The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television programming from June 1, 2013 until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

. The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Nokia Theatre in

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, and was broadcast in the U.S. by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. Comedian and '' Late Night'' host Seth Meyers hosted the ceremony for the first time. The nominations were announced on July 10, 2014. The scheduling of the

Primetime Emmy Award 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 ...

s is coordinated with that of the

Creative Arts Emmy Award The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

, which was held the previous weekend on August 16, 2014. ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...

'' was the major winner of the night, with five wins, including its second

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series since its institution in 1951. The award goes to the producers of the series. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at the Emmys cerem ...

for the second part of its fifth season. ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'' won its fifth consecutive

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an annual award given to the best television comedy series of the year. From 1960 to 1964, this category was combined with the Comedy Specials (one time programs) category so that both type ...

, tying with ''

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 (screenwriter), Peter Case ...

'' as the series with the most consecutive wins in the category.

Gail Mancuso Gail Mancuso (born July 14, 1958) is an American film and television director. Early life and career Mancuso grew up in Melrose Park, Illinois. She is married to Brian Downs, a doctor, and divides her time between her homes in Valencia, Californ ...

became the first woman in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards to win the Outstanding Directing Emmy twice after her win for directing the ''

'' episode "Las Vegas". ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'' won its tenth

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reailty Competition Program is handed out for reality-style, skill-based competition formats during the primetime telecast since 2003. The award goes to the producers of the program. ''The Amazing Race'' ...

as well. Other major winners of the night were '' Sherlock:

His Last Vow "His Last Vow" is the third episode of the third series of the BBC Television series '' Sherlock'', which follows the modern-day adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The episode was first broadcast on 12 January 2014, on BBC One and Channel One. It ...

'' (3 wins), '' American Horror Story: Coven'' and '' Fargo'' (2 wins each).

Scheduling of ceremony

The ceremony was held on a night other than Sunday for the first time since

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

(the 28th Primetime Emmy Awards were also staged on a Monday that year, May 17). The ceremony's unusual date — a Monday night in late August — was due to two factors, primary being

's commitment to '' Sunday Night Football''; since acquiring the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

's Sunday night game package in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, NBC, when it is their turn in the four-network rotation to air the Primetime Emmy Awards, usually schedules the ceremony for the Sunday before

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend, to avoid conflicts with ''SNF'' in mid-September (when

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, or

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

normally air the ceremony).The last time a ceremony had to be scheduled around football was the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, which

aired on Sunday, August 29, 2010. NBC's ideal date on the 2014 calendar for the ceremony (Sunday, August 24) led to the other scheduling factor —

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

, which were set for that night more than a year in advance (and would be staged in the L.A. area as well, at The Forum in Inglewood). On January 28, 2014, rather than go head-to-head with the VMA's, NBC announced that the ceremony would take place on Monday, August 25. The move would allow NBC to commit to a

preseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

''Sunday Night Football'' broadcast for the 24th (a game between the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

); it also ensured the tradition of staging the Primetime Emmy Awards the weekend after the

s (that

was already set for August 16). The ceremony's weeknight date and start time — 5:00 p.m. ( PDT) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

— led to concerns of rush hour traffic gridlock in Los Angeles' downtown core at the time of the ceremony; to help alleviate the concerns, the

ATAS ATAS may refer to: *Academic Technology Approval Scheme *Academy of Television Arts & Sciences *AIM-92 Stinger The Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS) (also unofficially called AIM-92 Stinger) is an air-to-air missile system developed from the shoulder-la ...

worked with Los Angeles city officials to map out street closures and red carpet staging areas, as well as include travel instructions (including which routes to take and where to park) in attendees' ticket packets.

Changes in categories and balloting

On November 14, 2013, the

announced that it would implement online voting for its members to select the nominees. However, online voting to determine the winners would not be used until

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and winners for this year were voted on via paper ballots. The Academy had also announced changes to several awards and categories that affect both the

Primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

and

s. Changes for the Primetime Emmy Awards involved separating the Outstanding Miniseries or Movie category into two entities again— Outstanding Miniseries and Outstanding Television Movie. The two were combined in 2011, due to a downtrend in the genres. This separation is only for the program category with all other awards in the category remaining combined between the two formats. The Academy also introduced two new categories— Outstanding Structured Reality Program and Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.

Reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

programs are honored in three categories: "

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reailty Competition Program is handed out for reality-style, skill-based competition formats during the primetime telecast since 2003. The award goes to the producers of the program. ''The Amazing Race'' ...

