Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston made out in front of their spouses (and all of America). Sofia Vergara was placed on a rotating platform like a piece of Price Is Right merchandise. And CSI: Miami‘s Horatio Caine put on his sunglasses to drop a cheesy bon mot — or, more accurately, that’s what host Seth Meyers did when he channeled David Caruso.
Yes folks, the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards are in the books, and TVLine has your rundown of the 20 Best and Worst Moments (including one choice Maya Angelou callout that actually took place on the red carpet).
So click through the gallery below to see what made our list — Matthew McConaughey, Ty Burrell, Kerry Washington and “King Joffrey” are all there — then hit the comments to tell us what moments you enjoyed most, and which parts of the Emmy telecast we unjustly snubbed.
And stay tuned to TVLine all day Tuesday for red-carpet interviews, newsy nuggets and more!
The most glaring omission from the In Memoriam segment was James Rebhorn.
Holy crap! He was seriously missing? (I missed that bit.) Disgraceful.
Agreed.
I know! Shocking oversight.
Absolute agree!!!! >_<
Did we really need “most inappropriate moments”? Really? Would it not be possible to have one TV event that doesn’t have to be ruined by desperate attempts to find something to whine about?
Can we add Giuliana Rancic (sp?) for the red carpet to the worst moments please? I get that it’s E! (*disclaimer* owned by the Network that airs the Emmy’s) but c’monnnnnnn, does anyone actually like her? Is she aware she’s not 20? She’s just unlikeable. Go away. Far, far away.
Hahaha loved andy samburg as joffrey!
Bless you, TVLine and Michael Slezak in particular, for honoring Michael Johns in your own way. He may not have made it in the telecast, but you’ve done a lovely job of keeping his memory alive for all of us who loved his performances and, even more so, appreciated his sweet loveliness as a person. I never knew him, but I continue to miss him.
RIP Michael Johns, he did seem like a genuinely nice person. To be fair, I don’t think reality show contestants qualify as actors. And that goes for all reality shows, Amazing Race, The Voice, Survivor, all of them. Just my opinion.
Yup. Jenn Lyons on Survivor (who got much further in the “game” than Johns did) also did not receive an in memoriam “credit” when she died in her early 30s from the big C. Contestants on reality shows are not actors. Jennifer Hudson, Barbara Streisand, Whitney Houston, Madonna, David Bowie and a whole host of other singers who were in movies would qualify.
Add Julia Roberts as worst presenter. My friend and I watching just wanted her to shut up and get on with it.
I know! I was wondering if she was a little tipsy. Truly. It was so badly done she left me confused and feeling that something must have been amiss. ???
She has never been a good presenter nor at giving speeches. I think she is a likable actress bt not particularly great. The way the producers singled her out before showing her category was disrespectful to the other actresses. Kahy Bates is an Osacr winner too and won another Emmy last night. Why wasn’t she singled out?
I agree. It seemed like she was drunk or something.
She looked really off. It was embarrassing to watch…
Omg really? Michael John? He came in eighth on a dying reality show and that’s a worst moment? Sofia Vergara bit was amusing. As a woman I found absolutely nothing offensive about it. I found this drivel you wrote more offensive.
I agree, no “reality” cr*p, please.
THANK YOU!!! I read that bit and actually said “WTF?!” Yes the man had talent and was (very shortly) on TV, but he does not, and never would, deserve to be mentioned amongst the true entertainment professionals that were being honoured. That should not be considered a ‘worst moment’ in the telecast.
I also laughed at the Sofia Vergara bit. It was most obviously satire and she played it well. People seriously need to grow up and stop whining.
Tatiana Maslany was snubbed. It needs repeating.
Tatiana Maslany was snubbed – there! Repeated!!
I get that his passing was tragic and that he was well liked. But I do not want to see reality competition contestants added to the in memoriam segment. Do we really need all the contestants from Big Brother, the Bachelor, all the singing competitions, etc included? Unless they continued a career in television, I don’t think it’s necessary.
