This year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards almost felt like last year’s ceremony, where the same people won the same awards (more or less), but there were a few pleasant surprises in tonight’s proceedings.

But first, to the (in some cases, disappointing) non-surprises: HBO’s Boardwalk Empire won both Best Ensemble in a Drama Series and Best Male Actor in a Drama Series (for Steve Buscemi), the same awards the show won last year. Betty White won her second SAG Award in  a row for her role in the comedy Hot in Cleveland, while Alec Baldwin won his sixth straight SAG Award (yes) for 30 Rock. Unfortunately, that meant a shut-out for Steve Carell, who was nominated for his final season in The Office.

View all the nominees for this year’s SAG Awards

But there’s a pleasant win for Jessica Lange: she won her first SAG Award for her deliciously nasty performance in American Horror Story.

The film winners were, like last year, (almost) pretty much a carbon copy of this year’s Golden Globes — The Artist‘s Jean Dujardin and Beginners‘ Christopher Plummer won for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. But the biggest winner was The Help: apart from Octavia Spencer’s expected win, the film also won Best Cast, while Viola Davis was named Best Actress. And suddenly, the Oscar race got a little more interesting.

Other highlights of the night included Mary Tyler Moore getting a Life Achievement Award (and a long standing ovation for the award’s presenter, Dick Van Dyke, who had to reiterate that he’s just a presenter) and the “Scorsese drinking game,” one introduced by the cast of Bridesmaids, and one that resulted in a bunch of downed wine glasses when Boardwalk Empire won its two awards.

The full list of winners are below.

TELEVISION WINNERS

Outstanding Ensemble in a TV Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Ensemble in a TV Comedy Series: Modern Family

Outstanding Male Actor in a TV Drama Series: Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Female Actor in a TV Drama Series: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Outstanding Male Actor in a TV Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Outstanding Female Actor in a TV Comedy Series: Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Outstanding Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail

Outstanding Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce


FILM WINNERS


Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: The Help

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Viola Davis, The Help

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, The Help


(Image courtesy of HBO and Dreamworks Pictures)

Henrik Batallones

Staff Writer, BuddyTV