"Modern Family" cast members pose backstage at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011 in Los Angeles. "Modern Family" won best comedy series. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)
LOS ANGELES – Comedy mockumentary “Modern Family” took an early string of gongs at the Emmy awards Sunday, as US television’s brightest stars came together for the Oscars of the small screen.
The show, at which cult ad agency drama “Mad Men” was pitching for a fourth straight triumph, started on a lighter note with comedy categories, with “Modern Family” taking the first four of the evening.
“Welcome to the Modern Family awards,” ad libbed hostess Jane Lynch as she welcomed viewers back after the first break in the glittering show at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Early turns also included British comic Ricky Gervais, in a cut-edited recorded contribution riffing on his reputation for saying the unacceptable at awards shows, notably last year’s Golden Globes where he was host.
Charlie Sheen, sacked from hit TV series “Two and a Half Men” after a very public meltdown, drew admiration by wishing the show all the best with his replacement, Anton Kutchner.
And there were tears — notably from “Mike and Molly” star Melissa McCarthy won best comedy actress, after she and her fellow nominees staged an “X-factor”-style huddle on stage to await whose name came out of the envelope.
Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” left it to his co-writers to speak for themselves when they won best writing for a variety, music or comedy program gong.
Drama categories were kept waiting for their awards until later in the star-studded show, which pundits had warned was among the most difficult to predict for years.
“Mad Men,” the brilliantly-stylized series set in a 1960s New York advertising agency, is up against new HBO series “Game of Thrones” and popular CBS drama “The Good Wife” for the prized best drama award.
But “Boardwalk Empire” is also among those hotly tipped for the Outstanding Drama category — which “Mad Men” has dominated for the last three years — while “Friday Night Lights” and “Dexter” are the other contenders.
While many pundits predict a fourth success for the ad drama, some eyebrows were raised when it only won a single award at last weekend’s pre-Emmys Creative Arts Awards, against seven for “Boardwalk Empire.”
The New York series, shown on US cable network AMC, had among the most nominations overall, with 19 against 18 for “Boardwalk Empire.”
But both of them are behind “Mildred Pierce,” which started the race with 21 nods, including for British “Titanic” co-star Kate Winslet. It won three in last weekend’s pre-Emmys show.
The series, about a divorcee struggling during the Great Depression, is favorite for best mini-series, but is also nominated in categories including best director, supporting actors and actresses.
The 35-year-old Winslet, fresh from saving Richard Branson’s 90-year-old mother Eve from a fire last month, is in the battle for best actress for the Home Box Office (HBO) drama.
But she is up against a strong field also including Julianna Margulies from “The Good Wife,” Elisabeth Moss from “Mad Men,” Connie Britton for “Friday Night Lights,” Mariska Hargitay for “Law and Order: SVU” and Kathy Bates, who stars in “Harry’s Law.”
The male drama actor nominees are led by Jon Hamm of “Mad Men,” Steve Buscemi of “Boardwalk Empire,” Kyle Chandler of “Friday Night Lights” and Timothy Olyphant of “Justified.”