# 55th Primetime Emmy Awards

The 55th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2003. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox. The Sci Fi channel received its first major nomination this year for Outstanding Miniseries for Taken; the series won the award.
With the win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Debra Messing, Will & Grace became only the third television show to have all credited actors win a Primetime Emmy Award for their respective role, following All in the Family and The Golden Girls (also later tied by The Simpsons). For its seventh season, Everybody Loves Raymond won its first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. It led all comedies with four major wins and ten major nominations. The West Wing won Outstanding Drama Series for the fourth consecutive year, tying the record set by Hill Street Blues (also later tied by Game of Thrones and Mad Men).
Despite failing to win Outstanding Drama Series, The Sopranos continued to rake in the awards, leading all dramas with four major wins, including James Gandolfini and Edie Falco winning their third and final trophy for their respective category. Also Joe Pantoliano's win for Supporting Actor in a Drama marked the first time HBO had won in this category.
Additionally, for the first time, not only did the Lead Male in a Comedy award go to a show outside the Big Four TV networks, with Tony Shalhoub's win, for Monk on the USA Network, it was that network's first ever Acting win.
For the first time since 1991, the Outstanding Drama Series field did not include Law & Order; it was nominated 11 times in the category, a record for drama series that still stands. The mark tied the overall record held by comedy series M*A*S*H and Cheers. For the first time since its premiere, Frasier, then in its tenth and penultimate season, didn't win a major award, with its only major nominations going to David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The ceremony featured 11 presenters, which included: Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Garrett, Darrell Hammond, George Lopez, Conan O'Brien, Bernie Mac, Dennis Miller, Garry Shandling (who opened the show with a comedic monologue), Martin Short, Jon Stewart, and Wanda Sykes.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold:

### Programs

Programs :
| Outstanding Comedy Series Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) Friends (NBC) Sex and the City (HBO) Will & Grace (NBC) | Outstanding Drama Series The West Wing (NBC) 24 (Fox) CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS) Six Feet Under (HBO) The Sopranos (HBO) |
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Saturday Night Live (NBC) The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) | Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special Cher: The Farewell Tour (NBC) 75th Annual Academy Awards (ABC) Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (CBS) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (HBO) Rolling Stones: Forty Licks World Tour Live at Madison Square Garden (HBO) |
| Outstanding Made for Television Movie Door to Door (TNT) Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (Lifetime) Live from Baghdad (HBO) My House in Umbria (HBO) Normal (HBO) | Outstanding Miniseries Taken (Sci Fi) Hitler: The Rise of Evil (CBS) Napoléon (A&E) |
| Outstanding Reality-Competition Program The Amazing Race (CBS) 100 Years of Hope and Humor (NBC) AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories (CBS) American Idol: The Search for a Superstar (Fox) Survivor (CBS) ||

### Acting
#### Lead performances

Lead performances :
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub – Monk as Adrian Monk (USA) Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself (HBO) Matt LeBlanc – Friends as Joey Tribbiani (NBC) Bernie Mac – The Bernie Mac Show as Bernie McCullough (Fox) Eric McCormack – Will & Grace as Will Truman (NBC) Ray Romano – Everybody Loves Raymond as Ray Barone (CBS) (Episode: “Counseling”) | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Debra Messing – Will & Grace as Grace Adler (NBC) Jennifer Aniston – Friends as Rachel Green (NBC) Patricia Heaton – Everybody Loves Raymond as Debra Barone (CBS) (Episode: “Baggage”) Jane Kaczmarek – Malcolm in the Middle as Lois (Fox) (Episode: “Baby”) Sarah Jessica Parker – Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw (HBO) |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Gandolfini – The Sopranos as Tony Soprano (HBO) Michael Chiklis – The Shield as Vic Mackey (FX) Peter Krause – Six Feet Under as Nate Fisher (HBO) Martin Sheen – The West Wing as President Jed Bartlet (NBC) Kiefer Sutherland – 24 as Jack Bauer (Fox) | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Edie Falco – The Sopranos as Carmela Soprano (HBO) Frances Conroy – Six Feet Under as Ruth Fisher (HBO) Jennifer Garner – Alias as Sydney Bristow (ABC) Marg Helgenberger – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Catherine Willows (CBS) Allison Janney – The West Wing as C. J. Cregg (NBC) |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie William H. Macy – Door to Door as Bill Porter (TNT) Brad Garrett – Gleason as Jackie Gleason (CBS) Paul Newman – Our Town as the Stage Manager (Showtime) Tom Wilkinson – Normal as Ruth "Roy" Applewood (HBO) James Woods – Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story as Rudy Giuliani (USA) | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Maggie Smith – My House in Umbria as Emily Delahunty (HBO) Thora Birch – Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story as Liz Murray (Lifetime) Helena Bonham Carter – Live from Baghdad as Ingrid Formanek (HBO) Jessica Lange – Normal as Irma Applewood (HBO) Helen Mirren – The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone as Karen Stone (Showtime) |

