Stars from comedies, dramas and late-night TV are gearing up for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, set to air live Sunday starting at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the gala will be held for the sixth year at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
“There’s a lot of awards, so I thankfully don’t have to do a lot of work,” Harris told The Associated Press. “I get to come up with some funny one-liners.”
When the Emmy Awards nominations were announced in July, “American Horror Story: Asylum” led the pack with the most honors — 17. Close behind was “Game of Thrones” with 16 nods, while “Saturday Night Live” and the Liberace biopic “Behind the Candelabra” had 15 nominations each, including nods for the HBO movie’s stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.
Mickey O’Connor, editor-in-chief of TVGuide.com, told CBSNews.com there’s a “continuing trend of movie actors getting a series or moving into television and that’s reflected in the nominees.”
And this year’s ceremony could make history. If the Netflix series “House of Cards” were to win best drama series, for example, it would mark the first time the Emmys recognizes a program delivered online in a major category. “House of Cards” also has Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in the running for acting statuettes.
“I think everyone sort of expected that Netflix might break through…The Academy actually changed the rule in 2007 to allow for these types of online series but this is the first time that it’s really broken through,” said O’Connor.
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Emmy Awards 2013: The nominees
Meanwhile, the presenters’ bill is long and star-studded: Malin Akerman, Connie Britton, Dan Bucatinsky, Emilia Clarke, Tim Gunn, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Hamm, LL Cool J, Mindy Kaling, Heidi Klum, Melissa Leo, Julianna Margulies, Dylan McDermott, Bob Newhart, Dean Norris, Jim Parsons, Carrie Preston, Blair Underwood, Will Arnett, Alec Baldwin, Andre Braugher, Diahann Carroll, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Emily Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Douglas, Anna Faris, Tina Fey, Allison Janney, Jimmy Kimmel, Margo Martindale, Amy Poehler, Sofia Vergara and Kerry Washington.
Other stars will help the Emmys will take the stage to look back on notable TV moments. Carrie Underwood and Don Cheadle will host a special segment for television of the 1960s, marking the impact of the coverage of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963 and The Beatles’ debut appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Feb. 9, 1964. Elton John, meanwhile, will pay tribute to Liberace.
The Emmy Awards ceremony will also include a special “In Memoriam” segment, remembering five TV individuals who died this year: actors James Gandolfini and Cory Monteith, along with actress Jean Stapleton, producer Gary David Goldberg and comedian Jonathan Winters. Edie Falco will honor her “Sopranos” co-star Gandolfini, while Jane Lynch will pay tribute to fellow “Glee” star Monteith. Michael J. Fox will remember his “Family Ties” producer Goldberg, Rob Reiner will pay tribute to “All in the Family” star Stapleton and Robin Williams honor Winters, his mentor and “Mork & Mindy” co-star.
Some Emmy honors were already handed out at Sunday’s Creative Arts Emmys ceremony, which recognizes technical and other achievements such as costume design. HBO’s Liberace biopic “Behind the Candelabra” was that night’s top-winning individual program, while Newhart took home his first-ever Emmy for his guest role on CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory.” (CBSNEWS)
