Even if you don’t follow either show, you probably heard about Showtime’s new series “Homeland” taking the prize for best drama at Sunday’s 64th Primetime Emmy Awards — ending a four-year winning streak by AMC’s “Mad Men”. “Homeland” didn’t stop there; the first-season hit also walked away with awards for best actor and actress in a drama series.

By Monday morning, there was a sense that the wins were a coming-of-age moment for Showtime, a network, long in the shadow of HBO, a premium network that also took several prizes for shows like “Game Change” and “Veep.”

Showtime, like HBO, requires customers to pay a fee through a cable or satellite company for access and poses the question: Is premium cable taking hold of TV’s best shows?

Showtime immediately set out to capitalize on the wins, an effort made easier by the second-season premiere of “Homeland” to be shown Sunday.

“You couldn’t ask for a better launch plan than to win the Emmy Award seven days before you launch,” said David Nevins, president for entertainment at Showtime, on Monday — adding that he’s hoping for “extra activity at the call centers this week.”

Other winners like “Breaking Bad” and “Modern Family” come from cable and network channels, but premium channel wins jumped by more than a half dozen this year. We love “Homeland,” too, but we hope more of our future favorites aren’t so pricey.

The above editorial is the consensus

opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial

board whose names are listed above.