The 68th Emmy Awards nominations were announced this morning (July 14), and, as has become tradition, HBO dominated.
The pay-cable giant led the field with 94 nominations, buoyed by 23 nominations for Game of Thrones alone (including best drama). FX finished second with 56 nominations, and Netflix came in third with 54. Game of Thrones narrowly beat out FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson for the show with the most nominations.
For the most part, the Television Academy’s choices for the best TV over the past year were fairly expected. Some pleasant surprises were FX’s critically acclaimed The Americans getting a best drama nomination (the drama has been snubbed in the past) and Constance Zimmer receiving a nomination for her work on UnREAL, a well-deserved acknowledgement for the under-appreciated Lifetime series.
The only new show to receive a best drama nomination was USA Network’s Mr. Robot, which began its second season last night. Netflix’s Master of None was the only newcomer in the comedy category.
Despite HBO’s massive haul, there was nothing left for The Leftovers, which left this reporter disappointed, especially as the Academy inexplicably continued to shower Downton Abbey with nominations.
The awards will be handed out Sunday, Sept. 18 on ABC. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the ceremony.
Here’s a list of the major categories. You can see the full list of nominations here.
Outstanding Drama Series
- The Americans (FX)
- Better Call Saul (AMC)
- Downton Abbey (PBS)
- Game of Thrones (HBO)
- Homeland (Showtime)
- House of Cards (Netflix)
- Mr. Robot (USA Network)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Kyle Chandler, Bloodline (Netflix)
- Rami Malek, Mr. Robot (USA Network)
- Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)
- Matthew Rhys, The Americans (FX)
- Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
- Kevin Spacey, House of Cards (Netflix)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Claire Danes, Homeland (Showtime)
- Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)
- Taraji P. Henson, Empire (Fox)
- Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
- Keri Russell, The Americans (FX)
- Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)
Outstanding Comedy Series
- Black-ish (ABC)
- Master of None (Netflix)
- Modern Family (ABC)
- Silicon Valley (HBO)
- Transparent (Amazon)
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
- Veep (HBO)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (ABC)
- Aziz Ansari, Master of None (Netflix)
- Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth (Fox)
- William H. Macy, Shameless (Showtime)
- Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley (HBO)
- Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
- Laurie Metcalf, Getting On (HBO)
- Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish (ABC)
- Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
- Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)