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Awards

Emmys 2014: 2nd-highest ratings in eight years despite Monday telecast

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Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” wins the lead actor in a drama, his fifth Emmy win. “I love to act, it is a passion of mine and I will do it until my last breath,” Cranston says. He dedicates the award to all the “Sneaky Petes,” a nickname his family gave him because of his manipulative ways as a young child.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Actress Sofia Vergara, left, distracts the audience in a good way as Television Academy CEO Bruce Rosenblum speaks onstage.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Julia Roberts announces the nominees for actor in a drama series. “This is a horrible category,” Roberts says.

  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Show creator Vince Gilligan of “Breaking Bad,” left, is shown with cast and crew as they accept the Emmy for drama series.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Aaron Paul of “Breaking Bad” accepts the Emmy for supporting actor in a drama, his third Emmy win. “‘Breaking Bad’ has changed my life. I’m standing up here because of one man -- [executive producer] Vince Gilligan. Thank you so much,” Paul says.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Debra Messing of “Smash” and Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” present the award for directing for a drama series, as well as supporting actress in a drama.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Julianna Margulies of “The Good Wife” accepts the Emmy for actress in a drama. This is the third Emmy win for the actress. She expresses her appreciation for her show’s writers and cast, as well as her family members.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Comedian Billy Crystal pays tribute to the late Robin Williams onstage.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Cary Joji Fukunaga of “True Detective” accepts the Emmy for directing for a drama series.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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“Modern Family” show creator Steven Levitan, center, and cast and crew accept the comedy series Emmy. This is “Modern Family’s” fifth consecutive win. “‘Modern Family’ has been a big, beautiful dream and we thank you for not waking us up,” Levitan says.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Lucy Liu of “Elementary” presents the award for supporting actor in a drama.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Andy Samberg, left, dressed as Joffrey Baratheon, and Lena Headey, who plays Joffrey’s mother Cersei on “Game of Thrones,” add a little spice to the awards show.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Anna Gunn of “Breaking Bad” accepts the supporting actress in a drama Emmy. This is her second consecutive win in the category.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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“The Colbert Report” host Stephen Colbert, right, whispers his acceptance speech for the Emmy for variety series into the ear of Jimmy Fallon, who relayed it to the audience.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine of “The Voice” present the award for variety series.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Noah Hawley of “Fargo” accepts the Emmy for miniseries.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Sarah Silverman accepts the award for writing for a variety special for “Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles.” She ends her speech by saying, “We’re all just made of molecules, and we’re hurtling through space now.”  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Actors Keegan-Michael Key, left, and Jordan Peele liven things up onstage by deciding not to use the teleprompter.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Ricky Gervais pokes fun at Jim Parsons’ consecutive wins for lead comedy actor. He later announces the award for writing for a variety special.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Singer/songwriter “Weird Al” Yankovic performs onstage, poking fun at members of the audience.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Ryan Murphy of “The Normal Heart” accepts the Emmy for TV movie. The film picked up 16 nominations this year.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Julianna Margulies of “The Good Wife” presents the award for TV movie.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey announce the award for lead actor in a miniseries or movie. They accept the award for Benedict Cumberbatch of “Sherlock: His Last Vow” on his behalf.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Jessica Lange of “American Horror Story: Coven” wins the Emmy for lead actress in a miniseries or movie. She expresses gratitude to her crew, costars and family.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Kerry Washington of “Scandal” and Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” announce the Emmy for lead actress in a miniseries or movie.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Colin Bucksey of “Fargo” wins directing Emmy for a miniseries. This is Bucksey’s first Emmy nomination and win. “This is such a surprise,” he said.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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After finding the teleprompter, Kate Walsh of “Fargo” and Scott Bakula present the award for directing a miniseries.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Stephen Colbert reveals his imaginary friend “Roscoe,” as he introduces the award for supporting actor in a miniseries or movie. Colbert accepts the Emmy for Martin Freeman on “his behalf.”   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Kathy Bates of “American Horror Story: Coven” wins the Emmy for supporting actress in a miniseries or movie. This is Bates’ second Emmy win, after her first guest actor Emmy for “Two and a Half Men.” “I was sure I wasn’t going to win,” Bates said.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Steven Moffat wins the Emmy in writing for a miniseries or a movie for “Sherlock: His Last Vow.” This is Moffat’s first Emmy win.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Allison Janney and Octavia Spencer of “Mom” present the award for writing for a miniseries or a movie, as well as supporting actress in a miniseries or movie.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Producers Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman and Jerry Bruckheimer and other crew of “The Amazing Race” win the Emmy for reality competition program. This is the program’s 10th win in this category.   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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John Mulaney of “Saturday Night Live” and Mindy Kaling of “The Mindy Project” announce the award for reality competition program.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who passionately kisses Bryan Cranston on her way up to the stage in an aside to an earlier joke, wins the Emmy for lead actress in a comedy, her third consecutive win. “Thank you, thank you and thank you,” she said.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Late-night talk-show host Jimmy Fallon announces the award for lead actress in a comedy.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Jim Parsons wins the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy, his fourth Emmy. “I really don’t believe this,” Parsons began. “I watch you work and I see you doing things I couldn’t do and I see you doing things that I wouldn’t do.”   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Gail Mancuso of “Modern Family” accepts the Emmy for directing for a comedy. This is Mancuso’s second consecutive Emmy win. She began her career as an usher on TV talk shows. During her speech she trained her eyes on Matthew McConaughey instead of the show’s cast and crew because, “I can’t look at them ... I’ll cry.”   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Hayden Panettiere of “Parenthood” and Uzo Aduba of “Orange Is the New Black” announce the Emmy for directing for a comedy.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Allison Janney of “Mom” wins the award for supporting actress in a comedy. This is Janney’s second Emmy win this year. She expresses her thanks to the writers on the show, including Chuck Loree. Janney also offers her adoration for costar Anna Faris, whom “she shares the award with.”   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel pokes fun of Matthew McConaughey for his television nomination on the heels of his Oscar win. He then presents the award for supporting actress in a comedy.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Louis C.K. wins the Emmy for writing for a comedy series. This is C.K.’s sixth Emmy win and 30th Emmy nomination. The actor thanks Conan O’Brien among others for giving him his first big break on television.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Zooey Deschanel from “New Girl” and Allison Williams from “Girls” present the award for writing for a comedy.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Ty Burrell of “Modern Family” wins the Emmy for supporting actor in a comedy, his second Emmy win and fifth consecutive nomination. He reads a speech that, he says, was written not by himself but by the kids in the cast of his comedy show.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
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Amy Poehler, jokingly introduced as Beyonce by host Seth Meyers, announces the evening’s first award: supporting actor in a comedy.

