NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” last year’s Emmy winner for best drama series, scored a leading 23 nominations today for the 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, while the much-publicized limited series “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and “Fargo” each earned 22.
“Game of Thrones” was nominated for best drama series along with “The Americans,” “Better Call Saul,” “Downton Abbey,” “Homeland,” “House of Cards” and “Mr. Robot.”
Comedy series nominations went to “black-ish,” “Master of None,” “Modern Family,” “Silicon Valley,” “Transparent,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Veep.”
Competing for the Emmy for best actor in a drama series will be Kyle Chandler of “Bloodline,” Rami Malek of “Mr. Robot,” Bob Odenkirk for “Better Call Saul,” Matthew Reese of “The Americans,” Liev Schrieber for “Ray Donovan” and Kevin Spacey for “House of Cards.”
Lead drama actress nominations went to Claire Danes for “Homeland,” Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder,” Taraji P. Henson of “Empire,” Tatiana Maslany of “Orphan Black,” Keri Russell of “The Americans” and Robin Wright of “House of Cards.”
In the comedy categories, best actor nominees are Anthony Anderson of “black-ish,” Aziz Ansari for “Master of None,” Will Forte of “The Last Man on Earth,” William H. Macy of “Shameless,” Thomas Middleditch of “Silicon Valley” and Jeffrey Tambor of “Transparent.”
For best comedy actress, nominations went to Ellie Kemper for “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus for “Veep,” Laurie Metcalf of “Getting On,” Tracie Ellis Ross of “black-ish,” Amy Schumer for “Inside Amy Schumer” and Lily Tomlin for “Grace and Frankie.”
This is the fifth year in a row that none of the outstanding drama series nominees have come from the four major broadcast networks. The CBS legal drama “The Good Wife,” which ended its seven-season run in May, was the last major netork show to crack the list, earning a nomination in 2011.
A series from the major broadcast networks has not won in the category since Fox’s “24” in 2006.
“Veep” won the Emmy for best comedy series last year, breaking a record-tying five-year winning streak by “Modern Family.”  The five-year streak tied a record set by “Frasier.” This year’s nomination for “Modern Family” is the show’s seventh in its seven seasons on the air.
“The People v. O.J. Simpson” and “Fargo,” both FX programs, were both nominated for outstanding limited series, along with ABC’s “American Crime,” AMC’s “The Night Manager” and History Channel’s “Roots.”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson” also earned nominations for lead actor for Cuba Gooding Jr. and Courtney B. Vance,” lead actress for Sarah Paulson and supporting actor for Sterling K. Brown, David Schwimmer and John Travolta.
Nominations for outstanding television movie went to “All the Way” and “Confirmation,” both for HBO; BBC’s “Luther”; PBS’ “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride” and Netflix’s “A Very Murray Christmas.”
Up for outstanding variety talk series are “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” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
HBO scored a leading 94 nominations, while FX earned 56. NBC led the broadcast networks with 41 nominations, while ABC and CBS each earned 35 and Fox earned 29.
The biggest rule changes this year are the increase from five to six for the number of nominees for outstanding writing and directing in drama and comedy series in an attempt to reflect the dramatic increase in series production, according to Bruce Rosenblum, the chairman and CEO of the Television Academy.
Several changes have been made in the short form series categories, which are defined as series with a minimum of six episodes running an average of 15 minutes or less per episode.
The short format live entertainment category has been replaced by the outstanding short form series comedy or drama. The short format nonfiction category has been replaced by the outstanding short form reality/nonfiction series category.
An outstanding short form variety series category has been created, along with outstanding actor in a short form comedy or drama series and outstanding actress in a short form comedy or drama categories.
“Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham, best known for her roles on “Gilmore Girls” and “Parenthood,” joined Rosenblum in announcing the nominees in the top 12 categories in a nine-minute ceremony at the Television Academy’s North Hollywood headquarters.
The 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which honor programming initially airing between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. from June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016, will be presented Sept. 18 at the Microsoft Theater (formerly the Nokia Theatre) with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel as the host. The ceremony will be televised by ABC.
The bulk of the Primetime Emmys will be presented at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Sept. 10-11, also at the Microsoft Theater.
