56th Primetime Emmy Awards: History and Background

The 56th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 19, 2004. The ceremony was hosted by Garry Shandling and was broadcast on ABC. 27 awards were presented.

The HBO miniseries Angels in America had the most successful night. It became the first program to sweep every major category, going 7/7, in Emmy history, until 2020 when Schitt’s Creek repeated the feat. Along with Schitt’s Creek, Caesar's Hour in 1957 and The Crown in 2021, it is one of only four programs to win all four main acting categories.

Upstart comedy series Arrested Development won Outstanding Comedy Series (being the second time Fox won that specific award) and two other major awards overall. Its pilot became the twelfth episode to accomplish the directing/writing double.

After years of winning everything but the top prize, The Sopranos finally took home the crown for Outstanding Drama Series, not only knocking off four-time defending champion The West Wing but by being the first cable show, HBO, ever to beat any of the Big Four television networks for that award. It led all dramas with twelve major nominations and four major wins. One of those wins was for Drea de Matteo for Drama Supporting Actress and, too, was the first time that award went to a cable network. Furthermore, the cable network also won for the first times in the Comedy Lead Actress and Comedy Supporting Actress categories (Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon respectively for Sex and the City).

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