FX, the cable channel that is a cousin of the Fox network, also won two acting awards for its rookie-season drama “Damages.” Glenn Close took the award for best actress in a drama series for her portrayal of Patty Hewes, a plaintiff’s lawyer for whom winning is an obsession, and Zeljko Ivanek won best supporting actor for his portrayal of Ray Fiske, her main legal adversary.

Image Jean Smart accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her work on "Samantha Who?" at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday in Los Angeles. Credit... Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

“It really has been the ride of my career,” Ms. Close said backstage after receiving her award. “This was as good as any part you would find in a feature film. I can’t wait to see where our writers take us this year.”

The viewers of all those cable series added together might not total the number that watched the Emmy broadcast. But television executives are nothing if not optimistic, and if anything, the performance of the five reality-show hosts who together played masters of ceremony on the awards show might inspire the executives not to abandon scripted television.

With the addition this year of a new category for best reality-show host, the producers of the Emmys decided to have the five nominees share the burden of master of ceremony for the awards show.

But it was only a few minutes into the show when, with the Nokia Theater audience alarmingly silent in reaction to the hosts’ failed attempts at a humorous opening, Howie Mandel, one of the hosts, quipped: “The government cannot even bail us out of this.”