting comedy actress, best supporting comedy actor, best writing for a comedy and best direction for a comedy series.
Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell, who play husband and wife on the series, won best supporting actor honours for a comedy series. "Oh, my God, I don't know what I'm going to talk about in therapy next week," said a shocked-looking Bowen. "I won something."
Burrell spoke of his own father in accepting his best supporting actor award. "I actually got kind of a late start in acting. My dad actually passed away before he ever saw me perform and I can't help but wonder what he would think about all this... going to work in full make-up," Burrell said.
Kyle Chandler was the surprise winner in the best drama actor category for the last season of Texas football drama Friday Night Lights, blocking odds-on favourites among his fellow nominees, including Jon Hamm, as well as Steve Buscemi of Boardwalk Empire.
Julianna Margulies won top drama acting honours for The Good Wife. Margulies, who navigates politics, law and family in the show, added to her Emmy stash. As part of the ER medical drama cast, she won a supporting actress Emmy in 1995.
Melissa McCarthy of Mike & Molly was honoured as best lead actress in a comedy series with an Emmy and a glitzy prom queen's crown, while Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory earned his second trophy in the best actor category.
McCarthy and her fellow nominees had broken with tradition by jumping up on stage as their names were called. They earned a standing ovation from many in the audience, which seemed fitting in a year in which TV shows and movies are giving women edgier leading roles. Among them is the box-office hit Bridesmaids, which featured McCarthy.
Parsons looked genuinely surprised at his victory. "This is so odd for so many reasons. I was assured by many people in my life that this wasn't happening," he said.
Peter Dinklage, the winning actor in the category for sci-fi fantasy Game of Thrones, was awed by another winner, filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who received a directing trophy for Boardwalk Empire.
"Thanks. Wow. Wow. I followed Martin Scorsese. My heart is pounding. You are a legend," Dinklage said.
The directing trophy was the sole award on Sunday for Boardwalk Empire, HBO's lavishly produced tale of Prohibition-era mobsters and crooked politicos on the make in freewheeling Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Charlie Sheen presented the lead actor award, using his time onstage to make nice with his former Two and a Half Men colleagues. He was fired from the show after bitterly clashing with its producer and studio, and was replaced by Ashton Kutcher.
"From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season," he said. "I know you will continue to make great television."
Steve Carell of The Office made his last Emmy stand for his fifth and final season as clueless manager Michael Scott, but lost again.
A new category, which combines the previously separate best miniseries and made-for-TV movie nominees, included the miniseries Mildred Pierce, with Kate Winslet nominated in the role of an embattled mother, and the movie Too Big to Fail, about the US fiscal crisis in 2008. Winslet, an Oscar winner, captured the trophy for lead actress, while her co-star Guy Pearce won the award for best supporting actor.
In the reality-competition category, perennial winner The Amazing Race returned to triumph after losing last year to Top Chef. American Idol lost its ninth shot at winning, this time for a season in which it successfully navigated the loss of key judge Simon Cowell.
Lynn Elber, Associated Press
