NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - Celebrating its final season, HBO's “Game of Thrones” dominated today nominations announcement for the 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards, scoring a record 32 nods, including one for best drama series.
“Game of Thrones,” which debuted in 2011 and ended its 73-episode run on May 19, has won for outstanding drama series each of the last three years it was eligible. It wasn't eligible for the 2017 award because its only new episodes airing during the eligibility period were part of the body of work considered for its 2016 victory.
The hit series will compete for the drama prize this year with “Better Call Saul, “Bodyguard,” “Killing Eve,” “Ozark,” “Pose,” “Succession” and “This is Us.”
The drama series nomination for “This Is Us” is the show's third consecutive nod in the category. The most recent drama from one of the four major broadcast networks to be nominated for at least three consecutive years was the ABC mystery “Lost,” from 2008 to 2010.
A series from the major broadcast networks has not won outstanding drama series honors since Fox's “24” in 2006.
“Veep,” which ended its seven-season run on May 12, was among the shows earning nods for best comedy series. The show won for the outstanding comedy series Emmy each year from 2015 through 2017. Its final season was delayed to allow star Julia Louis-Dreyfus enough time to recuperate after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
Also nominated for the comedy series prize were “Barry,” “Fleabag,” “The Good Place,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Russian Doll” and “Schitt's Creek.”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won the Emmy last year during “Veep's” hiatus.
Louis-Dreyfus was nominated for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, along with last year's winner, Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Christina Applegate for “Dead to Me,” Natasha Lyonne of “Russian Doll,” Catherine O'Hara for “Schitt's Creek” and Phoebe Waller-Bridge for “Fleabag.”
For comedy series actor, nominations went to Anthony Anderson for “Black-ish,” Don Cheadle for “Black Monday,” Ted Danson of “The Good Place,” Michael Douglas of “The Kominsky Method,” Bill Hader for “Barry” and Eugene Levy of “Schitt's Creek.”
Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia were both nominated for best drama series actor for t6heir work in NBC's “This is Us.” Jason Bateman earned a nod for his work in “Ozark,” as did Bob Odenkirk for “Better Call Saul,” Billy Porter for “Pose” and Kit Harrington for “Game of Thrones.”
Harrington's co-star Emilia Clarke scored a nomination for best drama series actress for “Game of Thrones.” Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh were both nominated in the category for “Killing Eve,” as were Viola Davis of “How to Get Away with Murder,” Mandy Moore for “This is Us,” Robin Wright for “House of Cards” and Laura Linney for “Ozark.”
CBS' “The Amazing Race” was again among the nominees for outstanding reality-competition program. It has been nominated each of the preceding 17 years the category has been in existence. It won each of the first seven years, and again in 2011, 2012 and 2014. It will compete for the Emmy with NBC's “American Ninja Warrior” and “The Voice”; VH1's “RuPaul's Drag Race”; Bravo's “Top Chef”; and Netflix's “Nailed It.”
“RuPaul's Drag Race” won in 2018 and “The Voice” in 2017.
The biggest rule changes this year are the addition of a new category, outstanding music composition for a documentary series or special, restructuring the outstanding choreography category to two categories and setting a minimum running time of 75 minutes for a made-for-television movie seeking Emmy consideration.
There are two choreography categories -- outstanding choreography for variety and reality programming and outstanding choreography for scripted programming.
The changes increase the number of Emmy categories to 124.
More than 9,100 submissions were made for consideration for a nomination, a record, according to the Television Academy.
Ken Jeong, a panelist on Fox's “The Masked Singer,” and D'Arcy Carden, who portrays Janet, a programmed guide on “The Good Place,” joined Television Academy Chairman and CEO Frank Scherma and President and COO Maury McIntyre in announcing the nominees in the top categories at the Television Academy's North Hollywood headquarters.
The 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which honor programming initially airing between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. between June 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019, will be presented Sept. 22 at the Microsoft Theater and air on Fox.
The bulk of the awards from the Primetime Emmys will be presented at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Sept. 14-15, also at the Microsoft Theater.
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