This year's ceremony was watched by 12.4 million people, down 8% fromlast year's show.[6] The ceremony received mixed reviews from critics, with many praising the performance of Lynch as the host but criticizing the overall quality of the production, particularly the presenters and the orchestra.[7][8]
Beginning this year, theOutstanding Miniseries andOutstanding Television Movie categories were merged. This was due to the continuing decline in the number of miniseries being produced; the previous two ceremonies only had two miniseries nominated. The merge was short-lived however when the separate categories returned, beginning in2014.
Winners are listed first and highlighted inbold:[9][10]
Jim Parsons, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series winnerMelissa McCarthy, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series winnerKyle Chandler, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winnerJulianna Margulies, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winnerBarry Pepper, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie winnerKate Winslet, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie winnerTy Burrell, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series winnerJulie Bowen, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winnerPeter Dinklage, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series winnerMargo Martindale, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winnerGuy Pearce, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie winnerMaggie Smith, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie winner
The annual In Memoriam segment was presented byJohn Shaffner and featuredthe Canadian Tenors performing the song "Hallelujah".[44][45] The segment was extended for this ceremony, as executive producerMark Burnett stated that "it [didn't] need to be a bummer... It can be a celebration".[46][47]
The show opened with Jane Lynch performing a pre-taped opening number which showed the TV world as being contained inside of a large building, parodyingRear Window. Lynch walked through the building and entered the universe of shows includingThe Big Bang Theory,Mad Men,Parks and Recreation,MythBusters andGlee (the show of which Lynch is a cast member) among others. Lynch's lyrics satirized elements of each show and television in general. The ceremony culminated with Lynch entering the theatre and performing a short dance number, which ended with afireworks show. The opening number received astanding ovation.
Throughout the night, the "Emmytones" introduced each genre in the form of a short jingle. They consisted ofZachary Levi ("Chuck"),Cobie Smulders ("How I Met Your Mother"),Kate Flannery ("The Office"),Wilmer Valderrama ("Royal Pains"),Joel McHale ("Community") and nomineeTaraji P. Henson ("Person of Interest"). The Emmytones received mixed to negative reviews, with many critics citing them as unimportant and others calling them "time fillers."[48]
Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
For the presentation of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, each of the nominees went up to the stage in the style of a beauty pageant. Theorchestra played music similar to that of a pageant as the nominees went to the stage. The winner ended up beingMelissa McCarthy, who mentioned that this was "her first and best pageant ever." Both the producers and the nominees in the category gave nomineeAmy Poehler credit for conceiving the idea. NomineeMartha Plimpton was also credited.
The presentation was well received critically with many critics regarding it to be the best part of the night. Once all the nominees reached the stage, they received astanding ovation.[49] The pairing ofRob Lowe andSofía Vergara, who presented the category, was also praised critically.
For the 2011 ceremony, the producers enlisted Hype Music to provide the orchestrations.[50] These orchestrations were universally hated by reviewers. The band played music from the Hype Music roster of artists as the winners walked to the stage, breaking the tradition of their respective program'stheme song being played as they accepted their awards. The decision to do this received an overwhelmingly negative response from critics and enraged Emmy Award enthusiasts, many of whom felt as though a tradition observed since the1st Primetime Emmy Awards had been broken.[51] One reviewer even called this decision "one of the biggest mistakes in the ceremony's history."[52]
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