This year's ceremony was watched by 12.4 million people, down 8% from last year's show.[6] The ceremony received mixed reviews from critics, with many praising the performance of Lynch as the host but criticizing the overall quality of the production, particularly the presenters and the orchestra.[7][8]
Beginning this year, the Outstanding Miniseries and Outstanding Television Movie categories were merged. This was due to the continuing decline in the number of miniseries being produced; the previous two ceremonies only had two miniseries nominated. The merge was short-lived however when the separate categories returned, beginning in 2014.
Winners and nomineesedit
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold:[9][10]
The annual In Memoriam segment was presented by John Shaffner and featured the Canadian Tenors performing the song "Hallelujah".[44][45] The segment was extended for this ceremony, as executive producer Mark Burnett stated that "it [didn't] need to be a bummer... It can be a celebration".[46][47]
The show opened with Jane Lynch performing a pre-taped opening number which showed the TV world as being contained inside of a large building, parodying Rear Window. Lynch walked through the building and entered the universe of shows including The Big Bang Theory, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, MythBusters and Glee (the show of which Lynch is a cast member) among others. Lynch's lyrics satirized elements of each show and television in general. The ceremony culminated with Lynch entering the theatre and performing a short dance number, which ended with a fireworks show. The opening number received a standing ovation.
Emmytonesedit
Throughout the night, the "Emmytones" introduced each genre in the form of a short jingle. They consisted of Zachary Levi ("Chuck"), Cobie Smulders ("How I Met Your Mother"), Kate Flannery ("The Office"), Wilmer Valderrama ("Royal Pains"), Joel McHale ("Community") and nominee Taraji P. Henson ("Person of Interest"). The Emmytones received mixed to negative reviews, with many critics citing them as unimportant and others calling them "time fillers."[48]
Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Seriesedit
For the presentation of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, each of the nominees went up to the stage in the style of a beauty pageant. The orchestra played music similar to that of a pageant as the nominees went to the stage. The winner ended up being Melissa McCarthy, who mentioned that this was "her first and best pageant ever." Both the producers and the nominees in the category gave nominee Amy Poehler credit for conceiving the idea. Nominee Martha Plimpton was also credited.
The presentation was well received critically with many critics regarding it to be the best part of the night. Once all the nominees reached the stage, they received a standing ovation.[49] The pairing of Rob Lowe and Sofía Vergara, who presented the category, was also praised critically.
Criticism about the orchestraedit
For the 2011 ceremony, the producers enlisted Hype Music to provide the orchestrations.[50] These orchestrations were universally hated by reviewers. The band played music from the Hype Music roster of artists as the winners walked to the stage, breaking the tradition of their respective program's theme song being played as they accepted their awards. The decision to do this received an overwhelmingly negative response from critics and enraged Emmy Award enthusiasts, many of whom felt as though a tradition observed since the 1st Primetime Emmy Awards had been broken.[51] One reviewer even called this decision "one of the biggest mistakes in the ceremony's history."[52]
Referencesedit
^ ab"Official 2011 Primetime Creative Emmy Awards Winners" (PDF). ATAS. September 10, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
^ ab"Jane Lynch to host 2011 Emmys". MTV. June 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
^Pond, Steve (July 28, 2011). "Mark Burnett Picks MTV, People's Choice Vets for Emmy Production Team". Reuters. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Wallenstein, Andrew (September 18, 2011). "63rd Primetime Emmy Awards". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^"2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Calendar" (PDF). ATAS. January 26, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
^Emmy telecast down in overall ratings but up in key demos. Goldderby.com (2011-09-19). Retrieved on 2012-04-10.
^Critics give mixed reviews to the Emmy telecast. Goldderby.com (2011-09-19). Retrieved on 2012-04-10.
^"Emmy Awards show felt like a rerun". MSNBC. September 18, 2011. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
^"63rd Primetime Emmy Awards Winners" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 18, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^"2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^"Kutcher, Vergara, Arnett among Emmy presenters". USA Today. Associated Press. September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
^"More Presenters for 63rd Primetime Emmys Announced – Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Many More". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 15, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
^"Scott Caan, Bryan Cranston, Jon Cryer, Claire Danes, Jason O'Mara, and Kerry Washington to Present at 63rd Primetime Emmys". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 13, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
^"Emmy presenters: Lea Michele, Ian Somerhalder, Kaley Cuoco in second wave". Entertainment Weekly. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
^"Emmys: Order of category presentations". Los Angeles Times. September 16, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Fowler, Tara (September 19, 2011). "Primetime Emmys 2011: Ricky Gervais jokes that he is 'not allowed on American soil' in pre-taped segment". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^"Margo Martindale, Justified: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 18, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via YouTube.
^"Julian Fellowes: Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 18, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via YouTube.
^"Brian Percival: Oustanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 18, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Dobbins, Amanda (September 19, 2011). "Who Were Those Guys Singing 'Hallelujah' at the Emmys?". Vulture. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Bryant, Adam (August 5, 2011). "Jane Lynch on Hosting the Emmys: We're Leaving Sue Sylvester's Tracksuit at Home". TV Guide. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Hibberd, James (September 18, 2011). "Emmy death reel: Was it not 'a bummer'?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Labrecque, Jeff (October 11, 2011). "Emmys 2011: 14 Memorable Moments". Entertainment Weekly.
^Stanley, T.L. (September 19, 2011). "Emmys 2011: Comedy actress nominees group hug". Los Angeles Times.
^63rd Primetime Emmy Awards Enlists Hype Music to Bring an Adventurous New... – LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/. Prnewswire.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-10.
^Weaver, Joshua R. (2011-09-19) Emmy Awards 2011 Recap: No Surprises Archived September 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Theroot.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-10.
^63rd Primetime Emmy Awards: Winners and Reactions. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2012-04-10.