Game of Thrones Captures 24 Emmy Noms

Game of Thrones declared victory, at least in the race for Emmy nominations, receiving a whopping 24 as they were announced today. The drama wasn't hurt with TV academy voters by controversy over its depiction of rape, earning five more nominations than it did last year. It's a contender again for best drama series, an award that has eluded it. 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's sets up a possibility of a history-making win: An African-American actress has never won the top drama acting award. The Emmy ceremony will air Sept. 20 on Fox with Andy Samberg as host. A breakdown of other nominees:

• Best actor in a drama series: Kyle Chandler, Bloodline; Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul; Kevin Spacey, House of Cards; Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan.
• Best actress in a drama series: Claire Danes, Homeland; Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder; Taraji P. Henson, Empire; Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men; Robin Wright, House of Cards.
• Best drama series: Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Homeland, House of Cards, Mad Men, Orange Is the New Black.
• Best comedy series: Louie, Modern Family, Parks & Recreation, Silicon Valley, Transparent, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep.

(More Emmy Awards stories.)