The 5 biggest surprises of the Emmys

"The Colbert Report" put an end to "The Daily Show'"s 10-year-Emmy reign, and Merritt Wever gave the best speech

Published September 23, 2013 3:03AM (EDT)

Stephen Colbert, center, and cast and crew of "The Colbert Report"      (AP/Vince Bucci)
Stephen Colbert, center, and cast and crew of "The Colbert Report" (AP/Vince Bucci)

In between Neil Patrick Harris dancing, real dancers dancing and all the jokes about dancing, the 65th annual Emmy Awards managed to serve up a few surprising, funny and poignant moments. Here are the top 5:

5. Former Emmy hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Lynch and Conan O'Brien joined Neil Patrick Harris on stage in an elaborate plot planned by "House of Cards" schemer Frank Underwood:

4. "Nurse Jackie's" Merritt Wever delivered the best acceptance speech ever:

3. NBC's "The Voice" won an award for top reality TV show, a position dominated by CBS's “The Amazing Race” for almost a decade:

2. "The Newsroom's" cocky anchor and proud AARP member Jeff Daniels beat favored nominees, "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston and “Homeland”s’ Damian Lewis, for best actor in a drama:

1. "The Colbert Report," which won an Emmy for variety series writing, also broke "The Daily Show's" 10-year winning streak for outstanding variety series. With a nod to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert momentarily broke out of character and delivered emotional speeches thanking both his wife and his mother, who died earlier this year:


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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