There’s no such thing as a sure thing in awards season — but HBO’s “Angels in America,” which swept the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 19, 2004, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, sure came close. The miniseries came with every pedigree possible: Tony Kushner writing the script based on his Tony-winning play; director/executive producer Mike Nichols; and stars Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Mary-Louise Parker and Jeffrey Wright — all of whom won that evening.
“Angels” was the most-watched made-for-cable series in 2003, and it gave dramatic voice to the AIDS epidemic in a way no other TV project had before. An ‘Angelic’ evening And so, “Angels” had an angelic evening at the Emmys, beating the record “Roots” had held since 1977 for the most Emmys given to a miniseries in a single year (11 awards from 21 nominations). It became the first program to sweep every major category in which it was eligible, and became only the second series to that point to win all four main acting miniseries categories.
Today, there is no longer simply a miniseries category; over the decades, the “more than a single-episode fictional scripted show” label has evolved. Today, the category is for limited or anthology series. “Angels” overcame solid competition from “American Family” (Season 1) on PBS; “Horatio Hornblower” on A “Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness” on PBS; and “Traffic” on USA.
Continuing the fight against AIDS Nichols accepted the aw.