", " Outstanding Structured Reality Program", and " Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program"; the last two are awarded at the

66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 66th Annual Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony was held on August 16, 2014, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. The ceremony is in conjunction with the annual Primetime Emmy Awards and is presented in recognition of techni ...

. There was also an increase in the number of longform nominees in

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

, directing and performing categories for miniseries/movie (from five to six nominees) as well as a change in their final voting procedures. Additionally, a 2% rule was adopted in the comedy and drama series categories, wherein, a seventh nominee can be added to the respective categories if its total first-round votes are within 2% of the sixth place series.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold: Jim Parsons at PaleyFest 2013

Martin Freeman during filming of Sherlock cropped

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting 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 – 39 * FX – 20 * CBS – 14 * Netflix / PBS – 11 * AMC / Showtime – 10 * ABC – 9 * NBC – 7 * Lifetime – 5 * BBC America – 4 * Fox – 3 * Comedy Central / IFC – 2 ;By program * ''The Normal Heart'' (HBO) – 9 * ''American Horror Story: Coven'' (FX) / ''Fargo'' (FX) – 8 * ''Breaking Bad'' (AMC) – 7 * ''Downton Abbey'' (PBS) – 6

Most major awards

;By network * AMC / CBS / FX – 5 * HBO – 4 * ABC / PBS – 3 ;By program * ''Breaking Bad'' (AMC) – 5 * ''Modern Family'' (ABC) / ''Sherlock: His Last Vow'' (PBS) – 3 * ''American Horror Story: Coven'' (FX) / ''Fargo'' (FX) – 2 ;Notes

Presenters and performers

The awards were presented by the following:

Presenters

Performers

''In Memoriam''

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...

performed the song "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

" during the "In Memoriam" segment of the awards ceremony: *

Ralph Waite Ralph Waite (June 22, 1928 – February 13, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his lead role as John Walton Sr. on ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981), which he occasionally directed. He also had recurring roles in '' NCIS'' as Jackson Gibb ...

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recogniti ...

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film ''Judgment at Nuremberg'', h ...

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

Abby Singer Abner E. "Abby" Singer (December 8, 1917 – March 13, 2014) was an American production manager and assistant director in film between the 1950s and the 1980s. His name has become famous in Hollywood as a phrase describing the second-to-last sh ...

Meshach Taylor Meshach Taylor (; April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–93), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstan ...

* Robert Halmi Sr. *

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Supporting Actress category at a ...

Sandy Frank Sandy Frank (born Sundel Francous; July 11, 1929) is an American television producer, distributor, and marketer of TV shows to US networks. Early life and career Frank grew up in Mount Kisco, New York. He started his career as a sales executiv ...

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in ''Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, o ...

James Avery James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Judge Michael Conover on '' L ...

* Daniel Blatt * Sandi Fullerton * Hank Rieger *

Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three t ...

Ann B. Davis Ann Bradford Davis (May 3, 1926 – June 1, 2014) was an American actress. She achieved prominence for her role in the NBC situation comedy '' The Bob Cummings Show'' (1955–1959), for which she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

* Lucy Hood * Hal Cooper * Michael Filerman * Alan Landsburg *

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

* Mitzie Welch *

Don Pardo Dominick George "Don" Pardo (February 22, 1918 – August 18, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades. A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with ...

David Brenner David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author. The most frequent guest on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of obser ...

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the se ...

* Carmen Zapata *

Hal Needham Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast ...

Sandy Grossman Sanford Morton "Sandy" Grossman (June 12, 1935 – April 2, 2014) was an American sports television director. He directed television broadcasts of 10 Super Bowls, 18 NBA Finals, 5 Stanley Cup finals and Olympic hockey matches. He won eight Emm ...

* Ruby Dee * Sheila MacRae *

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

Marcia Wallace Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitc ...

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

Harold Ramis Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell ...

Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...

* Lauren Bacall *

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...

After the last picture was shown, a special tribute to

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

, who died on August 11, 2014, was presented by

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

Ratings

Despite its departure from its normal telecast schedule, the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards received 15.59 million viewers, the second-largest viewership in eight years.

Footnotes

References

External links

Emmys.com list of 2014 Nominees & Winners

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Primetime Emmy Awards, 066 066 2014 in American television 2014 in Los Angeles 2014 television awards 2014 awards in the United States May 2014 events in the United States