  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Seth Meyers opens the show with a slew of insider jokes.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times )
By Scott Collins
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Considering that the show aired on the last Monday in August, the ratings for the 66th Emmy Awards ceremony weren’t bad at all.

An average of 15.6 million total viewers tuned in to NBC’s three-hour telecast, according to Nielsen.

That was down 12% compared with last year’s show on CBS. But that show took place during late September, when TV usage is higher, and also benefited from a pro-football lead-in.

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EMMYS 2014: Full coverage | Top winners/nominees | Show highlights | Red carpet arrivals | Show recap | Quotes from the stars | Best and worst | Winners room | Complete list

NBC scheduled the Emmys on a Monday to avoid conflicting with its Sunday night NFL lineup.

Even so, the ratings were the second-highest since 2006, when 16.2 million tuned in.

Hosted by Seth Meyers, this year’s show earned mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found the ceremony tame and the winners predictable. The top comedy and drama programs were again “Modern Family” and “Breaking Bad” -- as they were last year.

What did you think of the Emmys?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT

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Scott Collins

Scott Collins is a former staff reporter for the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times. He joined the staff in 2004 after previous stints at the Hollywood Reporter and Inside.com. Author of the book “Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN,” he is a frequent pop-culture expert on national TV, radio shows and industry panels. He left The Times in 2016.

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