Emmy Outlook: Chance of Breaking Records

"Mad Men," "Modern Family" and Bryan Cranston aim to make Emmy history

With Netflix series "House of Cards" and "Arrested Development" awarded entry into the Emmy inner circle Thursday, a historical moment was recorded as the division between prime time and online was finally blurred.

Other moments of historical note look set to be recorded if "Modern Family," "Mad Men" and Bryan Cranston are revealed as winners when the trophies are handed out on September 22.

With three consecutive Emmys under their diverse belts, a win for the cast and crew of "Modern Family" in the outstanding comedy series race would place it alongside four-time winners "All in the Family" and "Cheers." The only program to go one higher is "Frazier," which recorded five wins during its 11 season run.

Trying to keep ABC's "Modern Family" from achieving that distinction are CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" (currently the most-watched comedy in the world), the recently departed NBC fan favorite "30 Rock," HBO's "Veep," FX's "Louis" and HBO's "Girls," whose second season continued to delight and disturb viewers in equal measures to the first.

An outstanding drama series win for "Mad Men," which recently ended its penultimate season on AMC amid griping from fans and critics over its darker than usual tone, would be a record-setting fifth, granting the show more trophies than other series in this category in Emmy history. The 1960s-set drama currently sits alongside fellow four-time winners "Hill Street Blues," ''L.A. Law" and The West Wing."

Joining "Mad Men" in the category is "House of Cards" from Netflix, HBO's sword and sorcery darling "Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad," ''Downton Abbey," ''Mad Men" and last year's winner, "Homeland." Losing its slot to the Netflix series was "Boardwalk Empire," the only show not to return in this competition.

In the acting competitions, Hamm received his sixth nod for best drama series lead for "Mad Men." Hamm is yet to win for his critically acclaimed role of the mercurial, philandering ad-man Don Draper.

"House of Cards'" Kevin Spacey, Hugh Bonneville of "Downton Abbey," Jeff Daniels of "The Newsroom," last year's recipient Damian Lewis of "Homeland" and "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston round out the category.

Already a three-time Emmy winner in the category for his portrayal of meth-maestro Walter White in the AMC drama, another win for Cranston would place him on the top rung beside "Hill Street Blue's" Dennis Franz, currently the only actor to have achieved four trophies.

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on September 22 on CBS.

Contact Us