The Primetime Emmy awards took on a fresh new look Sunday as a slew of first-timers  and new shows won the television industry's highest honours.

Jim Parsons, the geeky physicist of ``The Big Bang Theory,'' won the best comedy actor Emmy, ending the two-year reign of ''30 Rock'' star Alec Baldwin.

Kyra Sedgwick won her first Emmy after five tries for playing a tough police detective in drama series ``The Closer,'' while Edie Falco took home her first comedy actress Emmy for ''Nurse Jackie'' after three wins for ``The Sopranos.''    

``You think you don't have a chance in hell of winning after five times ... today I'm beyond my wildest dreams,'' Sedgwick said afterward.   

Seven of the eight major acting Emmys went to either newcomers or different stars than last year, injecting new life into an industry that is fighting with social networking and videogames for audiences.

Even the reality competition slot had a new champion, with ''Top Chef'' ending the six-year reign of ``The Amazing Race.''  Bryan Cranston managed to make it three in a row, winning for best drama actor for his turn as a teacher-turned-drug dealer in AMC show ``Breaking Bad.''    

``I feel gluttonous. It's more than I can take in,'' Cranston said backstage.   

Rookie comedies ``Glee'' and ``Modern Family'' each garnered two awards, but only at end of the evening will the winner of the coveted best comedy series trophy be announced.   

Ryan Murphy, creator of musical comedy ``Glee,'' won his first Emmy for directing the Fox series about a struggling high school choir, while Jane Lynch took home the trophy for her best supporting actress role as the scheming cheerleader Sue Sylvester.   

``'Glee' is about the importance of arts education so I would like to dedicate this to all my teachers who taught me to sing and finger-paint,'' Murphy said of his award.   

Eric Stonestreet, who plays one of the gay fathers in ''Modern Family,'' won the best supporting comedy actor award, while the ABC mockumentary also took the award for best comedy writing.

``Glee'' went into the Primetime Emmys with a leading 19 nominations after a first season that took popular culture by storm. The show was the flavour of the night on Sunday's Emmy telecast.

Host Jimmy Fallon opened the show with a skit that roped actresses Tina Fey, Betty White, reality TV star Kate Gosselin and ``Mad Men'' star Jon Hamm into an impromptu ''Glee''-style cover version of the Bruce Springsteen classic ''Born to Run.''    

The best drama series Emmy -- the top award -- will be handed out later in the three-hour live ceremony in Los Angeles. Stylish critical darling ``Mad Men'' has 17 nominations and is seen as having the edge in the best drama series contest for a third year.

 Sci-fi thriller ``Lost,'' a worldwide hit, also has a shot at the best drama series Emmy after ending its six-year run in May. Broadcaster NBC for the first time invited fans to use Twitter to send in humorous messages for Fallon to use in the ceremony and teamed up with Ustream for an interactive companion show that streamed online live from the Emmys backstage area. - Reuters