| 60th Primetime Emmy Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Promotional poster | ||||
| Date |
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| Location | Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles,California | |||
| Presented by | Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | |||
| Hosted by | Tom Bergeron Heidi Klum Howie Mandel Jeff Probst Ryan Seacrest | |||
| Highlights | ||||
| Most awards |
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| Most nominations | John Adams Recount (8) | |||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | 30 Rock | |||
| Outstanding Drama Series | Mad Men | |||
| Outstanding Miniseries | John Adams | |||
| Outstanding Reality-Competition Program | The Amazing Race | |||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | |||
| Website | http://www.emmys.com/ | |||
| Television/radio coverage | ||||
| Network | ABC | |||
| Produced by | Ken Ehrlich | |||
| Directed by | Louis J. Horvitz | |||
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The60th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the newly openedNokia Theatre inLos Angeles,California to honor the best inU.S.prime time television.[1] The ceremony was hosted byTom Bergeron (who was also hostingAmerica's Funniest Home Videos andDancing with the Stars, both also onABC, at the time),Heidi Klum,Howie Mandel,Jeff Probst, andRyan Seacrest (all were nominated in the debut category—Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program) and televised in the United States onABC. 28 awards were presented.
The nominations were announced on July 17 byKristin Chenoweth andNeil Patrick Harris.[2] TheCreative Arts Emmy Awards were held eight days earlier (September 13) at the same venue. The ceremony was hosted byNeil Patrick Harris andSarah Chalke.
The telecast was viewed by 12.20 million with a household rating of 8.86/12.79 making it the lowest rated and least viewed ceremony in its televised history.[3] Many critics cited lackluster performances from thefive hosts as a reason for the huge decline.[4] Others pointed to the field of nominees which were dominated by low-rated and sparsely viewed programs, thus making the Emmys widely considered as a bust, which was panned by critics as "... the worst ever, laid a big, fat ratings egg as well ..."[5][6]
In 2011, whenTV Guide Network re-did their list of "25 Biggest TV Blunders", this ceremony was included.
For the first time in a decade, thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series was won by the defending champion.30 Rock
Outstanding Drama Series went toAMC freshmen seriesMad Men. This marked the first series award for a program on abasic cable station.Mad Men led all dramas with six major nominations.
This would be the final ceremony to have five nominees per category, most major categories (acting and programs) were expanded to include at least six slots the following year.
Winners are listed first and highlighted inbold:[7]











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| Network | No. of Nominations |
|---|---|
| HBO | 44 |
| NBC | 30 |
| ABC | 29 |
| CBS | 11 |
| Program | Category | Network | No. of Nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | Miniseries | HBO | 8 |
| Recount | Movie | ||
| 30 Rock | Comedy | NBC | 6 |
| Damages | Drama | FX | |
| Mad Men | AMC | ||
| The Office | Comedy | NBC | |
| Bernard and Doris | Movie | HBO | 5 |
| Boston Legal | Drama | ABC | |
| Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale | Movie | HBO | |
| Saturday Night Live | Variety | NBC | |
| The Colbert Report | Comedy Central | 4 | |
| Cranford | Miniseries | PBS | |
| Entourage | Comedy | HBO | |
| Pushing Daisies | ABC | ||
| Two and a Half Men | CBS | ||
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Variety | Comedy Central | 3 |
| House | Drama | Fox | |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Variety | CBS | |
| A Raisin in the Sun | Movie | ABC | |
| The 80th Annual Academy Awards | Variety | 2 | |
| American Idol | Competition | Fox | |
| Breaking Bad | Drama | AMC | |
| Brothers & Sisters | ABC | ||
| Dancing with the Stars | Competition | ||
| Dexter | Drama | Showtime | |
| Flight of the Conchords | Comedy | HBO | |
| Great Performances | Variety | PBS | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Drama | ABC | |
| In Treatment | HBO | ||
| Lost | ABC | ||
| Project Runway | Competition | Bravo | |
| Samantha Who? | Comedy | ABC | |
| Ugly Betty |
| Network | No. of Awards |
|---|---|
| HBO | 10 |
| NBC | 4 |
| ABC | 3 |
| AMC | |
| CBS | 2 |
| Comedy Central | |
| FX |
| Program | Category | Network | No. of Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | Miniseries | HBO | 5 |
| 30 Rock | Comedy | NBC | 4 |
| Damages | Drama | FX | 2 |
| Mad Men | AMC | ||
| Recount | Movie | HBO |
The awards were presented by the following: