The Pacific's wins were the only bright spot for Australians at Sunday's ceremony with actresses Toni Collette and Rose Byrne and producer Kim Kilbey all going home empty-handed.
Collette, who won the outstanding lead actress in a comedy TV series last year for United States of Tara, was this year beaten by former Sopranos actress Edie Falco for her new show, Nurse Jackie.
"I'm not funny," Falco told the audience after her win.
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Byrne is used to being the bridesmaid at award shows after two years of nominations at Emmy and Golden Globe ceremonies for her supporting role in the crime-drama, Damages. This year she missedout to The Good Wife's Archie Panjabi.
Former Australia's Funniest Home Videos host Kilbey is also usedto being a runner-up after picking up a producing job on one ofAmerica's most-watched shows, Dancing with the Stars.
Kilbey and the other producers of the show's US version havebeen nominated in the reality TV category for the past three years,but failed to win. This year Top Chef was the surprise winner,ending The Amazing Race's seven-year reign in the category.
The Australian TV industry received the highest compliment at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards when Tom Hanks singled out the hard-working Australian crew of World War IIminiseries, The Pacific.
Hanks, who produced the $US217 million ($A240.79 million),10-part epic with Steven Spielberg, accepted the outstanding miniseries Emmy for The Pacific at a star-studded Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Pacific, one of the big winners at the Emmys after scoring24 nominations, was shot at Port Douglas, Mossman and Rocky PointIsland in Queensland and in Melbourne at Docklands, Flinders StStation and Central City Studios and followed the story of USMarines battling the Japanese in some of the bloodiest battles ofthe war.
"We would also like to thank a bodacious crew in Australia whoevery day seemed to move heaven and earth to make this happen,"Hanks said on stage with the Emmy in his hand.
The Pacific's Australian art director Richard Hobbs, casting director Christine King and make-up artist Chiara Tripodi also won Emmys for their work at last week's Creative Emmy Awards ceremony in LA.
Australian and state government subsidies helped offset $US20 million ($A22.19 million) of the hefty budget for the miniseries and Hanks also thanked the US cable TV network HBO for backing theproject.
"There is no economic model that says you should put on a 10-part miniseries and make cash on it, and yet they had faith enough to do it," Hanks said.
The big winners were dramatic series Mad Men and Breaking Badand the new sitcom Modern Family.
Mad Men won outstanding drama series, while Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul took the lead dramatic actor and supporting dramatic actor Emmys respectively.
Modern Family defeated Glee, 30 Rock and Nurse Jackie foroutstanding comedy series.
Jim Parsons won the lead comedy actor Emmy for his role as anerd on The Big Bang Theory and Eric Stonestreet won the supportingactor in a comedy Emmy for Modern Family.
British comedian Ricky Gervais, who appeared on stage to present an award, continued to poke fun at Mel Gibson after targeting the Australian-raised actor-director at the Golden Globes earlier this year.
Gervais complained how, unlike the Globes, there was no alcoholat the Emmys.
"What do they think is going to happen? Really, are we all goingto go mental and smack someone's head in? There's no one scaryhere. There's no tough guys. No Russell Crowe. He wouldn't be seen dead here. It's TV," Gervais said to laughs in the crowd.
"Mel Gibson? C'mon. I'm not going to have a go at him.
"He has been through a lot - not as much as the Jews."
