53rd Primetime Emmy Awards

The 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, November 4, 2001, seven weeks later than originally scheduled. The ceremony was rescheduled twice from its original date of September 16 at the Shrine Auditorium because of the September 11th attacks that occurred five days prior to the event. It was also removed from its rescheduled date of October 7 again at the same venue as a result of the start of the War in Afghanistan. The event was then relocated to the smaller Shubert Theater, which had previously hosted the 1973 and 1976 ceremonies, and would be demolished in 2002. The ceremony was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres and was broadcast on CBS.

Barbra Streisand sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" in a surprise appearance at the close, in honor of the victims of the attacks.

Sex and the City became the first premium channel show to win Outstanding Comedy Series; this was its only major award. The NBC cult hit Freaks and Geeks accomplished a rare feat: though it only ran for one season, it was nominated in two different years for writing. Frasier, now in its eighth season, earned its final Outstanding Comedy Series nomination after eight consecutive nominations including five consecutive wins (seasons 1–5).

The episode "Bowling" made Malcolm in the Middle just the second show, and first comedy, to have two different episodes win awards for directing and writing. The Defenders was the first show to do this in 1963 and 1965. (Specific episodes were not nominated in the comedy categories until the late 1960s). Game of Thrones would also achieve this in 2015 and 2016.

For his portrayal of John Cage in Ally McBeal, Peter MacNicol won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, the first in this category for Fox and the first in this category for any show outside the Big Three television networks.

In the drama field, The West Wing won Outstanding Drama Series for its second straight year and led all shows with four major awards on the night. The Sopranos led all shows with 14 major nominations and was second to The West Wing with three major wins.

Mike Nichols' win made him the ninth person to become an EGOT winner.

Rescheduling

The ceremony was originally scheduled to be held on September 16, 2001 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

On September 11, just hours following the September 11th attacks, CBS announced the event would be postponed indefinitely, but were hopeful it would take place September 23.

On September 15, CBS and officials from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) announced they had chosen a new date of October 7, with the venue remaining unchanged.

On October 1, CBS and ATAS announced that a scaled down ceremony would take place in both Los Angeles and New York. The majority of the night's 30 awards given would still be given at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, but some would be given at a simultaneous event in studio 6A at NBC Studios (New York) where Late Night with Conan O'Brien was normally filmed. According to then-executive producer Don Mischer, this was to accommodate nominees who were reluctant to fly to Los Angeles so soon after the attacks.

On October 7 at 12:30 p.m. (PST), only hours before the ceremony's 5 p.m. scheduled commencement, CBS and ATAS announced that the ceremony was cancelled due to the start of the War in Afghanistan earlier in the day.

On October 9, ATAS officials and CBS execs announced their intention to reschedule the ceremony, but that it would not take place at the Shrine Auditorium.

On October 16, representatives from CBS and ATAS announced that the ceremony would now be held on November 4 at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles, a smaller venue, and that the simultaneous event in New York would no longer be taking place.

On November 4, the awards ceremony was held at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles. To ensure security, sharpshooters were placed rooftops, attendees passed through metal detectors, nearby businesses were closed, and the Shubert complex's two lowest underground parking levels were blocked off due to the risk of car bombs.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡). For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards, as well as nominated writers for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program, have been omitted.