The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT (00:00 UTC) for the first time in high definition (on tape delay three hours later on the West Coast of the United States at 8:00 p.m. PDT/3:00 UTC). The ceremonies were hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

The ceremonies were supposed to be produced by Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, executive producers of American Idol, but because of their heavy work load with Idol, Ken Ehrlich, last year's producer, resumed the producer's role for the fourth time. Ratings plunged further down to a near an all-time low as an estimate 12.87 million, 19% lower than the past year, making it the second smallest television audience in Emmy history, behind the 1990 telecast.

Nominations were announced Thursday, July 19 at 5:40 a.m. PDT (12:40 UTC) by nominees Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick.

Meanwhile, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, hosted by comedian-actor Carlos Mencia, were presented eight days earlier on September 9.

The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. First awarded in 1949, they were originally referred to as just the "Emmy Awards" until the first Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies were held in the 1970s, and the word "primetime" was added to distinguish between the two.

The Primetime Emmys generally air in mid-September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season. They are currently seen in rotation among the four major networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox). Because of NBC's coverage of Sunday Night NFL Football beginning in September, when NBC has had the rotation in 2006 and again in 2010, the Emmys move to late August for those years only.

Emmys are considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), Grammy Awards (for music), and Tony Awards (for stage), and Annie Awards for Animation.

Among the Primetime Emmy rules, a show must originally air on American television during the eligibility period between June 1 and May 31. In order to be considered a national primetime show, the program must air between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., and to at least 50 percent of the country. A show that enters into the Primetime Emmys cannot also be entered into the Daytime Emmy Awards or any other national Emmy competition. For shows in syndication, whose air times vary between media markets, they can either be entered in the Daytime or Primetime Emmys (provided they still reach the 50 percent national reach), but not in both. For game shows that reach the 50 percent threshold, they can be entered into the Daytime Emmys if they normally air before 8 p.m (including the former "access hour" from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.); otherwise, they are only eligible for the Primetime Emmys.

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as an Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Awards (for music).

A majority of Emmys are presented in various sectors of the American television industry. As such, the awards are presented in various area-specific ceremonies held annually throughout the year. The two ceremonies that usually receive the most media coverage are the Primetime Emmys and the Daytime Emmys, primarily recognizing excellence in American primetime and daytime entertainment programming, respectively. Other notable Emmy Award ceremonies include those honoring national sports programming, national news and documentary shows, national business and financial reporting, and technological and engineering achievements in television. Regional Emmy Awards are also presented throughout the country at various times through the year, recognizing excellence in local and state-to-state television. In addition, International Emmys are awarded to recognize excellence in TV programming produced and initially aired outside the United States.

Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He recently starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age.

Romano was born in Queens, New York, to Italian American parents: Lucie, a piano teacher, and Albert Romano (1925–March 2010), a real estate agent and an engineer. He grew up in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens. He has a brother named Richard A. Romano. Romano attended elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills. After transferring from Archbishop Molloy High School, Romano graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975. He was in the same high school class as Fran Drescher and later appeared on Drescher's sitcom, The Nanny, as an old classmate. Before getting into show business, Romano briefly attended Queens College, in Flushing, New York, where he studied accounting. Romano quit after gaining only 15 credits in three years, but he would later return, however, making it to the Dean's List for three years.

Bradley "Brad" Garrett (born Bradley H. Gerstenfeld; April 14, 1960) is an American actor, voice-actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker-player. He has appeared in numerous television and film roles.

Garret was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the late 1980s, Garrett began appearing in television and film, in minor and guest roles. His first major role was Robert Barone on the CBS series Everybody Loves Raymond. The series debuted September 13, 1996 and ran nine seasons.

Garrett's film roles include Stuart Little 2, Finding Nemo, Garfield, The Amateurs, The Pacifier, Night at the Museum 2, Tangled, and Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. Garrett also played the leading role of Eddie Stark on the FOX television series 'Til Death from 2006 to 2010.

Garrett has won three primetime Emmy awards, with three other nominations. Garrett is still prominent within stand-up comedy and is also a professional poker player. Garrett's trademarks are his height (6 feet 8½ inches; 204 cm) and deep voice.