In the battle of critically-acclaimed freshmen comedy series, “Modern Family” came out ahead of “Glee.”
Both garnered one major acting award (“Family”‘s Eric Stonestreet won for Supporting Actor, “Glee”‘s Jane Lynch earned a Supporting Actress prize) and one major backstage award (writing for “Family,” directing for “Glee”), but when it came time for the most important award–Outstanding Comedy Series–it was the cast and crew of the ABC family comedy standing on stage in acceptance.
The final award announced at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, it was also the most anticipated. Unlike drama, almost all of the nominees were network series–nominees “Glee,” “Modern Family” and “The Office” are among the best weekly performers in the adults 18-49 viewership demographic. “Nurse Jackie” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” represented premium cable in the category, but while both had critically-acclaimed seasons, neither was viewed as a serious contender.
“Family”‘s win ended a three-year streak held by NBC’s insider riff “30 Rock,” which was nominated again this year.