Yeah, if contestants on a show qualified for the In Memoriam section, we’d be there all night. Why not add local weathermen and college football players? They were on TV too.
I’m in agreement. They might as well add past Price Is Right and Jeopardy contestants, both shows that have had larger cultural impacts than Idol could ever hope to. Even the most successful singers to come from Idol shouldn’t be honored at the Emmys because singers are in the music biz, not the TV biz. That’s what the Grammy’s and the 10 other music awards shows are for.
The less reality show stuff, the better. That is always true.
Michael Johns? I’m a big fan of his and I never once thought he would (or should) be included in the memorium tribute. I’m honestly a little puzzled that you consider that an omission. He was a singer who happened to compete on a reality show. He didnt continue with a career in television. Like I said, I loved him, but this doesn’t make any sense to me.
I agree with your picks of best and worst but I, too, would add Julia Roberts presenting in the “worst” column. I ended up muting Stephen Colbert because it was embarrassing. :) And Sofia on the turntable had me confused.
All of that said, I thought Seth did a fantastic job. And I loved that our regular, network TV took some big awards home. Kudos to Julianna Margulies for making a little point in her acceptance speech. :)
Do shows have to finish before they win an award in your country? I would rather watch the show that should be on in the UK tonight than this! Love some of your new Drama’s they are really special.
Worst moment: Matt Bomer being beat out by Martin Freeman in his category, when he so clearly deserved to win. Made the Emmys a farce, to be quite honest.
I for one thought this was such a boring broadcast that I only lasted for about 45 minutes. It seems like the same winners year after year and I knew I could get the run down on the internet the next day. I understand why Michael Johns was not on the list, he was a singer not an actor. I find Sofia annoying more than entertaining, lets face it if she didn’t have the body, which she always seems to promote she would be no where. I would never take her as a serious actor.
Why would you recognize someone from a reality series?? As someone above said, they’re just a contestant on a game show. Makes no sense at all.
I feel like the Emmys are trying to be a bit more like the Golden Globes but are failing horribly. I also think it’s an absolute disgrace The Normal Heart was nearly shut out. The cast was PHENOMENAL and that no one won? I mean? The Emmy needs to reform their voting system. I trust the Golden Globes/SAGs much more because at least the winners tend to represent the majority and aren’t afraid of taking risks.
*and the voters aren’t afraid of taking risks.
I found Sara Barielles singing “Smile” excruciating. I understand and appreciate musical embellishment, ornamentation and improvisation in every musical genre from classical to jazz to pop, but if you’re going to sing the melody, sing the damn melody. The second “smile” is a step down from the first–she sang it as exactly the same note as the first, which didn’t even fit in the chord. She also ignored every half step nuance throughout, also clashing with the underlying chords. That song isn’t as easy to sing as it seems and she just mangled it. Fingernails on a blackboard.
Also, not the best song choice for an In Memoriam segment that ended with a man who killed himself due to depression.
Strangely, I found the song very appropriate. “Smile, even though your heart is breaking …”
You can do much, much worse than Sara Bareilles and you’re very unlikely to do better.
The show was hit and miss at times and very long. UGH!
The “In Memoriam” omission I noticed was Lee Thompson Young from Rizzoli & Isles. Or maybe I blinked and missed him? Totally agree with your comments regarding Julianna Margulies and Ryan Murphy. I was so relieved that Normal Heart won; I was getting worried after the acting losses. Seeing Larry Kramer on stage really made me tear-up.
Lee Thompson Young was in the memoriam last year.
8 – yeah they did a lot of that this year… some categories got behind the scenes interviews and bits, others groups of noms got read aloud by the presenters, some were pre-recorded montages, some had individual clips like for Julia and nobody else. i can understand needing to keep the telecast at a reasonable length, and also that some categories are just more acclaimed than others, but if you’re gonna use a tier-system, at least be consistent about it!!
Dunno. I thought “I’d like to thank my jews at CAA” was hilarious. It was one of the few moments during the broadcast that I laughed out loud. I heart Ms. Silverman.