Game of Thrones sweeps Emmy nominations again

So was “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson.

In Thursday’s announcement of prime-time Emmy contenders, television academy voters also signaled their regard for what people of color are bringing to the industry table: Each of the top acting categories included at least one minority nominee.

Other than an Emmy for Margo Martindale for guest performance previous year, “The Americans” has been snubbed by Emmy despite four seasons as one of TV’s best and most ambitious dramas.

Networks have reason for concern as well.

Traditional networks are losing out in competition with Netflix and Amazon, who are gaining ground in competition for trophies.

“Game of Thrones” once again conquered the Emmy nominations – earning 23 nods for its blockbuster sixth season, which also notched record ratings for its action-packed finale.

Game of Thrones will compete in a seven-way race for best drama with Showtime’s Central Intelligence Agency thriller Homeland, FX’s Cold War espionage saga The Americans, AMC’s quirky legal story Better Call Saul, the final season of PBS’s period melodrama Downton Abbey, Netflix’s political mystery House of Cards, and USA Network’s new computer-hacking tale Mr. Robot. In its fourth season, FX’s The Americans and stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys finally got the recognition they’ve deserved since the first.

Also in the best comedy category is Master of None, starring Aziz Ansari as a struggling NY actor coping with personal and professional woes.

The ensemble cast of “Game of Thrones” found leading bids elusive.

Starting with the Outstanding Supporting Actor award, former nominee Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, goes against Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow.

Ansari is up against Anderson; Will Forte, “The Last Man On Earth”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Thomas Middleditch, “Silicon Valley”; and Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent“. In the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category, the heartbreaking The Door and the rousing The Battle of the Bastards were both nominated. Including the seven best comedy nominees, nine sources delivered the 14 nominees – and that doesn’t even include a breakthrough by Crackle, the streaming site that earned an unexpected variety-series nomination for Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”, and pulled down three nominations in all. Supporting bids were given to Sterling K. Brown as prosecutor Christopher Darden, David Schwimmer as Simpson friend Robert Kardashian — patriarch of the now-famous family — and John Travolta as defense attorney Robert Shapiro.

Idris Elba for “Luther”, Benedict Cumberbatch for “Sherlock” and Tom Hiddleston for “The Night Manager” have received nods in the outstanding lead actor list. Apparently she was Facetiming her mother when she got a Twitter notification that she was nominated for an award. “About damn time, I say”.