"Homeland" was the big surprise winner as the outstanding drama series at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards show in Los Angeles Sunday, as “Mad Men” had owned the category the previous four years.

The Showtime cable-network series’ stars -- Claire Danes and Damian Lewis -- also won Emmys as the outstanding lead actress and actor in a drama series, in that order.

And, because of their work on "Homeland's" pilot episode, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, and Gideon Raff shared the Emmy for outstanding writing for a drama series, which, in this case, is a post-9/11 psychological thriller.

Meanwhile, "Modern Family" was the big nonsurprise winner as the outstanding comedy series: It was awarded the Emmy in that category for the third consecutive year.

The ABC broadcast-network series also had Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet win Emmys as the outstanding supporting actress and actor in a comedy series, respectively.

In addition, Steven Levitan won the Emmy for outstanding directing for a comedy series, thanks to his work on the “Modern Family” episode titled “Baby On Board.”

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