'Game of Thrones' leads Emmy nominations

PHOTOGRAPHER: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences via AP

A view at the trophy table at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre, in Los Angeles in 2013.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The elaborate fantasy saga “Game of Thrones” received a leading 24 Emmy Awards nominations Thursday, its stature apparently untouched by backlash over a female character’s rape scene.

The series is a contender again for top drama honors, an award that has eluded it since it debuted in 2011. TV academy voters rarely give shows in the sci-fi or other genres the ultimate accolade.

The TV academy took a step toward recognizing the increasingly diverse talent on TV, giving best actress nods to black stars Taraji P. Henson for “Empire” and Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder.”

That sets up a possibility of a history-making win: An African-American actress has never won the top drama acting award.

“I gotta win! I gotta win for history!” an exuberant Henson said when asked about the prospect during an “Empire” panel in May.

However, two-time nominee Kerry Washington of “Scandal” was left out this year.

Also snubbed: hit hop-family drama “Empire,” which was left out of the best drama series category, and series star Terrence Howard, who failed to get a best drama actor bid.

Instead, voters gave nods to favorites such as “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey of “House of Cards” and newcomer Bob Odenkirk for “Better Call Saul,” the prequel to the now-concluded “Breaking Bad.”

Gina Rodriguez, the standout Latina star of “Jane the Virgin,” failed to get a comedy acting nod — despite having won a Golden Globe award for her performance.

Programs getting a last chance for Emmy glory include best drama series nominee “Mad Men,” a four-time winner in the category that would be the most-honored drama ever with a fifth trophy. For star Hamm’s portrayal of Don Draper, it’s a final shot after seven previous nominations.

David Letterman, who retired from “Late Show,” and Stephen Colbert, who left “The Colbert Report” to succeed Letterman this fall, both received variety talk show nominations for their former shows.

“Late Show” was last nominated in 2009 as best variety, music or comedy series and last won in 2002. Colbert’s show won in 2014.

They’re both getting a break: the TV academy split the variety series category into two, one for variety talk shows and one for variety or sketch series like “Saturday Night Live,” making space for more contenders in each.

The nominees are below:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES: “Better Call Saul”; “Downton Abbey”; “Game of Thrones”; “Homeland”; “House of Cards”; “Mad Men”; “Orange is the New Black”

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES: “Louie”; “Modern Family”; “Parks and Recreation”; “Silicon Valley”; “Transparent”; “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; “Veep”

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA: Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”; Kyle Chandler, “Bloodline”; Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”; Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”; Jeff Daniels, “The Newsroom”; Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA: Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”; Claire Danes, “Homeland”; Viola Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder”; Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”; Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”; Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE: Timothy Hutton, “American Crime”; Ricky Gervais, “Derek Special”; Adrien Brody, “Houdini”; David Oyelowo, “Nightingale”; Richard Jenkins, “Olive Kitteridge”; Mark Rylance, “Wolf Hall”

LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE: Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”; Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”; Queen Latifah, “Bessie”; Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honorable Woman”; Frances McDormand, “Olive Kitteridge”; Emma Thompson, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY: Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”; Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”; Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”; Will Forte, “The Last Man On Earth”; Louis C.K., “Louie”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY: Lisa Kudrow, “The Comeback”; Lily Tomlin, “Grace And Frankie”; Amy Schumer, “Inside Amy Schumer”; Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”; Amy Poehler, “Parks And Recreation”; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

REALITY-COMPETITION SERIES: “The Amazing Race”; “Dancing With The Stars”; “Project Runway”; “So You Think You Can Dance”; “Top Chef”; “The Voice”

VARIETY SERIES: “The Colbert Report”; “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”; “Jimmy Kimmel Live”; “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”; “Late Show With David Letterman”; “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

LIMITED SERIES: “American Crime”; “American Horror Story: Freak Show”; “The Honorable Woman”; “Olive Kitteridge”; “Wolf Hall”

VARIETY SKETCH SERIES: “Drunk History”; “Inside Amy Schumer”; “Key & Peele”; “Portlandia”; “Saturday Night Live”

