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.)
