Hollywood - The fantasy saga Game of Thrones received a leading 24 Emmy Awards nominations on Thursday.
The drama wasn't hurt by controversy over its depiction of a female character's 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 recognised 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.