’Game of Thrones’ earns a leading 23 Emmy Award nominations

LOS ANGELES — Power-and-blood fantasy saga “Game of Thrones” ruled the Emmy Award nominations Thursday with a leading 23 bids, including best drama, while a real-life epic of murder and celebrity, “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” was close behind with 22 nods.

“Game of Thrones” gets the chance to win its second top Emmy, while “Veep,” last year’s top comedy winner, also will get another shot at holding office and with 17 nominations was the comedy leader.

Breakthrough nominations include a best comedy series nod for sophomore “black-ish,” which brought the African-American family sitcom back to network TV, with bids as well for its stars, Anthony Anderson — who helped announce the awards live on Thursday and read his own name with glee — and his co-star Tracee Ellis Ross.

They were among a number of black actors recognized by TV academy voters, who have started to keep pace with TV’s growing diversity — in sharp contrast to moviedom’s Academy Awards, which were slammed as “Oscars So White” this year.

Viola Davis, the “How to Get Away with Murder” star who last year became the first woman of color to win a best drama actress trophy, was nominated again. So was “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson.

But there were no major acting nods for the stars of “Fresh Off the Boat” or other Asian-American actors, or for Latinos, which has been a recurrent Emmy pattern.

“Game of Thrones” and “Mr. Robot” will compete with “Better Call Saul,” ”Homeland,” ”House of Cards,” ”The Americans” and “Downton Abbey,” the last a nod for its farewell season. But the final season of “The Good Wife” was not recognized, and star Julianna Margulies also was snubbed.

Aziz Ansari received a lead comedy acting bid for his series “Master of None,” a first for an Indian-American actor, and the show received a best comedy series nomination. Rami Malek, of Egyptian descent, earned a top drama acting nod for his role as a renegade hacker in another freshman, “Mr. Robot,” which also will compete for drama honors.

“The Americans,” which gained in attention last season, also earned bids for its stars, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.

Besides Russell, Davis and Henson, lead drama actress bids went to Claire Danes for “Homeland” and Tatiana Maslany for “Orphan Black.”

Malek and Rhys will be competing with Kevin Spacey for “House of Cards,” Kyle Chandler for “Bloodline,” Bob Odenkirk for “Better Call Saul” and Liev Schreiber for “Ray Donovan.”

On the comedy side, “Veep,” ”black-ish” and “Master of None” will tussle for the trophy with five-time champ “Modern Family,” ”Transparent,” ”Silicon Valley” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

A top acting nod for “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays a U.S. vice president now elevated to the Oval Office, gives her the chance to score her fifth consecutive win and set a record.

She and Ross will be competing with Ellie Kemper in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” Laurie Metcalf in “Getting On,” Amy Schumer in “Inside Amy Schumer” and Lily Tomlin in “Grace and Frankie.”

“Black-ish” star Anderson, who got his second nod, will be competing with last year’s winner, Jeffrey Tambor of “Transparent,” along with Ansari, Will Forte for “The Last Man on Earth,” William H. Macy for “Shameless” and Thomas Middleditch for “Silicon Valley.”

“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” which recounted the football legend’s sensational, racially charged trial for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, is a best limited series nominee and earned a number of acting awards for its cast’s portrayal of well-known figures.

Lead nominations went to Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson, Courtney B. Vance as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran and Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark. Supporting bids were given to Sterling K. Brown as prosecutor Christopher Darden, David Schwimmer as Simpson friend Robert Kardashian — patriarch of the now-famous family — and John Travolta as defense attorney Robert Shapiro.

Gooding and Vance will compete with Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon B. Johnson in “All The Way,” Benedict Cumberbatch in “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Masterpiece),” Idris Elba in “Luther” and Tom Hiddleston in “The Night Manager.”

Paulson’s rivals are Kirsten Dunst for “Fargo,” Felicity Huffman and Lili Taylor for “American Crime,” Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday for “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” and Kerry Washington as Anita Hill in “Confirmation.”

