The 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, November 4, 2001, seven weeks later than originally scheduled. The ceremony was rescheduled twice from its original date of September 16 at the Shrine Auditorium because of the September 11th attacks that occurred five days prior to the event. It was also removed from its rescheduled date of October 7 again at the same venue as a result of the start of the War in Afghanistan. The event was then relocated to the smaller Shubert Theater, which had previously hosted the 1973 and 1976 ceremonies, and would be demolished in 2002. The ceremony was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres and was broadcast on CBS. 27 awards were presented.
Barbra Streisand sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" in a surprise appearance at the close, in honor of the victims of the attacks.Streisand's stage fright spiked with thought of terror, By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY, December 12, 2001
Sex and the City became the first premium channel show to win Outstanding Comedy Series; this was its only major award. The NBC cult hit Freaks and Geeks accomplished a rare feat: though it only ran for one season, it was nominated in two different years for writing. Frasier, now in its eighth season, earned its final Outstanding Comedy Series nomination after eight consecutive nominations including five consecutive wins (seasons 1–5).
The episode "Bowling" made Malcolm in the Middle just the second show, and first comedy, to have two different episodes win awards for directing and writing. The Defenders was the first show to do this in 1963 and 1965. (Specific episodes were not nominated in the comedy categories until the late 1960s). Game of Thrones would also achieve this in 2015 and 2016.
For his portrayal of John Cage in Ally McBeal, Peter MacNicol won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, the first in this category for Fox and the first in this category for any show outside the Big Three television networks.
In the drama field, The West Wing won Outstanding Drama Series for its second straight year and led all shows with four major awards on the night. The Sopranos led all shows with 14 major nominations and was second to The West Wing with three major wins.
Mike Nichols' win made him the ninth person to become an EGOT winner.
Rescheduling
The ceremony was originally scheduled to be held on September 16, 2001 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
On September 11, just hours following the September 11th attacks, CBS announced the event would be postponed indefinitely, but were hopeful it would take place September 23.
On September 15, CBS and officials from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) announced they had chosen a new date of October 7, with the venue remaining unchanged.
On October 1, CBS and ATAS announced that a scaled down ceremony would take place in both Los Angeles and New York. The majority of the night's 30 awards given would still be given at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, but some would be given at a simultaneous event in studio 6A at NBC Studios (New York) where Late Night with Conan O'Brien was normally filmed. According to then-executive producer Don Mischer, this was to accommodate nominees who were reluctant to fly to Los Angeles so soon after the attacks.
On October 7 at 12:30 p.m. (PST), only hours before the ceremony's 5 p.m. scheduled commencement, CBS and ATAS announced that the ceremony was cancelled due to the start of the War in Afghanistan earlier in the day.
On October 9, ATAS officials and CBS execs announced their intention to reschedule the ceremony, but that it would not take place at the Shrine Auditorium.
On October 16, representatives from CBS and ATAS announced that the ceremony would now be held on November 4 at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles, a smaller venue, and that the simultaneous event in New York would no longer be taking place.
On November 4, the awards ceremony was held at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles. To ensure security, sharpshooters were placed rooftops, attendees passed through metal detectors, nearby businesses were closed, and the Shubert complex's two lowest underground parking levels were blocked off due to the risk of car bombs.
The awards took place simultaneously with Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. During that game, the broadcast flashed updates across the bottom of the screen, informing viewers about who had won various Emmy Awards.
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡). For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards, as well as nominated writers for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program, have been omitted.
Programs + Sex and the City (HBO) Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) Frasier (NBC) Malcolm in the Middle (Fox) Will & Grace (NBC) The West Wing (NBC) ER (NBC) Law & Order (NBC) The Practice (ABC) The Sopranos (HBO) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) The Chris Rock Show (HBO) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (ABC) Saturday Night Live (NBC) Cirque du Soleil's Dralion (Bravo) 73rd Annual Academy Awards (ABC) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (HBO) Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (HBO) Saturday Night Live's Presidential Bash 2000 (NBC) Wit (HBO) 61* (HBO) Conspiracy (HBO) For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (HBO) Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Showtime) Anne Frank (ABC) Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City (Showtime) Horatio Hornblower (A&E) Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (ABC) Nuremberg (TNT)
Acting
Lead performances + Eric McCormack – Will & Grace as Will Truman (NBC) Kelsey Grammer – Frasier as Dr. Frasier Crane (NBC) John Lithgow – 3rd Rock from the Sun as Dick Solomon (NBC) Frankie Muniz – Malcolm in the Middle as Malcolm (Fox) (Episode: “Bowling”) Ray Romano – Everybody Loves Raymond as Raymond Barone (CBS) (Episode: “Ray's Journal”) Patricia Heaton – Everybody Loves Raymond as Debra Barone (CBS) (Episode: “The Canister”) Calista Flockhart – Ally McBeal as Ally McBeal (Fox) Jane Kaczmarek – Malcolm in the Middle as Lois (Fox) (Episode: “Flashback”) Debra Messing – Will & Grace as Grace Adler (NBC) Sarah Jessica Parker – Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw (HBO) James Gandolfini – The Sopranos as Tony Soprano (HBO) Andre Braugher – Gideon's Crossing as Dr. Ben Gideon (ABC) Dennis Franz – NYPD Blue as Andy Sipowicz (ABC) Rob Lowe – The West Wing as Sam Seaborn (NBC) Martin Sheen – The West Wing as President Josiah Bartlet (NBC) Edie Falco – The Sopranos as Carmela Soprano (HBO) Lorraine Bracco – The Sopranos as Dr. Jennifer Melfi (HBO) Amy Brenneman – Judging Amy as Judge Amy Madison Gray (CBS) Marg Helgenberger – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Catherine Willows (CBS) Sela Ward – Once and Again as Lily Manning (ABC) Kenneth Branagh – Conspiracy as Reinhard Heydrich (HBO) Andy García – For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story as Arturo Sandoval (HBO) Gregory Hines – Bojangles as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (Showtime) Ben Kingsley – Anne Frank as Otto Frank (ABC) Barry Pepper – 61* as Roger Maris (HBO) Judy Davis – Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows as Judy Garland (ABC) Judi Dench – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells as Elizabeth (HBO) Hannah Taylor-Gordon – Anne Frank as Anne Frank (ABC) Holly Hunter – When Billie Beat Bobby as Billie Jean King (ABC) Emma Thompson – Wit as Vivian Bearing (HBO) Barbra Streisand – Barbra Streisand: Timeless (Fox) Wayne Brady – Whose Line Is It Anyway? (ABC) Ellen DeGeneres – Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (HBO) Will Ferrell – Saturday Night Live: "Host: Alec Baldwin" (NBC) David Letterman – Late Show with David Letterman: "#1596" (CBS) Steve Martin – 73rd Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
Supporting performances + Peter MacNicol – Ally McBeal as John Cage (Fox) Peter Boyle – Everybody Loves Raymond as Frank Barone (CBS) (Episodes: “Wallpaper” and “Frank Paints The House”) Robert Downey Jr. – Ally McBeal as Larry Paul (Fox) Sean Hayes – Will & Grace as Jack McFarland (NBC) David Hyde Pierce – Frasier as Niles Crane (NBC) Doris Roberts – Everybody Loves Raymond as Marie Barone (CBS) (Episode: “Ray's Journal”) Jennifer Aniston – Friends as Rachel Green (NBC) Kim Cattrall – Sex and the City as Samantha Jones (HBO) Lisa Kudrow – Friends as Phoebe Buffay (NBC) Megan Mullally – Will & Grace as Karen Walker (NBC) Bradley Whitford – The West Wing as Josh Lyman (NBC) Dominic Chianese – The Sopranos as Corrado "Uncle Junior" Soprano (HBO) Michael Imperioli – The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti (HBO) Richard Schiff – The West Wing as Toby Ziegler (NBC) John Spencer – The West Wing as Leo McGarry (NBC) Allison Janney – The West Wing as C. J. Cregg (NBC) Stockard Channing – The West Wing as Dr. Abigail Bartlet (NBC) Tyne Daly – Judging Amy as Maxine Gray (CBS) Maura Tierney – ER as Abby Lockhart (NBC) Aida Turturro – The Sopranos as Janice Soprano (HBO) Brian Cox – Nuremberg as Hermann Wilhelm Göring (TNT) Alan Alda – Club Land as Willie Walters (Showtime) Colin Firth – Conspiracy as Stuckart (HBO) Victor Garber – Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows as Sid Luft (ABC) Ian Holm – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells as Patrick (HBO) Stanley Tucci – Conspiracy as Eichmann (HBO) Tammy Blanchard – Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows as Young Judy Garland (ABC) Anne Bancroft – Haven as Mama Gruber (CBS) Brenda Blethyn – Anne Frank as Auguste Van Pels (ABC) Holly Hunter – Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her as Rebecca (Showtime) Audra McDonald – Wit as Susie Monahan (HBO)
Directing + Malcolm in the Middle: "Bowling" – Todd Holland (Fox) Ed: "Pilot" – James Frawley (NBC) Malcolm in the Middle: "Flashback" – Jeff Melman (Fox) Sex and the City: "Easy Come, Easy Go" – Charles McDougall (HBO) Will & Grace: "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" – James Burrows (NBC) The West Wing: "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Parts I and II" – Thomas Schlamme (NBC) ER: "The Visit" – Jonathan Kaplan (NBC) The Sopranos: "Amour Fou" – Tim Van Patten (HBO) The Sopranos: "Pine Barrens" – Steve Buscemi (HBO) The Sopranos: "University" – Allen Coulter (HBO) The West Wing: "Shibboleth" – Laura Innes (NBC) Cirque du Soleil's Dralion – David Mallet (Bravo) 73rd Annual Academy Awards – Louis J. Horvitz (ABC) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Chris Hilson (HBO) Late Show with David Letterman: "#1527" – Jerry Foley (CBS) The Tony Awards – Paul Miller (CBS) Wit – Mike Nichols (HBO) 61* – Billy Crystal (HBO) Anne Frank – Robert Dornhelm (ABC) Conspiracy – Frank Pierson (HBO) Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows – Robert Allan Ackerman (ABC)
Writing + Malcolm in the Middle: "Bowling" – Alex Reid (Fox) Ed: "Pilot" – Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman (NBC) Freaks and Geeks: "Discos and Dragons" – Paul Feig (NBC) Sex and the City: "Easy Come, Easy Go" – Michael Patrick King (HBO) Will & Grace: "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" – Jeff Greenstein (NBC) The Sopranos: "Employee of the Month" – Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess (HBO) The Sopranos: "Amour Fou" – Frank Renzulli and David Chase (HBO) The Sopranos: "Pine Barrens" – Terence Winter and Tim Van Patten (HBO) The Sopranos: "Second Opinion" – Lawrence Konner (HBO) The West Wing: "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Parts I and II" – Aaron Sorkin (NBC) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) The Chris Rock Show (HBO) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Saturday Night Live (NBC) Conspiracy – Loring Mandel (HBO) 61* – Hank Steinberg (HBO) Anne Frank – Kirk Ellis (ABC) Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows – Robert L. Freedman (ABC) Wit – Emma Thompson and Mike Nichols (HBO)
Most major nominations