The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 2007, honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition (on tape delay three hours later on the West Coast of the United States at 8:00 p.m.). It was also the most recent Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony to be held at the Shrine Auditorium, as it was then relocated to the Nokia Theatre from the following year (PDT/3:00 UTC). The ceremony was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. 28 competitive awards were presented.
The ceremonies were supposed to be produced by Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, executive producers of American Idol, but because of their heavy work load with Idol, Ken Ehrlich, last year's producer, resumed the producer's role for the fourth time. Ratings plunged further down to a near an all-time low as an estimate 12.87 million, 19% lower than the past year, making it the second smallest television audience in Emmy history, behind the 1990 telecast.
The nominations were announced on July 19 at 5:40 a.m. PDT (12:40 UTC) by Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick. Retrieved 2007-09-16
Meanwhile, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, hosted by comedian-actor Carlos Mencia, were presented eight days earlier on September 9.
Freshman series 30 Rock defeated defending champion The Office to claim Outstanding Comedy Series; this was the only major award for 30 Rock.
Going into its final ceremony, The Sopranos needed just three major awards to tie the drama series record of 18 major wins set by Hill Street Blues. It was nominated in ten major categories coming in and ended the night with three wins, including its second win for Outstanding Drama Series. This tied the record and gave both shows identical résumés—18 major wins and 74 major nominations. This win for The Sopranos was also the first time any show's sixth season had won for the Outstanding Drama award, later achieved by Game of Thrones as well, another HBO drama.
AMC, a smaller cable network, won big with Broken Trail winning three Emmys. It won Outstanding Miniseries and the network's first Acting wins, for the series' stars, Thomas Haden Church and Robert Duvall.
As of 2026, this is the last year where ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC received the majority of the Drama Series nominations.
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold:
Programs
+ 30 Rock (NBC) Entourage (HBO) The Office (NBC) Two and a Half Men (CBS) Ugly Betty (ABC) The Sopranos (HBO) Boston Legal (ABC) Grey's Anatomy (ABC) Heroes (NBC) House (Fox) 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) Tony Bennett: An American Classic (NBC) Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner (Comedy Central) Great Performances (Episode: "Tribute to James Taylor") (PBS) The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS) Lewis Black: Red, White, and Screwed (HBO) Wanda Sykes: Sick and Tired (HBO) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO) 9/11: The Twin Towers (Discovery Channel) Longford (HBO) The Ron Clark Story (TNT) Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy (Lifetime) Broken Trail (AMC) Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS) The Starter Wife (USA) The Amazing Race (CBS) American Idol (Fox) Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Project Runway (Bravo) Top Chef (Bravo)
Acting
Lead performances + Ricky Gervais – Extras as Andy Milman (HBO) Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock as Jack Donaghy (NBC) Steve Carell – The Office as Michael Scott (NBC) Tony Shalhoub – Monk as Adrian Monk (USA) Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men as Charlie Harper (CBS) America Ferrera – Ugly Betty as Betty Suarez (ABC) Tina Fey – 30 Rock as Liz Lemon (NBC) Felicity Huffman – Desperate Housewives as Lynette Scavo (ABC) Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures of Old Christine as Christine Campbell (CBS) Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds as Nancy Botwin (Showtime) James Spader – Boston Legal as Alan Shore (ABC) James Gandolfini – The Sopranos as Tony Soprano (HBO) Hugh Laurie – House as Gregory House (Fox) Denis Leary – Rescue Me as Tommy Gavin (FX) Kiefer Sutherland – 24 as Jack Bauer (Fox) Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters as Nora Walker (ABC) Patricia Arquette – Medium as Allison DuBois (NBC) Minnie Driver – The Riches as Dahlia Malloy (FX) Edie Falco – The Sopranos as Carmela Soprano (HBO) Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Olivia Benson (NBC) Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer as Brenda Leigh Johnson (TNT) Robert Duvall – Broken Trail as Prentice "Print" Ritter (AMC) Jim Broadbent – Longford as Lord Longford (HBO) William H. Macy – Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King as Clyde Umney / Sam Landry (TNT) Matthew Perry – The Ron Clark Story as Ron Clark (TNT) Tom Selleck – Jesse Stone: Sea Change as Jesse Stone (CBS) Helen Mirren – Prime Suspect: The Final Act as DCI Jane Tennison (PBS) Queen Latifah – Life Support as Ana Wallace (HBO) Debra Messing – The Starter Wife as Molly Kagan (USA) Mary-Louise Parker – The Robber Bride as Zenia Arden (Oxygen) Gena Rowlands – What If God Were the Sun? as Melissa Eisenbloom (Lifetime)
Supporting performances + Jeremy Piven – Entourage as Ari Gold (HBO) Jon Cryer – Two and a Half Men as Dr. Alan Harper (CBS) Kevin Dillon – Entourage as Johnny "Drama" Chase (HBO) Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother as Barney Stinson (CBS) Rainn Wilson – The Office as Dwight Schrute (NBC) Jaime Pressly – My Name Is Earl as Joy Turner (NBC) Conchata Ferrell – Two and a Half Men as Berta (CBS) Jenna Fischer – The Office as Pam Beesly (NBC) Elizabeth Perkins – Weeds as Celia Hodes (Showtime) Holland Taylor – Two and a Half Men as Evelyn Harper (CBS) Vanessa Williams – Ugly Betty as Wilhelmina Slater (ABC) Terry O'Quinn – Lost as John Locke (ABC) Michael Emerson – Lost as Ben Linus (ABC) Michael Imperioli – The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti (HBO) T. R. Knight – Grey's Anatomy as Dr. George O'Malley (ABC) Masi Oka – Heroes as Hiro Nakamura (NBC) William Shatner – Boston Legal as Denny Crane (ABC) Katherine Heigl – Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (ABC) Lorraine Bracco – The Sopranos as Dr. Jennifer Melfi (HBO) Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters as Sarah Whedon (ABC) Sandra Oh – Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Cristina Yang (ABC) Aida Turturro – The Sopranos as Janice Soprano (HBO) Chandra Wilson – Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Miranda Bailey (ABC) Thomas Haden Church – Broken Trail as Tom Harte (AMC) Edward Asner – The Christmas Card as Luke Spelman (Hallmark Channel) Joe Mantegna – The Starter Wife as Lou Manahan (USA) Aidan Quinn – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee as Henry L. Dawes (HBO) August Schellenberg – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee as Sitting Bull (HBO) Judy Davis – The Starter Wife as Joan McAllister (USA) Toni Collette – Tsunami: The Aftermath as Kathy Graham (HBO) Samantha Morton – Longford as Myra Hindley (HBO) Anna Paquin – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee as Elaine Goodale (HBO) Greta Scacchi – Broken Trail as Nola Johns (AMC)
Individual performances + Tony Bennett – Tony Bennett: An American Classic (NBC) Stephen Colbert –The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Ellen DeGeneres – The 79th Annual Academy Awards (ABC) David Letterman – Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Jon Stewart – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Directing + Ugly Betty: "Pilot" – Richard Shepard (ABC) 30 Rock: "The Break-Up" – Scott Ellis (NBC) Entourage: "One Day in the Valley" – Julian Farino (HBO) Extras: "Orlando Bloom" – Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (HBO) The Office: "Gay Witch Hunt" – Ken Kwapis (NBC) Scrubs: "My Musical" – Will Mackenzie (NBC) The Sopranos: "Kennedy and Heidi" – Alan Taylor (HBO) Battlestar Galactica: "Exodus, Part 2" – Félix Enríquez Alcalá (Sci Fi) Boston Legal: "Son of the Defender" – Bill D'Elia (ABC) Friday Night Lights: "Pilot" – Peter Berg (NBC) Heroes: "Genesis" – David Semel (NBC) Lost: "Through the Looking Glass" – Jack Bender (ABC) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: "Pilot" – Thomas Schlamme (NBC) Tony Bennett: An American Classic – Rob Marshall (NBC) American Idol – Bruce Gowers (Fox) The Colbert Report – Jim Hoskinson (Comedy Central) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Chuck O'Neil (Comedy Central) Saturday Night Live – Don Roy King (NBC) Prime Suspect: The Final Act – Philip Martin (PBS) Broken Trail – Walter Hill (AMC) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – Yves Simoneau (HBO) Jane Eyre – Susanna White (PBS) Tsunami: The Aftermath – Bharat Nalluri (HBO)
Writing + The Office: "Gay Witch Hunt" – Greg Daniels (NBC) 30 Rock: "Jack-Tor" – Robert Carlock (NBC) 30 Rock: "Tracy Does Conan" – Tina Fey (NBC) Extras: "Daniel Radcliffe" – Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (HBO) The Office: "The Negotiation" – Michael Schur (NBC) The Sopranos: "Made in America" – David Chase (HBO) Battlestar Galactica: "Occupation" / "Precipice" – Ronald D. Moore (Sci Fi) Lost: "Through the Looking Glass" – Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (ABC) The Sopranos: "Kennedy and Heidi" – David Chase and Matthew Weiner (HBO) The Sopranos: "The Second Coming" – Terence Winter (HBO) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Prime Suspect: The Final Act – Frank Deasy (PBS) Broken Trail – Alan Geoffrion (AMC) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – Daniel Giat (HBO) The Starter Wife – Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott (USA) Jane Eyre – Sandy Welch (PBS)
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 33 NBC 28 ABC 21 CBS 11
+ Programs with multiple major nominations Program Category Network No. ofNominations The Sopranos Drama HBO 10 The OfficeComedyNBC 7 30 Rock6 Broken Trail Miniseries AMC Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Movie HBO Grey's Anatomy Drama ABC5 The Starter Wife Miniseries USA Two and a Half Men Comedy CBS Boston Legal Drama ABC4 The Colbert ReportVarietyComedy Central The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Entourage Comedy HBO Lost Drama ABC Prime Suspect: The Final Act Miniseries PBS Ugly BettyComedy ABC Extras HBO3 Heroes Drama NBC Late Show with David Letterman Variety CBS Longford Movie HBO Tony Bennett: An American Classic Variety NBC American Idol Competition Fox2 Battlestar GalacticaDrama Sci Fi Brothers & Sisters ABC House Fox Jane Eyre Miniseries PBS Late Night with Conan O'BrienVariety NBC Real Time with Bill Maher HBO The Ron Clark Story Movie TNT Tsunami: The Aftermath Miniseries HBO Weeds Comedy Showtime
Most major awards + Networks with multiple major awards Network No. ofAwards NBC 7 ABC6 HBO AMC3 PBS
+ Programs with multiple major awards Program Category Network No. ofAwards Broken TrailMiniseries AMC3 Prime Suspect: The Final Act PBS The Sopranos Drama HBO Tony Bennett: An American Classic Variety NBC Ugly Betty Comedy ABC 2
Notes
Presenters The awards were presented by the following: