The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were held on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT (00:00 UTC; August 30) and presenting 26 awards. Comedian and then-Late Night host Jimmy Fallon hosted the ceremony for the first time.
The ceremony honored the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2009, until May 31, 2010. The HBO miniseries The Pacific won eight awards, the most for any program this year, including Outstanding Miniseries. ABC's freshman series Modern Family was the most honored comedy series of the year with six awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Modern Family would go on to win again the top prize for four more years (2010–2014) to reach a record five Outstanding Comedy Series wins. AMC's period piece drama Mad Men won four awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, its third consecutive victory in that category. The HBO film Temple Grandin won five major awards, tying the record for most major wins by a television film, set by Promise in 1987.
The ceremony was telecast live coast-to-coast in the United States by NBC, the first such broadcast since ABC did so for the 34th ceremony held in 1976. The ceremony was held before its usual mid-September date to avoid a conflict with NBC Sunday Night Football.
On August 21, 2010, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards were presented at the same venue. E! aired clips from the ceremony on August 28, the evening preceding the night of the primetime telecast.
The ceremony was received well by critics, with much praise going to the quality of the production, the voting trends and the entertainment factor. Jimmy Fallon received unanimous acclaim for his performance as the host, with some critics citing him as one of the greatest Emmy hosts in recent times.
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold:Emmys.com list of 2010 Nominees & Winners
Programs
+ Modern Family (ABC) 30 Rock (NBC) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) Glee (Fox) Nurse Jackie (Showtime) The Office (NBC) Mad Men (AMC) Breaking Bad (AMC) Dexter (Showtime) The Good Wife (CBS) Lost (ABC) True Blood (HBO) Temple Grandin (HBO) Endgame (PBS) Georgia O'Keeffe (Lifetime) Moonshot (History) The Special Relationship (HBO) You Don't Know Jack (HBO) The Pacific (HBO) Return to Cranford (PBS) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Saturday Night Live (NBC) The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Top Chef (Bravo) The Amazing Race (CBS) American Idol (Fox) Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Project Runway (Lifetime)
Acting
Lead performances + Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory as Dr. Sheldon Cooper (CBS) Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock as Jack Donaghy (NBC) Steve Carell – The Office as Michael Scott (NBC) Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself (HBO) Matthew Morrison – Glee as Will Schuester (Fox) Tony Shalhoub – Monk as Adrian Monk (USA) Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie as Jackie Peyton, RN (Showtime) Toni Collette – United States of Tara as Tara Gregson (Showtime) Tina Fey – 30 Rock as Liz Lemon (NBC) Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures of Old Christine as Christine Campbell (CBS) Lea Michele – Glee as Rachel Berry (Fox) Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation as Leslie Knope (NBC) Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad as Walter White (AMC) Kyle Chandler – Friday Night Lights as Eric Taylor (DirecTV) Matthew Fox – Lost as Dr. Jack Shephard (ABC) Michael C. Hall – Dexter as Dexter Morgan (Showtime) Jon Hamm – Mad Men as Don Draper (AMC) Hugh Laurie – House as Dr. Gregory House (Fox) Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer as Brenda Leigh Johnson (TNT) Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights as Tami Taylor (DirecTV) Glenn Close – Damages as Patty Hewes (FX) Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Olivia Benson (NBC) January Jones – Mad Men as Betty Draper (AMC) Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife as Alicia Florrick (CBS) Al Pacino – You Don't Know Jack as Dr. Jack Kevorkian (HBO) Jeff Bridges – A Dog Year as Jon Katz (HBO) Ian McKellen – The Prisoner as Number Two (AMC) Dennis Quaid – The Special Relationship as Bill Clinton (HBO) Michael Sheen – The Special Relationship as Tony Blair (HBO) Claire Danes – Temple Grandin as Temple Grandin (HBO) Joan Allen – Georgia O'Keeffe as Georgia O'Keeffe (Lifetime) Hope Davis – The Special Relationship as Hillary Clinton (HBO) Judi Dench – Return to Cranford as Matilda "Matty" Jenkyns (PBS) Maggie Smith – Capturing Mary as Mary Gilbert (HBO)
Supporting performances + Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family as Cameron Tucker (ABC) Ty Burrell – Modern Family as Phil Dunphy (ABC) Chris Colfer – Glee as Kurt Hummel (Fox) Jon Cryer – Two and a Half Men as Dr. Alan Harper (CBS) Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Modern Family as Mitchell Pritchett (ABC) Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother as Barney Stinson (CBS) Jane Lynch – Glee as Sue Sylvester (Fox) Julie Bowen – Modern Family as Claire Dunphy (ABC) Jane Krakowski – 30 Rock as Jenna Maroney (NBC) Holland Taylor – Two and a Half Men as Evelyn Harper (CBS) Sofía Vergara – Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (ABC) Kristen Wiig – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad as Jesse Pinkman (AMC) Andre Braugher – Men of a Certain Age as Owen Thoreau Jr. (TNT) Michael Emerson – Lost as Ben Linus (ABC) Terry O'Quinn – Lost as John Locke / the Man in Black (ABC) Martin Short – Damages as Leonard Winstone (FX) John Slattery – Mad Men as Roger Sterling Jr. (AMC) Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife as Kalinda Sharma (CBS) Christine Baranski – The Good Wife as Diane Lockhart (CBS) Rose Byrne – Damages as Ellen Parsons (FX) Sharon Gless – Burn Notice as Madeline Westen (USA) Christina Hendricks – Mad Men as Joan Harris (AMC) Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men as Peggy Olson (AMC) David Strathairn – Temple Grandin as Dr. Carlock (HBO) Michael Gambon – Emma as Mr. Woodhouse (PBS) John Goodman – You Don't Know Jack as Neal Nicol (HBO) Jonathan Pryce – Return to Cranford as Mr. Buxton (PBS) Patrick Stewart – Hamlet as King Claudius / Ghost (PBS) Julia Ormond – Temple Grandin as Eustacia Grandin (HBO) Kathy Bates – Alice as the Queen of Hearts (Syfy) Catherine O'Hara – Temple Grandin as Aunt Ann (HBO) Susan Sarandon – You Don't Know Jack as Janet Good (HBO) Brenda Vaccaro – You Don't Know Jack as Margo Janus (HBO)
Directing + Glee: "Pilot" – Ryan Murphy (Fox) 30 Rock: "I Do Do" – Don Scardino (NBC) Glee: "Wheels" – Paris Barclay (Fox) Modern Family: "Pilot" – Jason Winer (ABC) Nurse Jackie: "Pilot" – Allen Coulter (Showtime) Dexter: "The Getaway" – Steve Shill (Showtime) Breaking Bad: "One Minute" – Michelle MacLaren (AMC) Lost: "The End" – Jack Bender (ABC) Mad Men: "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" – Leslie Linka Glatter (AMC) Treme: "Do You Know What It Means" – Agnieszka Holland (HBO) Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony – Bucky Gunts (NBC) The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert – Joel Gallen (HBO) In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement – Ron de Moraes (PBS) The Kennedy Center Honors – Louis J. Horvitz (CBS) 63rd Tony Awards – Glenn Weiss (CBS) Temple Grandin – Mick Jackson (HBO) Georgia O'Keeffe – Bob Balaban (Lifetime) The Pacific: "Iwo Jima" – David Nutter and Jeremy Podeswa (HBO) The Pacific: "Okinawa" – Tim Van Patten (HBO) You Don't Know Jack – Barry Levinson (HBO)
Writing + Modern Family: "Pilot" – Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd (ABC) 30 Rock: "Anna Howard Shaw Day" – Matt Hubbard (NBC) 30 Rock: "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" – Kay Cannon and Tina Fey (NBC) Glee: "Pilot" – Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, and Ryan Murphy (Fox) The Office: "Niagara" – Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling (NBC) Mad Men: "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." – Erin Levy and Matthew Weiner (AMC) Friday Night Lights: "The Son" – Rolin Jones (DirecTV) The Good Wife: "Pilot" – Michelle King and Robert King (CBS) Lost: "The End" – Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (ABC) Mad Men: "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" – Robin Veith and Matthew Weiner (AMC) 63rd Tony Awards (CBS) 82nd Academy Awards (ABC) Bill Maher: But I'm Not Wrong (HBO) The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS) Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me (HBO) You Don't Know Jack – Adam Mazer (HBO) The Pacific: "Home" – Bruce C. McKenna and Robert Schenkkan (HBO) The Pacific: "Iwo Jima" – Michelle Ashford and Robert Schenkkan (HBO) The Special Relationship – Peter Morgan (HBO) Temple Grandin – William Merritt Johnson and Christopher Monger (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 38 ABC16 CBS NBC AMC 14 Fox 11
+ Programs with multiple major nominations Program Category Network No. ofNominations Mad Men Drama AMC 9 GleeComedy Fox8 Modern Family ABC 30 Rock NBC7 Temple GrandinMovieHBO You Don't Know Jack LostDrama ABC 6 The Good Wife CBS5 The Pacific MiniseriesHBO The Special Relationship Movie Breaking BadDrama AMC 4 Damages FX3 Dexter Showtime Friday Night Lights DirecTV Georgia O'Keeffe Movie Lifetime Nurse JackieComedy Showtime The Office NBC Return to Cranford Miniseries PBS The 63rd Tony Awards Variety CBS2 Curb Your Enthusiasm Comedy HBO The Kennedy Center HonorsVariety CBS Saturday Night Live NBC Two and a Half Men Comedy CBS
Most major awards + Networks with multiple major awards Network No. ofAwards HBO 8 AMC 4 ABC3 CBS Fox2 Showtime
+ Programs with multiple major awards Program Category Network No. ofAwards Temple Grandin Movie HBO 5 Modern Family Comedy ABC 3 Breaking Bad Drama AMC2 Glee Comedy Fox Mad Men Drama AMC You Don't Know Jack Movie HBO
Notes
Presenters The awards were presented by the following: