Many said those victories Sunday were a sign that network television is now freer than ever to let gay characters out of the closet.
The NBC odd-couple sitcom "Will & Grace," about a gay man who rooms with a straight woman, won four Emmys, including two for supporting roles. Vanessa Redgrave won a supporting actress award for playing an aging lesbian in the HBO movie "If These Walls Could Talk 2."
After winning for best comedy series, the co-executive producer and creator of "Will & Grace" joked to the audience that he was overcome by the female form of the Emmy statuette.
"Oh my God, she is so beautiful. As a gay man, I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I finally met a girl I want to sleep with," said Max Mutchnick.
Sean Hayes, who plays Will's flamboyantly gay friend "Jack" on the show, insisted "Will & Grace" is not a commentary on the status of gays in America.
"I think our motto is 'funny first,' and anything that happens to follow is great. We just want to make people laugh," he said.
"I think the doors are starting to open to these characters," said David Kohan, the other co-executive producer of "Will & Grace."
The ABC sitcom "Ellen," starring Ellen DeGeneres, seemed to lose viewers in 1998 when the character revealed she was a lesbian. However, Kohan dismissed that concern, saying the audience wasn't ready then.
"She changed the character in the middle [of the series]," he said. Audiences may have been more accepting, he added, "if she started 'out' and stayed that way."
Scott Seomin, the entertainment media director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said the networks are now proving they can showcase people who are out of the mainstream.
"The way the gays and lesbians are perceived is significantly shaped by television," he said.
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