The Sept. 18 Emmy show will be broadcast live on ABC from 8-11 p.m. EDT, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Partial list of Primetime Emmy Award nominations

Partial list of nominees for the annual Primetime Emmy Awards, announced Thursday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:

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”; Constance Zimmer, “UnREAL.”

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. 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”; Matt Walsh, “Veep.”

9. 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.”

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. Actor, Limited Series or Movie: 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. Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie: 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.”

14. Actress, Limited Series or Movie: 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.”

15. Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Movie: 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. Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Max von Sydow, “Game of Thrones”; Michael J. Fox, “The Good Wife”; Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards”; Mahershala Ali, “House of Cards”; Paul Sparks, “House of Cards”; Hank Azaria, “Ray Donovan.”

19. Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Margo Martindale, “The Americans”; Carrie Preston, “The Good Wife”; Laurie Metcalf, “Horace and Pete”; Ellen Burstyn, “House of Cards;” Molly Parker, “House of Cards”; Allison Janney, “Masters of Sex.”

20. Actor, Short Form Comedy or Drama Series: Rob Corddry, “Childrens Hospital”; Rob Huebel, “Childrens Hospital;” Lou Diamond Phillips, “The Crossroads of History”; Oscar Nunez, “The Crossroads of History”; Jack McBrayer, “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell,” Adult Swim.

21. Actress, Short Form Comedy or Drama Series: Patrika Darbo, “Acting Dead”; Erinn Hayes, Childrens Hospital; Janet Varney, “Everyone’s Crazy But Us”; Michelle Ang, “Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462”; Tracie Thoms, “Send Me.”

22. Television Movie: “All the Way,” ”Confirmation,” ”Luther,” ”Sherlock: The Abominable Bride,” ”A Very Murray Christmas.”

23. Variety Talk Series: “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” ”Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ”Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” ”The Late Late Show With James Corden,” ”Real Time With Bill Maher,” ”The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

24. Variety Sketch Series: “Documentary Now!” ”Drunk History,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” ”Key & Peele,” ”Portlandia,” ”Saturday Night Live.”

25. Variety Special: “Adele Live in New York City,” ”Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo,” ”The Kennedy Center Honors”; “The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special,” ”Lemonade.”

26. Animated Program: “Archer,” ”Bob’s Burgers,” ”Phineas and Ferb Last Day of Summer,” ”The Simpsons-Halloween of Horror,” ”South Park-You’re Not Yelping.”

27. Children’s Program: “Dog With a Blog,” ”Girl Meets World,” ”It’s Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown!” ”Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: Hello, I Must Be Going! 25 Years of Nick News With Linda Ellerbee”; “School of Rock.”

28. Documentary or Nonfiction Special: “Becoming Mike Nichols,” ”Everything is Copy-Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted,” ”Listen to Me Marlon,” ”Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures,” ”What Happened, Miss Simone?”

29. Documentary or Nonfiction Series: “American Masters,” ”Chef’s Table,” ”Making a Murderer,” ”The Seventies,” ”Woman With Gloria Steinem.”

30. Informational Series or Special: “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” ”Inside The Actors Studio,” ”Star Talk With Neil deGrasse Tyson,” ”The Story of God With Morgan Freeman,” ”Vice.” ”Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”

31. Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking: “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (Independent Lens),” ”Cartel Land,” ”The Hunting Ground,” ”Jim: The James Foley Story,” ”Racing Extinction,” ”Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.”

32. Structured Reality Program: “Antiques Roadshow,” ”Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” ”Lip Sync Battle,” ”MythBusters,” ”Shark Tank,” ”Undercover Boss.”

33. Unstructured Reality Program: “Born This Way,” ”Deadliest Catch,” ”Gaycation With Ellen Page,” ”Intervention,” ”Project Greenlight,” ”United Shades of America.”

34. Reality-Competition Program: “The Amazing Race,” ”American Ninja Warrior,” ”Dancing With the Stars,” ”Project Runway,” ”Top Chef,” ”The Voice.”