64th Primetime Emmy Awards

The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2011 until May 31, 2012, were held on September 23, 2012 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. ABC televised the ceremony in the United States. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Primetime Emmys for the first time. Kimmel and actress Kerry Washington announced the nominees on July 19, 2012. Nick Offerman was scheduled to co-announce the nominations, but had to cancel due to travel delays. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony was held on September 15 and was televised September 22, 2012 on ReelzChannel.

The award for Outstanding Drama Series went to Showtime's thriller series Homeland, which broke the series Mad Men's four-year hold on the award; while the Outstanding Comedy Series award went for the third year in a row to ABC's Modern Family. This was the first ceremony that none of the four major American broadcasting TV networks were nominated in the categories of Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In Britain, the 64th Primetime Emmys were noted for the successes of actors Damian Lewis of Homeland and Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey.

2012

2012 (MMXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (dominical letter AG) of the Gregorian calendar, the 2012th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 12th year of the 3rd millennium, the 12th year of the 21st century, and the 3rd year of the 2010s decade.

2012 was designated as:

Events

January

February

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, recognizes excellence in the television industry, and corresponds to the Academy Award (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Award (for music).

Because Emmy Awards are given in various sectors of the American television industry, they are presented in different annual ceremonies held throughout the year. The two events that receive the most media coverage are the Primetime Emmys and the Daytime Emmys, which recognize outstanding work in American primetime and daytime entertainment programming, respectively. Other notable Emmy Award ceremonies are those honoring national sports programming, national news and documentary shows, national business and financial reporting, and technological and engineering achievements in television, including the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards. Regional Emmy Awards are also presented throughout the country at various times through the year, recognizing excellence in local and statewide television. In addition, International Emmys are awarded for excellence in TV programming produced and initially aired outside the United States.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show originally aired on the AMC network for five seasons, from January 20, 2008, to September 29, 2013. It tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, who, together with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), turns to a life of crime, producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal world. The title is from a Southern colloquialism meaning to "raise hell". Breaking Bad is set and was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Walter's family consists of his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) and children, Walter, Jr. (RJ Mitte) and Holly (Elanor Anne Wenrich). The show also features Skyler's sister Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt), and her husband Hank (Dean Norris), a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. Walter hires lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who connects him with private investigator and fixer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and in turn Mike's employer, drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). The final season introduces the characters of Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons) and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (Laura Fraser).

Primetime Emmy Award

The Primetime Emmy Award is an American accolade bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. First given in 1949, the award was originally referred to as simply the "Emmy Awards" until the first Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies were held in the 1970s, and the word "prime time" was added to distinguish between the two.

The Primetime Emmy Awards 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 (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC). Because of NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night NFL Football beginning in September, when NBC has had the rotation in 2006, 2010 and 2014, the Primetime Emmy Awards moved to late August for those years only.

The Emmy Awards are considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), Grammy Awards (for music), and Tony Awards (for stage). The awards are divided into three categories: the Primetime Emmy Awards for television performance, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards.