"Game of Thrones" roared back onto the Emmy Award battlefield, topping Thursday's nominations with 22 bids but with a formidable opponent in last year's winner, "The Handmaid's Tale," while a streaming platform made history by earning the most bids for the first time.
Netflix's 112 nominations took away the front-runner title that HBO held since 2001, giving cable and broadcast TV more reason to fear their future in viewers as well as honors. HBO is no piker: It claimed 108 bids.
"Game of Thrones" helped boost the premium cable service's total and became the most-nominated series of all time, with its 129 nods topping the 124 nominations earned by "ER."
Donald Glover's "Atlanta" was the top comedy series nominee the with 16 bids, poised to take advantage of the absence this time around of three-time winner "Veep." ''Atlanta" will face newcomers including "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," ''Glow" and "Barry." Others in the category include "black'ish," ''Silicon Valley," ''Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
The short-lived revival of "Roseanne," canceled because of star Roseanne Barr's racist tweet, drew only one major nomination, a supporting actress nod for Laurie Metcalf. Another revival, "Will & Grace," got Emmy love for nominees Megan Mullally and Molly Shannon but the main stars and series itself were snubbed.
"Killing Eve" star Sandra Oh made history of her own, becoming the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for lead acting honors in a drama series.
Three notable first-time nominees: Issa Rae for "Insecure," Ricky Martin for "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" and John Legend for "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert." If Legend wins, he'll join the rarified club of "EGOT" performers who've won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
"Saturday Night Live," riding high with its relentless pillorying of the Trump administration, was rewarded with 21 nods.
HBO's fantasy dragons-and-swords saga is a two-time best drama winner that sat out last year's awards because of its production schedule. Although it's up for top series honors, it drew only three supporting actor bids for cast members Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage.
"The Handmaid's Tale," the dystopian sci-fi series that claimed top drama honors last year, drew 20 bids, including one for last year's best actress winner, Elisabeth Moss, and supporting bids for Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Yvonne Strahovski and Joseph Fiennes.
The Emmys ceremony airs Sept. 17 on NBC with Colin Jost and Michael Che of "Saturday Night Live" as hosts.
Here is a list of the nominees in key categories:
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
"The Americans"
"The Crown"
"Game of Thrones"
"The Handmaid's Tale"
"Stranger Things"
"This is Us"
"Westworld"
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
"Atlanta"
"Barry"
"black-ish"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"GLOW"
"The Marvelous Mrs Maisel"
"Silicon Valley"
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA
Jason Bateman, "Ozark"
Sterling K. Brown, "This is Us"
Ed Harris, "Westworld"
Matthew Rhys, "The Americans"
Milo Ventimiglia, "This is Us"
Jeffrey Wright, "Westworld"
LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA
Claire Foy, "The Crown"
Tatiana Maslany, "Orphan Black"
Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale"
Sandra Oh, "Killing Eve"
Keri Russell, "The Americans"
Evan Rachel Wood, "Westworld"
LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, "black-ish"
Ted Danson, "The Good Place"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Donald Glover, "Atlanta"
Bill Hader, "Barry"
William H. Macy, "Shameless"
LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
Pamela Adlon, "Better Things"
Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel"
Allison Janney, "Mom"
Issa Rae, "Insecure"
Tracee Ellis Ross, "black-ish"
Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie"
SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, "Game of Thrones"
Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"
Joseph Fiennes, "The Handmaid's Tale"
David Harbour, "Stranger Things"
Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland"
Matt Smith, "The Crown"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Alexis Bledel, "The Handmaid's Tale"
Millie Bobby Brown, "Stranger Things"
Ann Dowd, "The Handmaid's Tale"
Lena Headey, "Game of Thrones"
Vanessa Kirby, "The Crown"
Yvonne Strahovski, "The Handmaid's Tale"
SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Louie Anderson, "Baskets"
Alec Baldwin, "Saturday Night Live"
Brian Tyree Henry, "Atlanta"
Tony Shalhoub, "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel"
Kenan Thompson, "Saturday Night Live"
Henry Winkler, "Barry"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Zazie Beetz, "Atlanta"
Aidy Bryant, "Saturday Night Live"
Betty Gilpin, "GLOW"
Leslie Jones, "Saturday Night Live"
Kate McKinnon, "Saturday Night Live"
Laurie Metcalf, "Roseanne"
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
"The Alienist"
"The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story"
"Genius: Picasso"
"Godless"
"Patrick Melrose"
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
"Fahrenheit 451"
"Flint"
"Paterno"
"The Tale"
"USS Callister (Black Mirror)"
LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Antonio Banderas, "Genius: Picasso"
Darren Criss, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "Patrick Melrose"
Jeff Daniels, "The Looming Tower"
John Legend, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert"
Jesse Plemons, "USS Callister (Black Mirror)"
LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Jessica Biel, "The Sinner"
Laura Dern, "The Tale"
Michelle Dockery, "Godless"
Edie Falco, "Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders"
Regina King, "Seven Seconds"
Sarah Paulson, "American Horror Story: Cult"
Top five programs with most overall nominations:
"Game of Thrones" - 22
"Saturday Night Live" - 21
"Westworld" - 21
"The Handmaid's Tale" - 20
"The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" - 18
Top five platforms with most overall nominations:
Netflix: 112
HBO: 108
NBC: 78
FX Networks: 50
CBS: 34
