The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards are done and over. Like the largely paint-by-numbers ceremony, which offered exactly what you would expect of an Emmys ceremony (nothing more, nothing less), the awards were notable largely for how unsurprising they were.
If anything, the lack of surprise may have been the most surprising thing. After four seasons and four Outstanding Comedy awards, it felt like something was going to supplant “Modern Family.” After all, the voters couldn’t pick that show every year, could they? They could, it seems, as the show won for a record-tying fifth year (matching “Frasier” for the most wins in this category ever), beating the newer, more varied (if less sitcom-y) strains of “Louie” and “Orange Is The New Black.”

(AP)
“Breaking Bad” was the other big winner, taking home the award for Outstanding Drama, and writing for a drama series (for the third-to-last episode, considered by many fans and the show’s creator to be the series’ best installment). Three of its actors won as well (Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul). Even if it felt, again, like there was little surprise here – “Breaking Bad,” Cranston, Gunn and Paul had all won before — it was also recognizing the show’s final run, giving Emmy voters one last chance to honor the series.
The lack of surprise also played in the acting categories. Like Cranston, all of the winners had at least two Emmy wins going into tonight, along with scores of nominations. Jim Parsons won again, taking home his fourth Emmy in five years. (That means Parsons has won this category as many times as — yes — Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier.”) Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Julianna Margulies were again named the best actresses in comedy and drama, respectively.
Meanwhile, “Sherlock: His Last Vow” won more awards tonight (three) than “True Detective” (one), “Game of Thrones” (zero), “Mad Men” (zero), “House of Cards” (zero) and “Orange is the New Black” (zero) combined. So did “Fargo,” the FX attempt at proving you could base a worthwhile television show on a great movie. Despite all of the buzz and excitement surrounding new shows like “True Detective” and “Orange is the New Black,” the Emmy voters ignored these newcomers in favor of crowning repeat winners in all of the major categories.








