5:45 p.m. | Updated The Primetime Emmy Awards, which bestowed its first honors on black-and-white game shows and anthologies 65 years ago, suddenly seems downright futuristic.
On Thursday, the online streaming network Netflix, best known until recently for rerunning other companies’ old shows and films, officially joined its cable and broadcast counterparts in the race for television’s most prestigious prizes, picking up more than a dozen nominations, including a best drama nod for its political thriller “House of Cards.”
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, who portray the scheming husband and wife at the center of “House of Cards,” were also nominated as lead actor and actress. The announcements represented the first time that series distributed via the Internet, not television, were nominated in top Emmy categories.
The Emmy Awards
More coverage of the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, including reports, reviews, interviews with nominees and more.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said he was thankful that the Emmy voters were “so open to the idea” of Internet distribution, something that will seem like a no-brainer in the future, but that had few precedents until this year.
“In a way, it solidifies that television is television, no matter what pipe brings it to the screen,” he said in a telephone interview.
Melinda Sue Gordon for Netflix Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright were both nominated for their roles in “House of Cards.”
Mordecai Wiczyk, a co-founder of Media Rights Capital, the studio that produced the series, said, “For us, what it shows is that if you support great artists and they do great work, they get recognized.”
“The means of delivery and distribution are secondary to whether the work is great,” he added.
Netflix had campaigned for nominations for both “House of Cards” and “Arrested Development,” the canceled Fox sitcom that it revived to much fanfare this year. Mr. Sarandos acknowledged some disappointment that “Arrested” was not among the six shows nominated for outstanding comedy. In a consolation of sorts, one of the show’s stars, Jason Bateman, was included in the lead actor in a comedy category, one of the three nominations “Arrested” earned.
Over all, Netflix picked up 14 Emmy nominations: 9 for “House of Cards,” including 1 for David Fincher, who directed the first episode; 3 for “Arrested Development;” and 2 for “Hemlock Grove,” a horror series that had its debut in the spring.
Its rival HBO, which has been making critically acclaimed shows for decades, had 108 nominations, its highest total in nearly a decade. Last year it earned 81.
Nominees in major categories are listed below. The full list is available at emmys.com.
The race that is traditionally the most closely watched in the TV industry is outstanding drama. In that category, “House of Cards” will challenge one HBO series, “Game of Thrones,” as well as last year’s winner, “Homeland,” from Showtime, and the four-time winner “Mad Men” on AMC. PBS’s “Downton Abbey” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad” were also nominated.
In part because of Netflix, competition in the major acting categories was stiffer than ever, as evidenced by the absence of the actress Julianna Margulies, who had been nominated for “The Good Wife” for the past three years and had won in 2011. The new FX drama “The Americans” was also shut out from the major categories. Otherwise the surprises were relatively few and far between; in the lead actor in a drama category, Damian Lewis of “Homeland” was joined by Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad,” Hugh Bonneville of “Downton Abbey,” Jon Hamm of “Mad Men,” Mr. Spacey and, in the only major nod to HBO’s “Newsroom,” Jeff Daniels.
In the lead actress category, last year’s winner, Claire Danes, also of “Homeland,” was joined by Vera Farmiga of “Bates Motel” on A&E, Michelle Dockery of “Downton Abbey,” Elisabeth Moss of “Mad Men,” Ms. Wright and two stars of ABC dramas, Connie Britton of “Nashville” and Kerry Washington of “Scandal.”
“It is always a real surprise and a real thrill,” Ms. Britton said of her nomination, which followed several previous nods, for her roles on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” and FX’s “American Horror Story.”
The most-nominated show was “American Horror Story: Asylum,” which was submitted as a mini-series, and which received 17 nominations. “Game of Thrones” was the most-nominated drama, with 16 nominations, and “30 Rock” was the most-nominated sitcom, with 13. NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” picked up 15 nominations, a record for that 38-year-old show.
For NBC’s “30 Rock,” which won the best comedy Emmy in 2007, 2008 and 2009, this year is its last opportunity to take the prize back from ABC’s “Modern Family,” which has taken home the award for the past three years. Those two shows were nominated, along with HBO’s “Girls” and “Veep,” FX’s “Louie” and CBS’s “Big Bang Theory.”
With three shows in contention for the top comedy prize, the broadcast networks fared better in comedies than in dramas, continuing a pattern that is now several years old. This year, just as last, none of the commercial networks earned a best drama nomination, though the noncommercial PBS did for “Downton Abbey.”
The nominations were announced by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the governing body that has overseen the awards since 1948.
The academy’s chairman, Bruce Rosenblum, invoked the evolution that Netflix epitomizes in his opening remarks at a predawn news conference in Los Angeles. “Television is on broadcast, on cable and on demand over the Internet,” he said. “This is truly an exciting time for us to be honoring the best of television.”
Some people on Thursday drew analogies between the rise of HBO a generation ago and the rise of Netflix now. The results in both cases have included more choices for viewers and more competition for actors, writers and directors. It seems likely that the academy will consider opening up the major categories to more nominees in the future.
For Netflix, the nominations were another feather in an already stuffed cap, coming almost six months after the release of “House of Cards,” the first Netflix series that was perceived to be as good as anything on HBO, Showtime or AMC. Emmy speculation surrounded “House of Cards” from the day all 13 episodes made their debuts at the same time online, in part because the academy’s eligibility rules were adjusted in the mid-2000s to include Internet-distributed shows. (When that happened, Netflix’s streaming service hadn’t even started yet. The company was still just shipping DVDs by mail.)
