HBO garnered seven more honors at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony Sunday in addition to the 20 awards it earned last week, bringing its total Emmy haul to 27 this year.

The cable network, which has been a formidable force along the Emmy awards trail in recent years, dominated at the series front as its hit series "Behind the Candelabra" and "Boardwalk Empire" finished in a one-two punch at the TV industry's biggest annual event held at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night.

CBS won 16 awards altogether. NBC and Showtime followed with 11 and seven, respectively. ABC and Comedy Central won four apiece, while AMC had three wins.

Frontrunner Jim Parsons picked up his third Emmy for comedy actor for playing awkward genius Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory" as widely anticipated. He previously won the award in 2010 and 2011.

"I want you to know that I'm very aware of how exceedingly fortunate I am," he said onstage accepting the award. "First to have the chance to do this role in this show... Secondly, to be here, to be a part of such a phenomenal group of people and for seemingly happenstance reasons to be up here right now, thank you so much."

Jeff Daniels won his first career Emmy for playing cable news anchor Will McAvoy in HBO's "The Newsroom," beating out tough contenders including Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad," Hugh Bonneville of "Downton Abbey," Damian Lewis of "Homeland," Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" and Kevin Spacey of "House of Cards."

"The last thing I won was a few years ago for 'Squid and the Whale,'" Daniels said while accepting the trophy. "I won the best actor over 50 from the AARP. With all due respect to the AARP, this is better."

Claire Danes of "Homeland" and Julia Louis-Dreyfus of "Veep" both repeated last year's wins for outstanding drama and comedy actress.

"I have to take this moment to acknowledge one of our very most treasured writers, Henry Bromell, who won tonight," Danes said onstage while paying special tribute to writer/producer Bromell. "He passed away in March, and we just loved him so much."

The actress, winning her second Emmy for two years in a row, was honored for starring in the lead role in the showtime drama.

A repeat winner as comedy actress, Louis-Dreyfus was no stranger to the Emmys. She won the comedy Emmy in 2006 for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" after she was recognized as a supporting-actress Emmy in 1996 for "Seinfeld."

Bobby Cannavale, from "Boardwalk Empire," won as best supporting actor in a drama, while Anna Gunn from "Breaking Bad" earned the best actress award in the same category.

Tony Hale of "Veep" was honored with best supporting actor in a comedy, which was one of the upsets for the night.

"Even to be on a list with those guys is crazy humbling," Hale said."This is mind-blowing."

FX's "American Horror Story: Asylum," which entered the Emmys as the most-nominated program with 17, took home only two wins as one of the biggest upsets at the event.

ABC's "Modern Family," in a bid to win its fourth consecutive series trophies, finished as the second comedy to win the award for outstanding comedy series in its first four seasons on the air. The series, for the first time ever, was completely shut out from the acting categories as none of its cast members walked home with any statuette. Anyway, it won a directing award.

AMC's "Breaking Bad," which has been shown in the sixth and final season, earned its first coveted Emmy for best drama series after getting an upset last year. Actress Anna Gunn from the series also won a supporting actress Emmy.

The AMC show's other actors were not so lucky, though, as lead actor Bryan Cranston, supporting-actor hopefuls Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks all left emptyhanded.

"Behind the Candelabra," the HBO movie about musician Liberace and his relationship with lover Scott Thorson played by Matt Damon, collected three statuettes -- best director for Steven Soderbergh, best actor for Michael Douglas and best miniseries or made-for-television movie.

During his speech, Douglas wanted to share the honor with actor Matt Damon.

"You were magnificent, and the only reason I'm standing here is because of you," Douglas said.

Netflix, the online video provider which hoped to become the first online service to win an Emmy in a major category, has failed to translate it into reality.

Its original series "House of Cards" earned nominations for best drama, best actor for Kevin Spacey and best actress for Robin Wright.

The ceremony also extended "In memoriam" group tributes to stars such as actor-comedian Jonathan Winters, actress Jean Stapleton, "The Sopranos" lead actor James Gandolfini and other industry members who died in the past year.