“Game of Thrones,” HBO’s epic fantasy series, was nominated for 23 Emmy awards, including best TV drama, propelling Time Warner Inc.’s premium cable network to the front of the pack in the annual race for television’s top honors.
Last year’s winner for best drama, “Game of Thrones” will compete for the Emmy with “The Americans,” “Better Call Saul,” “Downton Abbey,” “House of Cards,” “Mr. Robot” and “Homeland,” the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Thursday in Los Angeles.
The nominations and the annual awards show give TV networks the opportunity to promote their top shows and bring in new viewers, a particularly tough challenge these days as Hollywood produces a record number of scripted series for an ever-increasing number of outlets. Streaming services from Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. now vie for viewers alongside broadcast and cable networks such as CBS, HBO, Showtime and FX.
Last year’s top comedy, “Veep,” the HBO series featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, will vie again for that award with “Black-ish,” “Master of None,” “Modern Family,” “Silicon Valley,” “Transparent” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” The contenders for the Emmys were announced by Anthony Anderson, a nominee for his role in “Black-ish” and Lauren Graham, of “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”
While HBO was the clear leader, 21st Century Fox’s FX network and Netflix stood out, getting 38 more nominations between them this year. FX garnered 22 alone for the widely watched limited series “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” Cuba Gooding Jr. was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of the former college and professional football star. Comcast Corp.’s USA Network will compete in the best drama series for its critically acclaimed “Mr. Robot.”
Streaming services have pursued awards to validate their efforts at producing their own shows and build credibility with Hollywood’s creative community.
Netflix, with one of the largest production budgets in Hollywood, stood out with its perennial political thriller “House of Cards” at 13 nominations, while shows including “Bloodline,” “Chef’s Table,” “Grace and Frankie” also will vie for Emmys. Hulu, the streaming service owned by major broadcast networks, got its first nominations, one for “Triumph’s Election Special” and another for the adaptation of novelist Stephen King’s “11.22.63.”
All of the newer players must still chase HBO, which swept the top prizes in drama and comedy last year. The Emmy voters tend to be conservative, recognizing the same shows year after year. However, last year’s wins for “Transparent,” an Amazon.com comedy about a father transitioning into a woman, and ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder,” a murder mystery with black woman in the lead role, led to commentary on transgender rights, sexism and ageism in Hollywood.
Race may be part of the discussion this year as well given recent strife between police and black citizens and two series about O.J. Simpson. Nominees from the FX series about Simpson include Sarah Paulson, for her role as prosecutor Marcia Clark, and Courtney B. Vance, who portrayed defense attorney Johnnie Cochran.
The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live at 8 p.m. New York Time on Sept. 18 on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel, star of the network’s late-night show, will host the program. ABC earned 35 nominations, including for best comedy “Black-ish” and “Modern Family.” Last year’s show on Fox drew 11.9 million viewers, the smallest audience on record for the program.
Partial list of Primetime Emmy Award nominations
The Associated Press
Partial list of nominees for the annual Primetime Emmy Awards, announced Thursday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:
1. Outstanding Comedy Series: “black-ish,” ”Master of None,” ”Modern Family,” ”Silicon Valley,” ”Transparent,” ”Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” ”Veep.”
2. Outstanding Drama Series: “Better Call Saul,” ”Downton Abbey,” ”Game of Thrones,” ”Homeland, “House of Cards,” ”Mr. Robot,” ”The Americans.”
3. Actor, Drama Series: Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”; Kyle Chandler, “Bloodline”; Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”; Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”; Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”; Matthew Rhys, “The Americans.”
4. Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”; Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”; Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”; Kit Harington, “Game of Thrones”; Michael Kelly, “House of Cards”; Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan.”
5. Actress, Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”; Claire Danes, “Homeland”; Robin Wright, “House of Cards”; Viola Davis, “How to Get Away With Murder”; Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”; Keri Russell, “The Americans.”
6. Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Maura Tierney, “The Affair”; Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”; Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones”; Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones”; Maisie Williams, “Game of Thrones.”
7. Actor, Comedy Series: Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”; Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Thomas Middleditch, “Silicon Valley,” Will Forte, “The Last Man on Earth”: Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent.”
8. Actress, Comedy Series: Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”; Laurie Metcalf, “Getting On”; Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”: Amy Schumer, “Inside Amy Schumer”; Ellie Kemper, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep.”
9. Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, “Baskets”; Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”; Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele”; Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”; Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Tony Hale, “Veep.”
10. Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Niecy Nash, “Getting On”; Allison Janney, “Mom”; Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”; Judith Light, “Transparent”; Gaby Hoffmann, “Transparent”; Anna Chlumsky “Veep.”
11. Limited Series: “American Crime,” ”Fargo,” ”Roots,” ”The Night Manager,” ”The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
12. Limited Series or Movie, Lead Actor: Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”; Idris Elba, “Luther”; Benedict Cumberbatch, “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”; Tom Hiddleston, “The Night Manager”; Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”; Cuba Gooding Jr., “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
13. Limited Series or Movie, Lead Actress: Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”; Lili Taylor, “American Crime”; Kerry Washington, “Confirmation”; Kirsten Dunst, “Fargo”; Audra McDonald, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”; Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
14. Limited Series or Movie, Supporting Actor: Jesse Plemons, “Fargo”; Bokeem Woodbine, “Fargo”; Hugh Laurie, “The Night Manager”; Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”; David Schwimmer, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”; John Travolta, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
15. Limited Series or Movie, Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, “All the Way”; Regina King, “American Crime”; Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Hotel”; Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Hotel”; Jean Smart, “Fargo”; Olivia Colman, “The Night Manager.”
16. Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Bob Newhart, “The Big Bang Theory”; Tracy Morgan, “Saturday Night Live”; Larry David, “Saturday Night Live”; Bradley Whitford, “Transparent”; Martin Mull, “Veep”; Peter MacNicol, “Veep.”
17. Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Laurie Metcalf, “The Big Bang Theory”; Christine Baranski, “The Big Bang Theory”; Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”; Melissa McCarthy, “Saturday Night Live”; Amy Schumer, “Saturday Night Live”; Melora Hardin, “Transparent.”
18. Outstanding Animated Program: “Archer,” ”Bob’s Burgers,” ”Phineas and Ferb Last Day of Summer,” ”The Simpsons-Halloween of Horror,” ”South Park-You’re Not Yelping.”