#### Supporting performances

Supporting performances :
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett – Everybody Loves Raymond as Robert Barone (CBS) (Episodes “Just a Formality” and “Robert’s Wedding”) Peter Boyle – Everybody Loves Raymond as Frank Barone (CBS) (Episodes: “Grandpa Steals” and “Meeting the Parents”) Bryan Cranston – Malcolm in the Middle as Hal (Fox) (Episodes: “Malcolm Holds His Tongue” and “Day Care”) Sean Hayes – Will & Grace as Jack McFarland (NBC) John Mahoney – Frasier as Martin Crane (NBC) David Hyde Pierce – Frasier as Dr. Niles Crane (NBC) | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts – Everybody Loves Raymond as Marie Barone (CBS) (Episodes: “Marie’s Vision” and “Robert’s Wedding”) Kim Cattrall – Sex and the City as Samantha Jones (HBO) Cheryl Hines – Curb Your Enthusiasm as Cheryl David (HBO) Megan Mullally – Will & Grace as Karen Walker (NBC) Cynthia Nixon – Sex and the City as Miranda Hobbes (HBO) |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Joe Pantoliano – The Sopranos as Ralph Cifaretto (HBO) Victor Garber – Alias as Jack Bristow (ABC) Michael Imperioli – The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti (HBO) John Spencer – The West Wing as Leo McGarry (NBC) Bradley Whitford – The West Wing as Josh Lyman (NBC) | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Tyne Daly – Judging Amy as Maxine Gray (CBS) Lauren Ambrose – Six Feet Under as Claire Fisher (HBO) Stockard Channing – The West Wing as First Lady Abbey Bartlet (NBC) Rachel Griffiths – Six Feet Under as Brenda Chenowith (HBO) Lena Olin – Alias as Irina Derevko (ABC) |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Ben Gazzara – Hysterical Blindness as Nick Piccolo (HBO) Alan Arkin – The Pentagon Papers as Harry Rowen (FX) Chris Cooper – My House in Umbria as Thomas Riversmith (HBO) John Malkovich – Napoléon as Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (A&E) Peter O'Toole – Hitler: The Rise of Evil as Paul von Hindenburg (CBS) | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Gena Rowlands – Hysterical Blindness as Virginia Miller (HBO) Kathy Baker – Door to Door as Gladys (TNT) Anne Bancroft – The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone as Contessa (Showtime) Juliette Lewis – Hysterical Blindness as Beth Tocyznski (HBO) Helen Mirren – Door to Door as Irene Porter (TNT) |

#### Individual performances

Individual performances :
* Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
* Wayne Brady – Whose Line Is It Anyway? (ABC)
* Dennis Miller – Dennis Miller: The Raw Feed (HBO)
* Martin Short – Primetime Glick (Comedy Central)
* Jon Stewart – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
* Robin Williams – Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (HBO)

### Directing

Directing :
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Curb Your Enthusiasm: "Krazee-Eyez Killa" – Robert B. Weide (HBO) Curb Your Enthusiasm: "Mary, Joseph, and Larry" – David Steinberg (HBO) Curb Your Enthusiasm: "The Nanny from Hell" – Larry Charles (HBO) Curb Your Enthusiasm: "The Special Section" – Bryan Gordon (HBO) Sex and the City: "I Love a Charade" – Michael Engler (HBO) Will & Grace: "24" – James Burrows (NBC) | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The West Wing: "Twenty Five" – Christopher Misiano (NBC) 24: "Day 2: 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m." – Ian Toynton (Fox) Six Feet Under: "Nobody Sleeps" – Alan Poul (HBO) The Sopranos: "Whitecaps" – John Patterson (HBO) The Sopranos: "Whoever Did This" – Tim Van Patten (HBO) |
| Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program 56th Annual Tony Awards – Glenn Weiss (CBS) 75th Annual Academy Awards – Louis J. Horvitz (ABC) Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – Chris Hilson (CBS) Late Show with David Letterman – Jerry Foley (CBS) Saturday Night Live: "Host: Christopher Walken" – Beth McCarthy-Miller (NBC) | Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Door to Door – Steven Schachter (TNT) Live from Baghdad – Mick Jackson (HBO) My House in Umbria – Richard Loncraine (HBO) The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone – Robert Allan Ackerman (Showtime) Soldier's Girl – Frank Pierson (Showtime) |

### Writing

Writing :
| Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Everybody Loves Raymond: "Baggage" – Tucker Cawley (CBS) The Bernie Mac Show: "Goodbye, Dolly" – Steve Tompkins (Fox) Everybody Loves Raymond: "Counseling" – Mike Royce (CBS) Lucky: "Pilot" – Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen (FX) Sex and the City: "I Love a Charade" – Cindy Chupack and Michael Patrick King (HBO) | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series The Sopranos: "Whitecaps" – Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess, and David Chase (HBO) Six Feet Under: "Twilight" – Craig Wright (HBO) The Sopranos: "Eloise" – Terence Winter (HBO) The Sopranos: "Whoever Did This" – Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess (HBO) The West Wing: "Twenty Five" – Aaron Sorkin (NBC) |
| Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (HBO) Saturday Night Live (NBC) | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Door to Door – William H. Macy and Steven Schachter (TNT) Hysterical Blindness – Laura Cahill (HBO) Live from Baghdad – Robert Wiener, Richard Chapman, John Patrick Shanley, and Timothy J. Sexton (HBO) My House in Umbria – Hugh Whitemore (HBO) Normal – Jane Anderson (HBO) |

