2016 Emmy Nominations: ‘Game of Thrones’ Leads Field, ‘The Americans,’ ‘Mr. Robot’ Grab Series Bids

HBO’s epic fantasy drama “Game of Thrones” once again leads the pack of contenders for the Primetime Emmy Awards, grabbing 23 nominations for its sixth season.

“Thrones” is up for the top drama series award that it won last year for the first time, along with 11 other trophies, setting a new record for wins in a single year. Vying against “Thrones” for drama series honors this year are FX’s “The Americans,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” PBS’ “Downton Abbey,” Showtime’s “Homeland,” Netflix’s “House of Cards” and USA’s “Mr. Robot.”

Contenders for comedy series honors are ABC’s “Blackish” and “Modern Family,” Netflix’s “Master of None” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” HBO’s “Veep” (the reigning champ) and “Silicon Valley” and Amazon’s “Transparent.”

FX’s “The People V. O.J. Simpson,” one of the most lauded programs of the season, is a close second behind “Thrones” with 22 bids, including acting noms for Sarah Paulson and Courtney B. Vance. Up against “Simpson” in the limited series heat is fellow FX entry “Fargo,” ABC’s “American Crime,” AMC’s “The Night Manager” and History’s “Roots.”

Rounding out the top five top nominees are “Fargo” (18), “Veep” (17) and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” (16). “Game of Thrones” came in one shy of last year’s haul of 24 noms. HBO maintained its poll position among networks with 94 noms, down from a record 126 last year. FX ran second with 56 bids, followed by Netflix (54), NBC (41) and ABC (35).

The late-night talk show field saw a shakeup this year as Jerry Seinfeld’s Crackle digital series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” joined the hunt with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

The reality-competition category was full of familiar faces as last year’s victor “The Voice” will go up against CBS’ “The Amazing Race,” NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior,” ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” Lifetime’s “Project Runway” and Bravo’s “Top Chef.”

Source: variety.com