Let’s flashback 20 years to Aug. 27, 2006, and the 58th Primetime Emmys, held back then at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. NBC aired the ceremony that year, which is why it was so early — so as not to conflict with “Sunday Night Football.” (This year, NBC once again is airing the Emmys, but it has smartly shifted the telecast to a Monday to keep it in September and not encroach on our fleeting summer plans.)
What was so special about 2006? We had no idea at the time, but it turned out to be a swan song of sorts for the broadcast TV networks. That year, NBC’s “The Office” won outstanding comedy series, while Fox’s “24” won the drama series Emmy. That would wind up being the last time the Emmys’ top two series prizes went to broadcasters.
That’s because “24” was the final drama series win for the traditional networks — marking Fox’s first, and last, Emmy in the field. At the time, you never would have guessed this was the sunset for the broadcasters: “24” was a juggernaut in 2006, even though it was in its fifth season; star Kiefer Sutherland locked up his first Emmy as CTU agent Jack Bauer, and the show also won for direction.
The series beat out a field of competitors that were also mostly in the broadcast arena — “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “House” (Fox) and “The West Wing” (NBC), with only “The Sopranos” (HBO) hailing from cable. The next year, “The Sopranos” won — and it was also the last time the broadcast nets received the majority of the drama series nominations. After that, cable ruled the category with wins for “Mad Men,” “Homeland,” “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones.” (NBC’s “This Is Us” was the last broadcast series to even earn a drama series nomination, in 2021.)
A little more than a decade later, as the industry shifted again to a new digital reality, Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” became the first streaming program to win a top series Emmy — and I’m sure we’ll be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of that landmark next year.
In comedy, broadcast at least continued to flex its muscle until the mid-2010s. After “The Office” win in 2006, NBC led the category with “30 Rock” for three consecutive years (2007 to 2009), and then ABC’s “Modern Family” went on its tremendous five-year run (2010 to 2014).
The 2006 Emmys are notable for another reason: It was the first attempt to shake up the nominations by instituting a blue ribbon panel to decide the nominees for outstanding comedy and drama and key acting categories.
Under that plan, TV Academy members got first crack at choosing potential nominees. Once their picks were narrowed to 10 (or 15 for the performers), a group of 500 panelists holed up in the org’s North Hollywood headquarters to watch episodes and choose the eventual nominees.
The first year caused plenty of hand-wringing, as shows like “Lost” (which won the drama Emmy the previous year) were shut out. On the flip side, it was probably the blue ribbon panels that widened the nomination field for cable contenders — hastening the decline of broadcast at the Emmys. (The blue ribbon panels were eliminated in 2015 to make the process more democratic, as the Academy realized the same voters were picking the same winners.)
Meanwhile, as we look back at the 2006 Emmys, how about this for serendipity: Mariska Hargitay won the drama actress trophy that year for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (the last time the network won in the category). Not only is Hargitay returning to the Emmy stage this year as host, but she’s also back as a nominee (for her documentary “My Mom Jayne”). TV has changed, but stars like Hargitay are truly timeless.