## Most major nominations

Networks with multiple major nominations :
| Network | No. of Nominations |
| HBO | 53 |
| NBC | 38 |
| CBS | 28 |
Programs with multiple major nominations :
| Program | Category | Network | No. of Nominations |
| The Sopranos | Drama | HBO | 10 |
| Everybody Loves Raymond | Comedy | CBS | 8 |
| The West Wing | Drama | NBC | 8 |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Comedy | HBO | 7 |
| Six Feet Under | Drama | HBO | 7 |
| Door to Door | Movie | TNT | 6 |
| Sex and the City | Comedy | HBO | 6 |
| Will & Grace | Comedy | NBC | 6 |
| My House in Umbria | Movie | HBO | 5 |
| Hysterical Blindness | Movie | HBO | 4 |
| Live from Baghdad | Movie | HBO | 4 |
| Normal | Movie | HBO | 4 |
| 24 | Drama | Fox | 3 |
| Alias | Drama | ABC | 3 |
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Variety | Comedy Central | 3 |
| Friends | Comedy | NBC | 3 |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Variety | CBS | 3 |
| Robin Williams: Live on Broadway | Variety | HBO | 3 |
| The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | Movie | Showtime | 3 |
| Saturday Night Live | Variety | NBC | 3 |
| The 75th Annual Academy Awards | Variety | ABC | 2 |
| The Bernie Mac Show | Comedy | Fox | 2 |
| Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band | Variety | CBS | 2 |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Drama | CBS | 2 |
| Frasier | Comedy | NBC | 2 |
| Hitler: The Rise of Evil | Miniseries | CBS | 2 |
| Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story | Movie | Lifetime | 2 |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Variety | NBC | 2 |
| Malcolm in the Middle | Comedy | Fox | 2 |
| Napoléon | Miniseries | A&E | 2 |

## Most major awards

Networks with multiple major awards :
| Network | No. of Awards |
| HBO | 8 |
| CBS | 7 |
| NBC | 4 |
| TNT | 4 |
| Comedy Central | 2 |
Programs with multiple major awards :
| Program | Category | Network | No. of Awards |
| Door to Door | Movie | TNT | 4 |
| Everybody Loves Raymond | Comedy | CBS | 4 |
| The Sopranos | Drama | HBO | 4 |
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Variety | Comedy Central | 2 |
| Hysterical Blindness | Movie | HBO | 2 |
| The West Wing | Drama | NBC | 2 |

## Presenters

The awards were presented by the following people:
| Presenter(s) | Role(s) |
| David Schwimmer Matt LeBlanc Matthew Perry | Presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series |
| Kiefer Sutherland | Presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
| Jon Stewart | Presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series |
| Anthony LaPaglia Poppy Montgomery | Presented the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series |
| Alfre Woodard Charles S. Dutton | Presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series |
| Conan O'Brien | Presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series |
| Bryan Cranston Jane Kaczmarek | Presented the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series |
| Ellen DeGeneres | Presented the award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program |
| Michael Chiklis | Presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series |
| Bernie Mac | Presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program |
| Christina Applegate | Presented the award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program |
| Alicia Silverstone Rob Lowe | Presented the award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special |
| Allison Janney | Presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie |
| Eric McCormack Debra Messing | Presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| Dennis Miller | Presented the award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series |
| Jeff Probst Ryan Seacrest | Presented the award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special |
| Bonnie Hunt | Presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special |
| Sarah Jessica Parker | Presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie |
| George Lopez | Presented the award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program |
| Jennifer Garner Victor Garber | Presented the award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie |
| Edie Falco James Gandolfini | Presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| Damon Wayans | Presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series |
| Ray Romano | Presented the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Bill Cosby |
| Martin Short | Presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series |
| Marg Helgenberger William Petersen | Presented the award for Outstanding Miniseries |
| Helen Mirren | Presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series |
| Ted Danson | Presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |
| William H. Macy | Presented the award for Outstanding Drama Series |
| Mike Myers | Presented the award for Outstanding Comedy Series |

## In Memoriam

* Roone Arledge
* David Bloom
* Ben Brady
* David Brinkley
* Charles Bronson
* Nell Carter
* Johnny Cash
* James Coburn
* Jeff Corey
* Richard Crenna
* Hume Cronyn
* Buddy Ebsen
* Buddy Hackett
* Katharine Hepburn
* Gregory Hines
* Bob Hope*
* Michael Jeter
* Bob Keene
* Bruce Paltrow
* Gregory Peck
* Peg Phillips
* John Ritter
* Fred Rogers
* Edgar Scherick
* Jack Smight
* Robert Stack
* Mike Stokey
* Lynne Thigpen

### Notes

* 1 2 "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.