In recent years, online shows like “Web Therapy” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” have been nominated in short-form categories, but the Internet’s presence hadn’t been felt in major categories like acting and directing. A series that Netflix imported from Scandinavia, “Lilyhammer,” was eligible for awards last year but did not receive any nominations. Of course, that series did not break through to the wider public in the way that “House of Cards” did. Netflix lobbied aggressively for Emmy nominations for both this year, even putting out election-style lawn signs in West Hollywood.
But the effects of Emmy nominations — or victories — will be tough for Netflix to measure. What the awards provide is a kind of confirmation of the industry’s respect and admiration, something that doesn’t immediately translate to its bottom line but is appreciated nonetheless.
Mr. Spacey said in a telephone interview that the method of distribution of “House of Cards” “didn’t change the creative process, because the camera doesn’t know it’s a streaming camera, any more than it’s a TV camera or a film camera.”
“But,” he added, “it did affect the way we were able to create the series, and that was very exciting.”
He spoke from Baltimore, where production of the show’s second season is under way. Referring to the at-home viewers’ ability to binge on episodes, he said, “In some ways, Netflix and all of us have maybe learned the lesson the music industry didn’t learn.”
For the next two months — the Emmy winners will be announced on CBS on Sept. 22 — debates will ensue about whether “House of Cards” is worthy of the outstanding drama prize. “Breaking Bad,” after all, has been passed over repeatedly, despite being nominated three times previously. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has yet to win, too, despite being nominated twice before.
Alex Gansa, a creator of “Homeland,” no longer the underdog that it was last year, said: “It’s really nice to get the opportunity to defend our title this year. That’s really the way I feel about it. When you start defending episodes and things, you just can’t help but sound like a whiner. We let the episodes and the season stand on their own.”
The third season of the series will have its debut on Showtime in September, and its success or failure will ultimately matter more than any Emmy statue. “If I’m anxious about anything,” he said, “it’s about the third season, not the second season.”
Jeremy Egner and Dave Itzkoff contributed reporting.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Hugh Bonneville, “Downton Abbey”
Damian Lewis, “Homeland”
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Jeff Daniels, “The Newsroom”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Vera Farmiga, “Bates Motel”
Michelle Dockery, “Downton Abbey”
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Elizabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
Connie Britton, “Nashville”
Kerry Washington, “Scandal”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Michael Douglas, “Behind the Candelabra”
Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra”
Toby Jones, “The Girl”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Parade’s End”
Al Pacino, “Phil Spector”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Asylum”
Laura Linney, “The Big C: Hereafter”
Helen Mirren, “Phil Spector”
Sigourney Weaver, “Political Animals”
Elisabeth Moss, “Top of the Lake”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”
Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”
Louis C.K., “Louie”
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Laura Dern, “Enlightened”
Lena Dunham, “Girls”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
“The Amazing Race”
“Dancing With the Stars”
“Project Runway”
“So You Think You Can Dance”
“Top Chef”
“The Voice”
Outstanding Variety Series
“The Colbert Report”
“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
“Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”
“Real Time With Bill Maher”
“Saturday Night Live”
Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
“American Horror Story: Asylum”
“Behind the Candelabra”
“The Bible”
“Phil Spector”
“Political Animals”
“Top of the Lake”
Outstanding Comedy Series
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Girls”
“Louie”
“Modern Family”
“30 Rock”
“Veep”
Outstanding Drama Series
“Breaking Bad”
“Downton Abbey”
“Game of Thrones”
“Homeland”
“House of Cards”
“Mad Men”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Bobby Cannavale, “Boardwalk Empire”
Jonathan Banks, “Breaking Bad”
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”
Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey”
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Anna Gunn, “Breaking Bad”
Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”
Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones”
Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife”
Morena Baccarin, “Homeland”
Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
George Mastras, “Breaking Bad,” “Dead Freight”
Thomas Schnauz, “Breaking Bad,” “Say My Name”
Julian Fellowes, “Downton Abbey,” Episode 4
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Game of Thrones,” “The Rains Of Castamere”
Henry Bromell, “Homeland,” “Q&A”
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Tim Van Patten, “Boardwalk Empire”
Michelle MacLaren, “Breaking Bad,” “Gliding Over All”
Jeremy Webb, “Downton Abbey,” Episode 4
Lesli Linka Glatter, “Homeland,” “Q&A”
David Fincher, “House of Cards”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Driver, “Girls”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Modern Family”
Ed O’Neill , “Modern Family”
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
Bill Hader, “Saturday Night Live”
Tony Hale, “Veep”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, “The Big Bang Theory”
Jane Lynch, “Glee”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”
Merritt Wever, “Nurse Jackie”
Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock”
Anna Chlumsky, “Veep”
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Jeffrey Klarik, “Episodes” Episode 209
Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon, “Louie,” “Daddy’s Girlfriend (Part 1)”
Greg Daniels, “The Office” Finale
Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock, “30 Rock,” “Hogcock!”
Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, “30 Rock,” “Last Lunch”
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Lena Dunham, “Girls,” “On All Fours”
Paris Barclay, “Glee,” “Diva”
Louis C.K., “Louie,” “New Year’s Eve”
Gail Mancuso, “Modern Family,” “Arrested”
Beth McCarthy-Miller, “30 Rock”
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
“The Colbert Report”
“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
“Portlandia”
“Real Time With Bill Maher”
“Saturday Night Live”
Outstanding Reality Program
“Antiques Roadshow”
“Deadliest Catch”
“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”
“MythBusters”
“Shark Tank”
“Undercover Boss”
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 18, 2013
An earlier version of this post misidentified the most-nominated series. It was "American Horror Story: Asylum," not "Saturday Night Live." The post also misstated the total number of nominations for "Saturday Night Live." It received 15 nominations, not 171. The show has been nominated 171 times since it began in 1975. The post also misstated the number of times "Mad Men" has won the Emmy for outstanding drama. It has won four times, not three.
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