Jon Hamm finally snared an Emmy for his lead role as Don Draper in AMC’s 1960s advertising drama “Mad Men,” winning a standing ovation from the audience.
But “Mad Men,” a long-time Emmy favorite, failed to get a farewell hug after closing its final season earlier this year.
Viola Davis became the first African-American to win a drama lead actress Emmy for her role as a tough criminal defense lawyer in ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.”
“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” Davis said. “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
It was the first best drama series Emmy for “Game of Thrones” in its five years on the air. The show also won awards for writing, directing and for supporting actor Peter Dinklage.
“Thank you HBO for believing in dragons,” co-creator David Benioff said.
In the first Emmys for Amazon.com’s foray into original content, “Transparent” brought a lead actor Emmy for Jeffrey Tambor. It also won for directing.
HBO’s “Veep” ended the five-year Emmy reign of ABC’s “Modern Family” as best comedy series.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus won best comedy actress for the fourth time for playing the egotistical Selina Meyer on “Veep,” while Tony Hale, who plays her bag man, was again named comedy supporting actor. “Veep” also clinched the comedy writing statuette.
