The 56th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 19, 2004. The ceremony was hosted by Garry Shandling and was broadcast on

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. The HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'' had the most successful night. It became the first program to sweep every major category, going 7/7, in Emmy history, until

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when ''

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'' repeated the feat. Along with ''Schitt’s Creek'', '' Caesar's Hour'' in

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and ''

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'' in

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, it is one of only four programs to win all four main acting categories. Upstart comedy series ''

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'' won Outstanding Comedy Series (being the second time

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won that specific award) and three other major awards overall. Its

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

became the twelfth episode to accomplish the directing/

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double. After years of winning everything but the top prize, ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' finally took home the crown for Outstanding Drama Series, not only knocking off four-time defending champion ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' but by being the first cable show, HBO, ever to beat any of the

Big Four television networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...

for that award. It led all dramas with twelve major nominations and four major wins. One of those wins was for Drea de Matteo for Drama Supporting Actress and, too, was the first time that award went to a cable network. Furthermore, the cable network also won for the first times in the Comedy Lead Actress and Comedy Supporting Actress categories ( Sarah Jessica Parker and

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...

respectively for ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

''). Entering its final ceremony, five-time series champion ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'' needed five major wins to tie ''

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''s record of 27 major wins. Because it was only nominated in five major categories, breaking the record was not possible. Though it did not tie the record, ''Frasier'' finished its Emmy career on a high note, winning three major awards, the most it had won since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. Its 25 major wins put it at second of all time. When adding its wins in technical categories, its total rises to 37, the most for any comedy series.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold:Emmys.com list of 2004 Nominees & Winners
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Sarah Jessica Parker at Miami Rhapsody 30th Anniversary Celebration

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Guest performances

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

;By network "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. * HBO – 56 * NBC – 33 * CBS – 19 * ABC – 12 ;By program * ''The Sopranos'' (HBO) – 12 * ''Angels in America'' (HBO) – 11 * ''Sex and the City'' (HBO) – 8 * ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (CBS) / ''The West Wing'' (NBC) – 7

Most major awards

;By network "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. * HBO – 16 * NBC / ABC – 4 * Fox – 3 * Comedy Central – 2 ;By program * ''Angels in America'' (HBO) – 7 * ''The Sopranos'' (HBO) – 4 * ''Arrested Development'' (Fox) / ''Frasier'' (NBC) / ''The Practice'' (ABC) – 3 ;Notes

In Memoriam

Paul Winfield Paul Edward Winfield (May 22, 1939 – March 7, 2004) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark fil ...

* Alan King * Julia Child *

June Taylor Marjorie June Taylor (December 14, 1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs. Early life and career Tayl ...

Bob Keeshan Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program '' Captain Kangaroo'', which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longes ...

* Ethel Winant *

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...

Rod Roddy Robert Ray Roddy (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and ...

* Jack Paar * Elmer Bernstein *

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franch ...

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His b ...

* Ronald Reagan *

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, th ...

Gordon Jump Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known as the clueless, yet occasionally wise, radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the incompetent Ch ...

Isabel Sanford Isabel Sanford (born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford; August 29, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American stage, film, and television actress and comedian best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Mills Jefferson on the CBS sitcoms ''All in the Fami ...

Robert Pastorelli Robert Joseph Pastorelli (June 21, 1954 – March 8, 2004) was an American actor. After he acquired a reputation as a skilled character actor in the 1980s and 1990s, Pastorelli's career went into decline after the death of his girlfriend under m ...

Daniel Petrie Daniel Mannix Petrie (November 26, 1920 – August 22, 2004) was a Canadian film, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dramas often dealing with taboo subject ...

Mary-Ellis Bunim Mary-Ellis Bunim (July 9, 1946 – January 29, 2004) was an American television producer and co-creator of MTV's '' The Real World'' and ''Road Rules''. Biography A native of Massachusetts, Bunim began her career in daytime dramas. She oversaw ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

* Marlon Brando * Peter Ustinov *

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play '' The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...

Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.Emmys.com list of 2004 Nominees & Winners
* {{EmmyAwardsbyYear 056 Primetime Emmy Awards

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

September 2004 events in the United States