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Los Angeles - Mad Men, a piercingly bleak portrait of a 1960s American anti-hero, earned a leading 17 Emmy nominations on Thursday and the chance to set a new record as the most-honored drama in television history.
Mad Men, which has won four best drama series trophies and is tied with Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and The West Wing, received a fifth bid in the category.
The miniseries American Horror Story, a nightmarish saga about a haunted house, received a matching 17 awards, including an acting nod for star Connie Britton.
Other leading nominees include the elegant British-born drama Downton Abbey, which earned 16 bids, and two miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys, with 16, and Hemingway & Gellhorn with 15.
Modern Family, honoured as best comedy series for two years, was the sitcom leader with 14 bids.
Top nominations were announced by Kerry Washington of Scandal and by Jimmy Kimmel, who will host the awards and who filled in on Thursday for Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation, who was held up by weather-related travel delays on the East Coast.
"This is a sex dream, isn't it," joked Kimmel, ABC's late-night host, who arrived on stage at the TV academy dressed in pyjamas.
The Emmy ceremony is scheduled to air on ABC in the US on 23 September, and on M-Net and M-Net HD in South Africa the following day.
See the list of the 2012 Emmy nominations here.
Mad Men, which has won four best drama series trophies and is tied with Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and The West Wing, received a fifth bid in the category.
The miniseries American Horror Story, a nightmarish saga about a haunted house, received a matching 17 awards, including an acting nod for star Connie Britton.
Other leading nominees include the elegant British-born drama Downton Abbey, which earned 16 bids, and two miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys, with 16, and Hemingway & Gellhorn with 15.
Modern Family, honoured as best comedy series for two years, was the sitcom leader with 14 bids.
Top nominations were announced by Kerry Washington of Scandal and by Jimmy Kimmel, who will host the awards and who filled in on Thursday for Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation, who was held up by weather-related travel delays on the East Coast.
"This is a sex dream, isn't it," joked Kimmel, ABC's late-night host, who arrived on stage at the TV academy dressed in pyjamas.
The Emmy ceremony is scheduled to air on ABC in the US on 23 September, and on M-Net and M-Net HD in South Africa the following day.
See the list of the 2012 Emmy nominations here.
