Emmys 2012: 'Mad Men's' Historic Shutout Leads Emmys Snubs

Mad Men attempted to make history Sunday night, but the record it set was not the intended target.

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The AMC drama came into the Primetime Emmys with four straight wins for best drama series and was shooting for an all-time best five in a row. But although it was considered the favorite, it was beaten by Showtime's Homeland, a result that summarized the night for Matthew Weiner's show.

The Mad Men cast again walked away empty-handed, with nary an individual acting award among them -- despite nominations for Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss and Jared Harris. No actor has ever won for a performance on Mad Men; Hamm has lost to Bryan Cranston three times, Kyle Chandler and now Damian Lewis).

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In all, Mad Men went 0-for-16 on the night, an all-time record whiff. At least, the show's cast and creative team can be comforted by some good company in the snub department.

While few are complaining about Homeland's big sweep, many expected Cranston to take the outstanding actor in a drama series trophy after his hiatus last year. And it was expected that if Mad Men didn't win the big award, Breaking Bad finally would take it home. Yet the critically beloved show only won one prize, for Aaron Paul as best supporting actor. And even that category was bittersweet, as it meant he had to top co-star Giancarlo Esposito, who was expected by many to win in his last chance with the show.

While his Game Change co-star Julianne Moore and director Jay Roach won their categories for TV movie/miniseries, and the HBO telefilm won the overall award, Woody Harrelson was upset by Hatfields & McCoys star Kevin Costner in the lead actor category.

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Speaking of lead actors, many were stunned that Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer won that prize in comedy; he spent nearly a decade in the supporting slot (winning once) before moving up in the wake of Charlie Sheen's exit from the show. Many thought last year's winner, Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory, would take home the gold, while Louis C.K. (who did win two Emmys, for directing and writing on Louie) also was considered a favorite.

On the comedy actress side, it was another disappointment for Amy Poehler. This was her third consecutive nomination for Parks and Recreation, and while she got her speech read, it was part of a gag with winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who took home her third trophy, this time for Veep.

In fact, NBC was shut out this year entirely, despite a plethora of comedy nominations. Parks and Rec fell in the writing category, as well, while 30 Rock lost for best actor (Alec Baldwin), actress (Tina Fey), series and writing.