The 67th Annual Emmy Awards, Television All Grown Up

The 67th Annual Emmy Awards was telecast at the Microsoft Theater in L.A. Television’s biggest night became an entertainment extravaganza for a standing room only crowd and millions of viewers around the country.

Hosted for the first time by the multi-talented Andy Samberg, this year’s show was fast-paced and flowing smoothly as Samberg’s experience as a Saturday Night Live character shined through, keeping this special awards night in a good rhythm and refreshing to all spectators on hand and viewers at home.

Significant awards were given to Amazon Studio’s comedy Transparent about a transgender father.  This was quite a unique honor, being the first time a streaming show won for both: best actor and director in the comedy category.  Stealing the spotlight in front of a packed house at the Microsoft Theater was Viola Davis, star of ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder who accepted the Emmy for best actress in a drama series.  Viola quoted Harriet Tubman, who she’ll depict in an upcoming HBO movie, in her acceptance speech on stage.  “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is the opportunity,” she gratefully acknowledged at the 67th Annual Emmy Awards

Not to be overshadowed was HBO’s landmark fantasy Game of Thrones which won a record 12 Emmys, including eight from last week’s Creative Arts Emmys in the technical categories.

A re-occurring theme throughout the night’s presentation was the concept of “Opening up television to programming made by and for people other than white men.”

Contradicting conventional wisdom that traditionally indicates that Emmy voters do not endorse fantasies, Game of Thrones walked away with a dozen Emmys, as HBO became the center of attention; capturing major awards for their political comedy Veep and their short-run series Olive Kitteridge.  Despite a drought during 15 prior nominations in numerous categories, Mad Men star Jon Hamm commanded a standing ovation for finally winning an Emmy for lead actor in a drama as Mad Men recently ended their 7th season.  NBC’s talent shows The Voice triumphed over CBS’s The Amazing Race for the 2nd year in a row in the reality show category, while former co-star of Seinfeld Julia Louis-Dreyfus was deservedly honored in HBO’s political satire Veep for best comedy.  It should be pointed out that Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu have achieved noticeable success and have rivaled traditional, favorite networks with a surplus of creative and clever programming.

Yes, television is definitely growing up and no longer takes a back seat to the Big Screen for entertainment productions.  This year’s 67^th annual Emmy awards were more exciting than ever before, highlighted by great shows and intriguing stars, as the Red Carpet was steaming and felt like 100 degrees.

Click here for a (complete) list of winners of the 67th Annual Emmy Awards.

Special thanks to Jim Wattron for contributing to this story.