It was all but preordained: Mad Men would secure its place in television history with a final Emmy win, and therefore hold the record for most “Best Drama” victories with five sum Emmys. Most betting sites gave the AMC show the best odds for the evening.
But taking down would-be kings is Game of Thrones’ specialty, and the HBO show worked its magic on Sunday night when it stole the biggest award of the night—Best Drama—from Mad Men. It also set a new Emmys record: 12 wins for one show in a single year, including triumphs for Best Writing, Best Directing and Peter Dinklage for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.
Meanwhile, Mad Men limped its way out of its final Emmys outing with just one win for Best Actor in a drama, Jon Hamm—surprisingly, his first.
What exactly does a Game of Thrones win mean? Maybe the Emmys voters wanted to recognize a cultural phenomenon. Game of Thrones‘ 8 million weekly viewers dwarf Mad Men’s finale record of 3.3.
Still moments before the best drama winner was announced, critical darling Veep broke Modern Family’s streak for Best Comedy wins. Though the once-groundbreaking Modern Family has been overtaken by fresher, more diverse family shows like Black-ish and Transparent, the sitcom has continued its reign over the comedy category for five years, in part because it was one of the most popular network shows. The more radical but less-watched Veep finally stealing the trophy suggested that Emmys voters would recognize prestige over popularity. So why would the same voters turn around and honor Thrones over Mad Men?
Perhaps the show won points for taking a risk. Game of Thrones stirred controversy this year when it diverged from its source material—George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire—to add shudder-inducing rape, sexual violence and gory death. Indeed, when it came time to nominate episodes, HBO submitted the two most controversial installments of the season. Those are the episodes that gave the show both writing and directing accolades when most predictions had Mad Men winning in those categories, too.
But Mad Men took risks in its own way, sending its protagonist wandering on an opposite coast during the final episodes and even ending the show with a cryptic “ding” and a Coke commercial.
Or maybe the Emmys—forever the jealous younger sibling of the Oscars—wanted to reward the most expensive and cinematic show on television right now. If Game of Thrones’ win says anything about the state of TV, it’s that it finally can compete with the big screen not just in terms of writing (as shows like The Sopranos, The Wire and Mad Men have long proved) but also in terms of scope.
Whatever the reason, it’s a tough break for Mad Men. Jon Hamm will be the only actor on the show ever to win an Emmy. Both Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks lost out on their last opportunities to bring home trophies for the lauded show, losing to How to Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis and Orange Is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba, respectively.
Still, Mad Men holds a respectable 15 Emmys wins. HBO’s The Wire—rated by many critics among the top television series of all time, if not the best—never won a single Emmy.
Taraji P. Henson at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesSofÌa Vergara at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Dan Steinberg—Invision/Television AcadAriel Winter and Laurent Claude Gaudette at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Charles Sykes—InvisionCarice van Houten at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Danny Moloshok—Invision/Television AcadNikolaj Coster-Waldau at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APGwendoline Christie at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesSophie Turner at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesMaisie Williams at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesElisabeth Moss at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJessica Pare attends the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesJanuary Jones at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesKiernan Shipka at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesChristina Hendricks at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesUzo Aduba at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APDanielle Brooks at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APLaverne Cox at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesSamira Wiley at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APLaura Prepon at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mark Ralston—AFP/Getty ImagesDascha Polanco at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Larry Busacca—Getty ImagesTaryn Manning at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesAndy Samberg at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesHeidi Klum at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APCharissa Thompson at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Danny Moloshok—Invision/APNancy O’Dell at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty ImagesGiuliana Rancic at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty ImagesTeyonah Parris at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesTatiana Maslany at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APKeltie Knight at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Danny Moloshok—Invision/APLouise Roe arrives at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20, 2015, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.Danny Moloshok—Invision/APSarah Paulson at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mark Davis—Getty Images Jessica Lange at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mario Anzuoni—ReutersEmma Roberts at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Steve Granitz—WireImageLady Gaga at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Steve Granitz—WireImageJamie Lee Curtis at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APAllison Janney at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Dan Steinberg—Invision/APLily Tomlin at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty ImagesAubrey Plaza at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APAmy Poehler at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mario Anzuoni—ReutersJulia Louis-Dreyfus at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesTony Hale at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJane Krakowski at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesAmy Schumer at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Charles Sykes—Invision/APNazanin Boniadi at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Dan Steinberg—Invision/APPadma Lakshmi at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mark Davis—Getty ImagesFred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APRenee Bargh at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APChristine Marzano at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesKat Deeley at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mario Anzuoni—ReutersLiz Hernandez at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci/Invision/APDavid Foster at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 19, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Dan Steinberg—Invision/APNatasha Lyonne at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesLauren Lapkus at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Paul Buck—EPADavid Benioff and Amanda Peet at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APPaul Dano and Zoe Kazan at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APKim Dickens at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Charles Sykes—InvisionKate McKinnon at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Danny Moloshok—Invision/Television AcadNathan Anderson and Anthony Anderson at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Danny Moloshok—Invision/Television AcadTracee Ellis at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesMaggie Gyllenhaal at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesFelicity Huffman at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/Television AcadRegina King at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci—Invision/APDebbie Matenopoulos at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Danny Moloshok—Invision/AP Ellie Kemper at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Mark Davis—Getty ImagesMorena Baccarin at the 67th Emmy Award on Sept. 20, 2015 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison—Getty Images