TELEVISION MOVIE: “Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Curtain, Poirot’s Last Case”; “Bessie”; “Grace of Monaco”; “Hello Ladies: The Movie”; “Killing Jesus”; “Nightingale”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA: Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”; Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”; Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey”; Peter Dinklage, “Game Of Thrones”; Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”; Michael Kelly, “House Of Cards”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA: Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”; Lena Headey, “Game Of Thrones”; Emilia Clarke, “Game Of Thrones”; Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife”; Christina Hendricks, “Man Men”; Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is The New Black”

GUEST ACTOR, DRAMA: Alan Alda, “The Blacklist”; Michael J. Fox, “The Good Wife”; F. Murray Abraham, “Homeland”; Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards”; Beau Bridges, “Masters Of Sex”; Pablo Schreiber, “Orange Is The New Black”

GUEST ACTRESS, DRAMA: Margo Martindale, “The Americans”; Diana Rigg, “Game of Thrones”; Rachel Brosnahan, “House Of Cards”; Cicely Tyson, “How To Get Away With Murder”; Allison Janney, “Masters Of Sex”; Khandi Alexander, “Scandal”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY: Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”; Adam Driver, “Girls”; Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele”; Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”; Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Tony Hale, “Veep”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY: Mayim Bialik, “The Big Bang Theory”; Niecy Nash, “Getting On”; Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”; Allison Janney, “Mom”; Kate McKinnon “Saturday Night Live”; Gaby Hoffmann, “Transparent”; Jane Krakowski, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Anna Chlumsky, “Veep”

GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY: Mel Brooks, “The Comedians”; Paul Giamatti, “Inside Amy Schumer”; Bill Hader, “Saturday Night Live”; Louis C.K., “Saturday Night Live”; Bradley Whitford, “Transparent”; Jon Hamm, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY: Christine Baranski, “The Big Bang Theory”; Gaby Hoffmann, “Girls”; Pamela Adlon, “Louie”; Elizabeth Banks, “Modern Family”; Joan Cusack, “Shameless”; Tina Fey, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE: Richard Cabral, “American Crime”; Denis O’Hare, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”; Finn Wittrock, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”; Michael Kenneth Williams, “Bessie”; Bill Murray, “Olive Kitteridge”; Damian Lewis, “Wolf Hall”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE: Regina King, “American Crime”; Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”; Angela Bassett, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”; Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”; Mo’Nique, “Bessie”; Zoe Kazan, “Olive Kitteridge”

HOST, REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM: Tom Bergeron, “Dancing with the Stars”; Jane Lynch, “Hollywood Game Night”; Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, “Project Runway”; Cat Deeley, “So You Think You Can Dance”; Anthony Bourdain, “The Taste”

STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM: “Antiques Roadshow”; “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”; “MythBusters”; “Property Brothers”; “Shark Tank”; “Undercover Boss”

UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM: “Alaska: The Last Frontier”; “Deadliest Catch”; “Intervention”; “Million Dollar Listing New York”; “Naked And Afraid”; “Wahlburgers”

VARIETY SPECIAL: “Bill Maher: Live From D.C.”; “The Kennedy Center Honors”; “Mel Brooks Live At The Geffen”; “The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special”; “Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE!”

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES: “The Colbert Report”; “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”; Inside Amy Schumer”; “Key & Peele”; “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL: “The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards”; “Key & Peele Super Bowl Special”; “Louis C.K.: Live At The Comedy Store”; “Mel Brooks Live At The Geffen”; “The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special”

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM: “Beyoncé And Jay Z On The Run”; “The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards”; “The Oscars”; “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”; “68th Annual Tony Awards”

SHORT-FORM LIVE-ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM: “Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis: Brad Pitt”; “Billy On The Street With First Lady Michelle Obama, Big Bird And Elena!!!”; “Childrens Hospital”; “Key & Peele Presents Van And Mike: The Ascension”; “Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show Starring Katy Perry”

SHORT-FORM NONFICTION PROGRAM: “American Horror Story: Extra-Ordinary Artists”; “Parks And Recreation: Behind The Final Season”; “30 For 30 Shorts”; “Transparent: This is Me”; “A Tribute To Mel Brooks”