David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris (Photo credit: WireImage/Matthew Imaging)

Thank heavens “Supporting Actor in a Comedy” nominee Neil Patrick Harris and partner/actor David Burtka appeared together on the red carpet at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night. If not for the telegenic duo, gay visibility at this year’s Emmy ceremony would have been next to nil. Indeed, Harris’ appearance alongside Burtka while E!’s Emmy Red Carpet host Ryan Seacrest interviewed Harris was about as gay as the evening got. In fact, the gay highlight of the entire evening was when Harris introduced Burtka as “my better half, David”.

Once the show actually began at the new Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, Harris would not have to wait long to find out the fate of his category — it was the first award of the evening. Nominated again for his role of womanizing Barney Stinson on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, Harris was joined in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series by Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men, Rainn Wilson of The Office as well as Entourage cast members Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon. At last year’s Emmys, the same roster of actors filled out this category and, in a repeat of last year, Piven went home with statuette for his role of Hollywood agent Ari Gold in the HBO series. 

The FX drama Damages made its presence known early in the broadcast when supporting actor Zeljko Ivanek won the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role of closeted, ruthless attorney Ray Fiske. Ivanek's win was definitely a surprise in this category. Not only was it his first Emmy nomination, he had high profile competition in the form of Michael Emerson of Lost, John Slattery of critic favorite Mad Men, William Shatner of Boston Legal and Ivanek’s co-star on Damages, Ted Danson. Ivanek’s role on the series was complex and layered but, since his character committed suicide late in the show’s season, the chances of Ivanek returning are slim to none.

Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek in Damages

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series was filled with gay favorites Kristen Chenoweth of Pushing Daisies, Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live, Holland Taylor of Two and a Half Men and Vanessa Williams of Ugly Betty but it was Samantha Who? actress (and Designing Women alumni) Jean Smart who took home the prize. Smart graciously thanked her co-star Christina Applegate, who is currently battling breast cancer and seemed in high-spirits attending the ceremony.

Bernard and Doris, the HBO movie starring Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes as a wealthy socialite and her gay butler went into the night with ten nominations but failed to overtake the power of John Adams, a miniseries about one of our early Presidents and Recount, another TV movie about the  infamous 2000 U.S. Presidential election. Sarandon faced competition from Phylicia Rashad of A Raisin in the Sun, Catherine Keener of An American Crime, Dame Judi Dench of Cranford (Masterpiece) and Laura Linney of John Adams.

Meanwhile, Fiennes found himself up against Ricky Gervais of Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale, Paul Giamatti of John Adams, Kevin Spacey of Recount and Tom Wilkinson of Recount. Linney and Giamatti both won the Emmys for their respective categories for their performances in John Adams.

Additionally, in the Outstanding Made for Television Movie category, it was HBO’s Recount, which told the story of the Bush-Gore election in 2000, that won the Emmy. Bernard and Doris also lost in the writing and directing categories to John Adams and Recount, respectively.