To widen the field, the Emmys had increased the number of nominees in major categories this year, and there were seven for best drama and best comedy each. The change seemed to help network TV be more competitive with cable in the early going.
Jon Cryer, of the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men," took the third award, for best supporting actor in a comedy series.
"Well, the night could have gone in two directions," Harris said when the show came back from a break after his loss to Cryer. "The host lost. ... It's going to go a little faster than expected."
But Harris did a great job of turning his defeat into a running gag with Cryer. They did a funny back-and-forth with Harris onstage and Cryer in the backstage interview room celebrating his victory.
"Neil Patrick Harris, this is the way you host the Emmys - nice job," Jeff Probst said as he accepted the award for best reality show host for his work on "Survivor." Probst was one of the five reality show hosts who were roundly panned as hosts at last year's Emmy telecast.
Cable dominated the nominations coming into the night, and started scoring big once the telecast got around to movie and miniseries - with HBO taking the first two.
Brendan Gleeson, of HBO's "Into the Storm," won as best actor in a movie or miniseries, while Jessica Lange, of HBO's "Grey Gardens," took home the Emmy as best actress in the movie and miniseries category.
PBS cut into a major sweep by HBO with three prestigious awards for "Little Dorrit" - for best miniseries, as well as for best writing and direction in a miniseries.
The production beat out HBO's "Generation Kill" in two of those categories.
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" won another of the industry's most highly prized trophies when it took the Emmy for variety, music or comedy series beating out tough competition from "Late Show With David Letterman," "The Colbert Report" and "Saturday Night Live."
Stewart's show also won for best writing in the category. In accepting the best show award, Stewart also praised Harris for the job he was doing as host.
"Neil Patrick Harris, you're doing a wonderful job. ... You're tremendous. These shows, they usually suck - let's be honest."
Select winners
Drama Series: : "Mad Men," AMC
Comedy Series: : "30 Rock," NBC
Actor, Drama: : Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad," AMC
Actress, Drama: : Glenn Close, "Damages," FX
Actor, Comedy: : Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock," NBC
