The 58th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, August 27, 2006, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET (00:00 UTC) with Conan O'Brien hosting the show. The ceremony attracted 16.2 million viewers, 2.5 million fewer than the previous year's ceremony, but still the ratings winner for the week. The Discovery Channel received its first major nomination this year. 27 awards were presented.

This awards show was the first in fourteen years to be held in August because of NBC's request; because of NBC Sunday Night Football, the ceremony moved to accommodate NFL Kickoff Weekend.

A new voting system determined nominees in particular categories (mostly lead acting and outstanding series categories) by a "blue ribbon" panel of judges, which resulted in the exclusion of popular shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost, and actors like James Gandolfini and Edie Falco from The Sopranos and Hugh Laurie from House. Losts exclusion was mocked during the opening sequence (see below), when O'Brien, accompanied by Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, headed down a hatch to get to the Emmys. O'Brien asked Reyes if he wanted to come; Reyes says coyly, "Well, we weren't exactly invited", to which O'Brien replies "But you won last year!"

For its second season, The Office won Outstanding Comedy Series; this was its only major award. No comedy series won more than two major awards this year. In the drama field, 24 won Outstanding Drama Series for its fifth season, after being nominated and losing the previous four years. It was also the first time the Fox Network won this award. Its three major awards topped all drama series. Its Outstanding Lead Actor, Drama award (for Kiefer Sutherland) was also the first time Fox had won this award.

Ellen Burstyn was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her role in Mrs. Harris, even though she was onscreen for only fourteen seconds, which caused controversy.

The show that received the most major nominations was Mrs. Harris, with seven. The top-nominated show had not received so few nominations since 1970, when Marcus Welby, M.D. received six. However, there were far fewer nominations back then, with most categories having three slots making this ceremony unique.

The pilot episode of My Name Is Earl joined a select group of TV episodes to win for both directing and writing.

Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold:Emmys.com list of 2006 Nominees & Winners

Programs

+ The Office (NBC) Arrested Development (Fox) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) Scrubs (NBC) Two and a Half Men (CBS) 24 (Fox) Grey's Anatomy (ABC) House (Fox) The Sopranos (HBO) The West Wing (NBC) The Girl in the Café (HBO) Flight 93 (A&E) The Flight That Fought Back (Discovery Channel) Mrs. Harris (HBO) Yesterday (HBO) Elizabeth I (HBO) Bleak House (PBS) Into the West (TNT) Sleeper Cell (Showtime) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) The Amazing Race (CBS) American Idol (Fox) Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Project Runway (Bravo) Survivor (CBS)

Acting

Lead performances + Tony Shalhoub – Monk as Adrian Monk (USA) Steve Carell – The Office as Michael Scott (NBC) Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself (HBO) Kevin James – The King of Queens as Doug Heffernan (CBS) Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men as Charlie Harper (CBS) Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures of Old Christine as Christine Campbell (CBS) Stockard Channing – Out of Practice as Lydia Barnes (CBS) Jane Kaczmarek – Malcolm in the Middle as Lois (Fox) (Episode: “Lois Strikes Back”) Lisa Kudrow – The Comeback as Valerie Cherish (HBO) Debra Messing – Will & Grace as Grace Adler (NBC) Kiefer Sutherland – 24 as Jack Bauer (Fox) Peter Krause – Six Feet Under as Nate Fisher (HBO) Denis Leary – Rescue Me as Tommy Gavin (FX) Christopher Meloni – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Elliot Stabler (NBC) Martin Sheen – The West Wing as President Jed Bartlet (NBC) Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Olivia Benson (NBC) Frances Conroy – Six Feet Under as Ruth Fisher (HBO) Geena Davis – Commander in Chief as President Mackenzie Allen (ABC) Allison Janney – The West Wing as C. J. Cregg (NBC) Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer as Brenda Leigh Johnson (TNT) Andre Braugher – Thief as Nick Atwater (FX) Charles Dance – Bleak House as Mr. Tulkinghorn (PBS) Ben Kingsley – Mrs. Harris as Dr. Herman Tarnower (HBO) Donald Sutherland – Human Trafficking as Bill Meehan (Lifetime) Jon Voight – Pope John Paul II as Pope John Paul II (CBS) Helen Mirren – Elizabeth I as Elizabeth I (HBO) Gillian Anderson – Bleak House as Lady Dedlock (PBS) Kathy Bates – Ambulance Girl as Jane Stern (Lifetime) Annette Bening – Mrs. Harris as Jean Harris (HBO) Judy Davis – A Little Thing Called Murder as Sante Kimes (Lifetime) Barry Manilow – Barry Manilow: Music and Passion (PBS) Stephen Colbert – The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Craig Ferguson – The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS) Hugh Jackman – The 59th Annual Tony Awards (CBS) David Letterman – Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)

