Emmys Break Mad For AMC
'Mad Men' Wins Cable's First-Ever Drama Award; Cranston Takes Best Actor Honors
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 9/21/2008 5:18:00 PM
Last year, it was AMC’s miniseries investment in Broken Trail that paid off. This year, it was the series programming that brought home the Emmys: Breaking Bad and Mad Men.
Mad Men became the first basic cable show to be named best drama. Series creator Matt Weiner also was named the best drama writer for one of the episodes of this show about Madison Avenue executives in the 1960s. Breaking Bad won the best drama statuette for its star, Bryan Cranston.
“I thought I was the dark horse,” said a shocked Cranston backstage, noting his series only consisted of seven episodes. Breaking Bad is on a “small network” and not enough people know about it yet.
Mad Men creator Matt Weiner, asked about the distinction of being the first basic cable show to be named best drama, said he is amazed there is such a "segregated caste system."
"The same companies own the broadcast and cable networks. I don't know why there's a distinction," he added. He also expressed disappointment that none of his large and talented cast was asked to present at the marquee event.
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Weiner was asked by an Australian reporter why Mad Men resonates, even internationally.
The sixties "was a golden era for the United States and we exported our culture and our way of life," he offered.
FX’s original Damages also seduced voters, winning statues for star Glenn Close and supporting actor Zeljko Ivanek.
Asked to compare the experience of working in film versus television, Close responded that she doesn't differentiate: the actress goes where the material is, and always has. She noted in the early 1980s, when she accepted the controversial Something About Amelia, she was told by her agent that working in television would hurt her career. Today, she's "proud to be on basic cable."
She added she's thrilled with her FX series, calling it "the ride of my career."
"I can't wait to see where our writers will take us next year," she said. FX has picked up Damages for a second season.
The basic cable networks joined perennial awards power HBO, which collected an armful of statuettes for John Adams. The adaptation of David McCullough's book beat the former record for most wins by a TV miniseries, which had been held by Angels in America. That HBO production won 11 statuettes, while John Adams won 13 of the 23 awards it was nominated for.
Paul Giamatti, Laural Linney and Tom Wilkinson each earned Emmys for their roles in the historical miniseries, while writer Kirk Ellis was also honored.
Giamatti said he was “surprised, definitely,” that he won for what he described as a very tough job, the equivalent of making several feature films in just six months.
Why hard?
“It was long, hard and I never shut up in it,” he said of the historical epic.
For her part, Linney said the toughest part about filming the
historical saga was "when it ended. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had," she said, adding the experience has turned her into a history buff
Ellis, the writer of John Adams, was irked when he came backstage, complaining that the Emmy producers devoted 30 minutes on air to reality shows but when he hit the stage, the "wrap it up" light was already flashing. Apparently, people who write the stories don't count, he huffed.
But he had nothing but kind words for HBO, noting that the premium network insisted the series be ready for air during primary season. That timing helped hit a popular nerve, he said, noting that the miniseries has sold 500,000 DVDs.
HBO’s Recount was also embraced by voters, who named it the best TV movie and its director, Jay Roach, as best directors.
Jeremy Piven of HBO’s Entourage won his third consecutive best supporting comedy actor, and he said it was more surprising than his first win.
“The show is just getting better,” he said, stating the brilliance of HBO is that it sticks with its shows. The characters on Entourage are just getting better, he added. When someone asked whether the other guys in the ensemble in the show would be jealous of Piven’s awards success, the actor said his fellow actors “understand that another man’s success will never take away from their own.”
A reporter mentioned that Piven needs two more wins to eclipse the record in the category set by actor Don Knotts.
“That’s all I’m focused on,” he joked. “I wake up every morning thinking. “When am I going to take Don Knotts down.”
He ended on an emotional note. As he finished on the TV stage, he had hoisted his Emmy to the sky. He was asked if he had done that in honor of his late father, and Piven became verklempft and could not answer verbally.
Ivanek, who has worked notably in Homicide: Life 
on the Streets and Oz, seemed to baffle most of the reporters, who had only two questions for the journeyman. And yes, he was pleased by the strong ovation for his Emmy, and surprised it went for a role on FX.
“I’m incredibly pleased for the show,” he said. “It’s hard for a cable show to get the same traction” as a broadcast show.
Writers from both The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report, not surprisingly, were asked political questions backstage. Who would they cast in sketches about Barack Obama and John McCain and their running mates, they were asked.
Colbert quipped he’d have Don Rickles play McCain, and Colbert would play Sarah Palin because he, too, has no business being vice president.
For a list of the Primetime Emmy winners, click here.
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