For the Emmy Awards 2012 a brit did win but it was for Homeland in the form of leading actor Damian Lewis. Downton Abbey had to be content with an award for Maggie Smith although in fairness she does steal the show!
Homeland swept the awards for outstanding drama, lead actor (Damian Lewis), lead actress (Claire Danes) and writing (Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff).
Downton Abbey had to be content with the highest number of nominations for a British series winning in the main awards only for Maggie Smith as supporting actress.
Modern Family won the comedy award and Game Change for mini series/movie section.
Here is a list of winners and other nominees from the key areas for this year’s awards.
Outstanding Drama Series
- Winner: Homeland. Runners up: Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Mad Men
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Winner: Damian Lewis, Homeland. Runners up: Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey; Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad; Michael C Hall, Dexter; Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Winner: Claire Danes, Homeland. Runners up: Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law; Glenn Close, Damages; Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey; Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
- Winner: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad. Runners up: Jim Carter, Downton Abbey; Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad; Jared Harris, Mad Men
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
- Winner: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey. Runners up: Christine Baranski, The Good Wife; Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey; Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men; Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Outstanding Miniseries
- Winner: Game Change. Runners up: American Horror Story; Hatfield & McCoys; Hemingway & Gellhorn; Luther; Sherlock
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries
- Winner: Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys. Runners up: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock; Idris Elba, Luther; Woody Harrelson, Game Change; Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn; Bill Paxton, Hatfields & McCoys
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries
- Winner: Julianne Moore, Game Change. Runners up: Connie Britton, American Horror Story; Ashley Judd, Missing; Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gellhorn; Emma Thompson, The Song of Lunch
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries
- Winner: Tom Berenger, Hatfields & McCoys. Runners up: Martin Freeman, Sherlock; Ed Harris, Game Change; Denis O’Hare, American Horror Story; David Strathairn, Hemingway & Gellhorn
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries
- Winner: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story. Runners up: Frances Conroy, American Horror Story; Judy Davis, Page Eight; Sarah Paulson, Game Change; Mare Winningham, Hatfields & McCoys
Outstanding Comedy Series
- Winner: Modern Family. Runners up: The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls, 30 Rock, Veep
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Winner: Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men. Runners up: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Don Cheadle, House of Lies; Louis CK, Louie; Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm; Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep. Runners up: Zooey Deschanel, New Girl; Lena Dunham, Girls; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
- Winner: Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family. Runners up: Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live; Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Max Greenfield, New Girl; Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- Winner: Julie Bowen, Modern Family. Runners up: Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives; Sofia vergara, Modern Family; Merrit Wever, Nurse Jackie; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Notable creative arts Emmys Winners
These obviously get less attention but are vital to how a program is viewed. We listed here the programs with two or more awards and the areas they won in.
Games of Thrones = 6
Make-up, Costumes, Art direction, Special Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound editing
Frozen Planet = 4
Editing, Sound editing, Cinematography, Outstanding non-fiction series
Great Expectations = 4
Costumes, Art direction, Main title design, Cinematography
Saturday Night Live = 4
Hairstyling, Technical direction, Jimmy Fallon as guest host, Direction – Don Roy King
Boardwalk Empire = 3
Art direction, Special effects, Cinematography
Downton Abbey = 2
Hairstyling, Music,
Homeland = 2
Casting, Editing