Period drama makes history at politically charged ceremony

TWO period dramas set 200 years apart in American history — Mad Men and John Adams — claimed a place in the Emmy record books as US television’s highest honours were presented in a ceremony rife with political undertones.

Mad Men, the critically acclaimed series set in New York’s advertising industry at the cusp of the 1960s social revolution, became the first show from a cable network other than HBO to win the Emmy for best drama.

Meanwhile, HBO’s seven-part story of the nation’s second president, John Adams, finished the evening with 13 Emmys, the most ever by a mini-series, surpassing the previous record of 11 set in 2004 by HBO’s adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America.