Emmy Awards 2011 Date and Ceremony Details
The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony took place on Sunday, September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The event was broadcast live on ABC in the United States, starting at 8:00 PM Eastern Time, and honored the best in U.S. primetime television programming from June 1, 2010, to May 31, 2011 emmys.com.
The ceremony was hosted by Jane Lynch, who had just won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series award for her role in Glee the previous year. The show ran approximately three hours and forty minutes, including commercials, and featured performances by musical nominees and a tribute to late television legends televisionacademy.com.
Major Winners and Nominees at the 2011 Emmys
Outstanding Drama Series
Mad Men won the Outstanding Drama Series award for the third consecutive time, beating out Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and The Good Wife. The series clinched the top honor with a total of four wins for the night, including Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Matthew Weiner forbes.com.
Outstanding Comedy Series
Modern Family secured its second consecutive Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy, defeating 30 Rock, Glee, Parks and Recreation, and The Big Bang Theory. The comedy also earned acting wins for Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet, reinforcing its dominance in the category during the 2011 ceremony nytimes.com.
Viewership and Ratings for the 2011 Emmy Broadcast
The ABC broadcast drew an estimated 12.4 million total viewers, with a 3.9 rating in the 18-to-49 demographic, marking a significant increase from the previous year's 11.1 million viewers. The ceremony ranked as the second-most-watched Emmy telecast of the 2010s, trailing only the 2010 ceremony tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com.
The strong ratings were attributed to the popularity of Mad Men and Modern Family, the host performance by Jane Lynch, and the inclusion of a live musical performance by the cast of Glee. The event also generated a 34 percent increase in social media activity compared to the 2010 ceremony, with over 1.3 million tweets sent during the broadcast hollywoodreporter.com.