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Emmy Awards 2010 Winners: 'Modern Family,' 'Breaking Bad' stars take top honors (PHOTOS)

Host Jimmy Fallon opened the show with a rendition of 'Born to Run' with the 'Glee' cast and others.
Host Jimmy Fallon opened the show with a rendition of 'Born to Run' with the 'Glee' cast and others.
Photo credit: 
Reuters

A slew of newcomers and first time winners ruled supreme at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, with a few reliable favorites also taking home top honors. ABC comedy "Modern Family" had a great night, winning three awards total. In a surprise upset, the family sitcom bested fellow freshman breakout hit "Glee" to win the Outstanding Comedy Series award. "Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet ("Cameron") also took home the night's first award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy, the actor's first nomination and win of his career. The show also won in the Best Writing category. 

Photos: Emmy Awards Red Carpet Arrivals

Although "Glee" didn't take home any of the night's big awards, the FOX musical didn't go home empty-handed either. Co-creator Ryan Murphy nabbed the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the show's pilot. Chicago's own Jane Lynch also won for Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her portrayal of cutthroat cheerleading coach "Sue Sylvester." While accepting her award, Lynch gave a special shout-out to Chicago, mentioning her upbringing on the city's South Side as a source of inspiration.

*See a complete list of the night's winners below*

Two stars of the underrated AMC drama "Breaking Bad" took home awards, with Aaron Paul winning his first trophy, beating other strong contenders in the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama category. His co-star Bryan Cranston was one the few repeat winners of the night, scoring his third Emmy in a row for Best Actor in a Drama. However, Cranston will not get the chance to make it a four-peat, as the show will be ineligible for any awards next year because of its delayed schedule.

AMC's 'Breaking Bad' not returning for season four until July 2011

Kyra Sedgwick was another first time winner, after being nominated four times before for "The Closer," this time beating frontrunner Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") in the Best Actress in a Drama category. However, Marguiles' co-star Archie Panjabi did pick up the award for Best Supporting Actress despite being a relative unknown here in the U.S., and facing stiff competition. Panjabi is perhaps best known for her work in her native England in films such as "Bend it Like Beckham." 

First time winner Jim Parsons also received a worthy trophy for his scene-stealing role as "Sheldon" on "The Big Bang Theory" in the Best Actor in a Comedy category. 

The other major acting award of the night went to three time Emmy-winner Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie." She previously won for "The Sopranos," making her the first woman in the history of the Emmys to win in both the Best Actress in a Comedy and Drama categories. 

A huge upset took place during the only award given out to reality shows, with Bravo's "Top Chef" winning the award for Best Reality Competition Program over "The Amazing Race," which has won seven years in a row.

Finally, "Mad Men" proved unbeatable once again, winning the trophy for Best Drama Series for the third year in a row. The show's creator Matthew Weiner also picked up an award for writing. 

Jimmy Fallon proved to be a mostly fun and energetic host, doing his best to keep the show moving along and within the time limit, although his introductions of each segment where he sang along with a celebrity that represented each category (which unfortunately also included Kim Kardashian), and the Twitter fan descriptions of the presenters got old rather quick, falling flat for the most part.

Still, the opening number proved to be memorable, with Fallon taking on Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run," backed by several "Glee" cast members, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, Jorge Garcia ("Lost'), Joel McHale ("Community"), Nina Dobrev ("The Vampire Diaries"), and "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson. The pre-taped portion also predictably featured a cameo by Betty White, as well as Tim Gunn, and Kate Gosselin poking fun at her dancing skills (or lack thereof) before later taking the stage as well. Fallon's best moment came during his tribute to the shows that ended this past season such as "Lost" and "24," with a medley of song parodies where he imitated the likes of Elton John, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, and a Boyz II Men member. 

*Watch the opening number at the bottom of the page*

Another stand out segment featured the cast of "Modern Family" in a pre-taped bit where they thought up ways to improve the show for the second season, including a 3-D version of Sofia Vergara, and an appearance by George Clooney romancing Julie Bowen, Vergara, and both Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

See the "Modern Family" sketch here.

Clooney later received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, presented to him by his former "ER" co-star Juliana Marguiles for aiding the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and other natural disasters, through such efforts as organizing telethons. 

COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS:

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
ERIC STONESTREET as Cameron Tucker
Modern Family


OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
STEVEN LEVITAN, Writer 
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, Writer
Modern Family
Pilot


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
JANE LYNCH as Sue Sylvester 
Glee


OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
RYAN MURPHY, Director 
Glee
Pilot – Director’s Cut


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

JIM PARSONS as Sheldon Cooper 
The Big Bang Theory


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
EDIE FALCO as Jackie Peyton 
Nurse Jackie


OUTSTANDING REALITY – COMPETITION PROGRAM
Top Chef

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
MATTHEW WEINER, Writer
ERIN LEVY, Writer
Mad Men
Shut The Door. Have A Seat.


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
AARON PAUL as Jesse Pinkman 
Breaking Bad


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
ARCHIE PANJABI as Kalinda Sharma 
The Good Wife


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
BRYAN CRANSTON as Walter White 
Breaking Bad


OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
STEVE SHILL, Director 
Dexter
The Getaway


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
KYRA SEDGWICK as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson 
The Closer


OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
DAVE BOONE, Writer
PAUL GREENBERG, Special Material Written By
63rd Annual Tony Awards


OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
BUCKY GUNTS, Director
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
JULIA ORMOND as Eustacia (Temple’s Mom) 
Temple Grandin


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
DAVID STRATHAIRN as Dr. Carlock 
Temple Grandin


OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
ADAM MAZER, Writer 
You Don’t Know Jack


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
CLAIRE DANES as Temple Grandin 
Temple Grandin


OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
MICK JACKSON, Director 
Temple Grandin


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
AL PACINO as Dr. Jack Kevorkian 
You Don’t Know Jack


OUTSTANDING MINISERIES
THE PACIFIC 

OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
TEMPLE GRANDIN 

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
MAD MEN 


OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
MODERN FAMILY 

Related Article: 2010 Creative Arts Emmys: Neil Patrick Harris, Betty White pick up awards [PHOTOS]

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Hector Cruz is a college student studying Film & TV. He lives, works, and goes to school in Chicago's western suburbs. He has been a TV junkie since an early age when he enjoyed everything from Saturday morning cartoons to classic American sitcoms on Nick at Nite. He feels that in many ways TV...

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