Supporting performances + Jeremy Piven – Entourage as Ari Gold (HBO) Will Arnett – Arrested Development as George "G.O.B." Bluth Jr. (Fox) Bryan Cranston – Malcolm in the Middle as Hal (Fox) (Episodes: “Colleges Recruiters” and “Hal Grieves”) Jon Cryer – Two and a Half Men as Dr. Alan Harper (CBS) (Episodes: "Ergo, the Booty Call", "Weekend in Bangkok") Sean Hayes – Will & Grace as Jack McFarland (NBC) Megan Mullally – Will & Grace as Karen Walker (NBC) Cheryl Hines – Curb Your Enthusiasm as Cheryl David (HBO) Elizabeth Perkins – Weeds as Celia Hodes (Showtime) Jaime Pressly – My Name Is Earl as Joy Turner (NBC) Alfre Woodard – Desperate Housewives as Betty Applewhite (ABC) (Episodes: "You'll Never Get Away From Me", "I Know Things Now") Alan Alda – The West Wing as Arnold Vinick (NBC) Michael Imperioli – The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti (HBO) Gregory Itzin – 24 as Charles Logan (Fox) Oliver Platt – Huff as Russell Tupper (Showtime) William Shatner – Boston Legal as Denny Crane (ABC) Blythe Danner – Huff as Isabelle "Izzy" Huffstodt (Showtime) Candice Bergen – Boston Legal as Shirley Schmidt (ABC) Sandra Oh – Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Cristina Yang (ABC) Jean Smart – 24 as Martha Logan (Fox) Chandra Wilson – Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Miranda Bailey (ABC) Jeremy Irons – Elizabeth I as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (HBO) Robert Carlyle – Human Trafficking as Sergei Karpovich (Lifetime) Clifton Collins Jr. – Thief as Jack Hill (FX) Hugh Dancy – Elizabeth I as Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (HBO) Denis Lawson – Bleak House as John Jarndyce (PBS) Kelly Macdonald – The Girl in the Café as Gina (HBO) Ellen Burstyn – Mrs. Harris as Former Tarnower Steady (HBO) Shirley Jones – Hidden Places as Aunt Batty (Hallmark) Cloris Leachman – Mrs. Harris as Pearl Schwartz (HBO) Alfre Woodard – The Water Is Wide as Mrs. Brown (CBS)

Directing + My Name Is Earl: "Pilot" – Marc Buckland (NBC) The Comeback: "Valerie Does Another Classic Leno" – Michael Patrick King (HBO) Curb Your Enthusiasm: "The Christ Nail" – Robert B. Weide (HBO) Entourage: "Oh, Mandy" – Dan Attias (HBO) Entourage: "The Sundance Kids" – Julian Farino (HBO) Weeds: "Good Shit Lollipop" – Craig Zisk (Showtime) 24: "Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m." – Jon Cassar (Fox) Big Love: "Pilot" – Rodrigo García (HBO) Lost: "Live Together, Die Alone" – Jack Bender (ABC) Six Feet Under: "Everyone's Waiting" – Alan Ball (HBO) The Sopranos: "Join the Club" – David Nutter (HBO) The Sopranos: "Members Only" – Tim Van Patten (HBO) The West Wing: "Election Day: Part I" – Mimi Leder (NBC) The 78th Annual Academy Awards – Louis J. Horvitz (ABC) American Idol: "Finale" – Bruce Gowers (Fox) The Colbert Report – Jim Hoskinson (Comedy Central) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Chuck O'Neill (Comedy Central) Saturday Night Live: "Host: Steve Martin" – Beth McCarthy-Miller (NBC) Elizabeth I – Tom Hooper (HBO) Bleak House – Justin Chadwick (PBS) Flight 93 – Peter Markle (A&E) The Girl in the Café – David Yates (HBO) High School Musical – Kenny Ortega (Disney) Mrs. Harris – Phyllis Nagy (HBO)

Writing + My Name Is Earl: "Pilot" – Greg Garcia (NBC) Arrested Development: "Development Arrested" – Chuck Tatham, Jim Vallely, Richard Day, and Mitchell Hurwitz (Fox) Entourage: "Exodus" – Doug Ellin (HBO) Extras: "Kate Winslet" – Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (HBO) The Office: "Christmas Party" – Michael Schur (NBC) The Sopranos: "Members Only" – Terence Winter (HBO) Grey's Anatomy: "Into You Like a Train" – Krista Vernoff (ABC) Grey's Anatomy: "It's the End of the World" / "As We Know It" – Shonda Rhimes (ABC) Lost: "The 23rd Psalm" – Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (ABC) Six Feet Under: "Everyone's Waiting" – Alan Ball (HBO) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) The Girl in the Café – Richard Curtis (HBO) Bleak House – Andrew Davies (PBS) Elizabeth I – Nigel Williams (HBO) Flight 93 – Nevin Schreiner (A&E) Mrs. Harris – Phyllis Nagy (HBO)

Most major nominations + Networks with multiple major nominations"Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. Network No. ofNominations HBO 48 NBC 27 CBS 22 ABC 15 Fox 10

+ Programs with multiple major nominations Program Category Network No. ofNominations Mrs. Harris Movie HBO 7 Bleak HouseMiniseries PBS6 Elizabeth I HBO 24Drama Fox5 Grey's Anatomy ABC The Sopranos HBO The West Wing NBC The Colbert Report Variety Comedy Central4 Curb Your EnthusiasmComedyHBO Entourage The Girl in the Café Movie Six Feet Under Drama Arrested Development Comedy Fox3 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Variety Comedy Central Flight 93 Movie A&E Late Show with David Letterman Variety CBS My Name Is EarlComedyNBC The Office Two and a Half Men CBS Will & Grace NBC American Idol Competition Fox2 Boston Legal Drama ABC The Comeback Comedy HBO Huff Drama Showtime Human Trafficking Miniseries Lifetime Late Night with Conan O'Brien VarietyNBC Law & Order: Special Victims UnitDrama Lost ABC Malcolm in the Middle Comedy Fox Real Time with Bill Maher Variety HBO Thief Miniseries FX Weeds Comedy Showtime

Most major awards + Networks with multiple major awards Network No. of Awards HBO 9 NBC 6 Fox 3 CBS2 Comedy Central

+ Programs with multiple major awards Program Category Network No. of Awards Elizabeth I Miniseries HBO 4 24 Drama Fox3 The Girl in the Café Movie HBO The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Variety Comedy Central2 My Name Is Earl Comedy NBC

Notes

Presenters and performers Presenters The awards were presented by the following people: