'Game of Thrones', Netflix lead 70th Emmy Awards nominations

Fantasy drama "Game of Thrones" has earned 22 nominations for the 70th Emmy Awards, where HBO's 17-year streak as the most nominated network has been broken by Netflix. Sandra Oh became the first Asian actress nominated for lead in a drama series, and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was nominated posthumously for "Parts Unknown".

The Television Academy had Samira Wiley and Ryan Eggold present the nominations here on Thursday morning.

For the "Game of Thrones", the announcement was special given that in 2017, the HBO entertainer was ineligible to compete for the Emmys due to its seventh season's later-than-usual summer debut. Now it has scored the most nominations for any single show at the 2018 Emmys.

However, HBO does not lead all nominees as Netflix beat its 108 score with 112 nominations, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"Parts Unknown", by Bourdain, whose death last month left the industry in disbelief, notched a total of six nominations for 2018, five of them in Creative Arts Emmy categories.

History was made when Oh, who had been named five times in the supporting category for her work on "Grey's Anatomy", was announced as a nominee for an Emmy for lead actress in a drama series, becoming the first actress of Asian decent to achieve the feat, variety.com reported.

The actress, born in Canada to Korean immigrant parents, has received the nomination for the critically acclaimed thriller "Killing Eve", in which she plays Eve Polastri, a MI5 officer who is tailing an assassin.

Also, "Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson bagged his first Emmy nomination after 15 years, since joining the series in 2003. He has been nominated for best supporting actor in a comedy series.

It is for the first time since 2011, the perennial winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus is not up for best actress in a comedy. Rachel Brosnahan, Tracee Ellis Ross and Issa Rae are among those vying for the award.

As for Netflix, The New York Times reports that its growth at the Emmys is staggering. In 2015, the streaming service had 34 nominations. In 2016, it had 54. Last year, that number was up to 91, second only to HBO's. And this time, it has 112.

After "Game of Thrones", "Westworld" and "Saturday Night Live" are the most nominated shows with a mention in 21 categories each.

"The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" drew the most nominations for a limited series with 18 nods, while "Atlanta" was the most nominated comedy series at 16.

Nominees in the Drama Series category include: "The Handmaida¿s Tale", "Game of Thrones", "This Is Us", "The Crown", "The Americans", "Stranger Things" and "Westworld".

Colin Jost and Michael Che will host the 70th Annual Primetime Emmys, to be held at the Microsoft Theater here on September 17. It will be aired in India on Star World and Star World HD.

--IANS

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