"Game of Thrones" is back with a vengeance. After sitting out last year, the HBO powerhouse earned 22 Emmy Award nominations Thursday, the most of any series.
Not a single new show will compete with "GoT" for outstanding drama. That's bad news for fans of Netflix's "Ozark" and BBC America's "Killing Eve," although the stars of those series — Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh — were nominated in the acting categories.
The race for best comedy was more welcoming to newcomers and surprises, as it was "Veep's" turn to skip a year so perennial Emmy favorite Julia-Louis Dreyfus could recover from cancer treatment. The caustic series had come out on top the past three years and its star collected six wins in a row.
Of the eight nominated sitcoms, three are rookie contenders: Netflix's "GLOW," Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and HBO's "Barry." Despite their merits — "GLOW" and "Maisel" deserve serious consideration — FX's "Atlanta" is the heavy favorite, leaping from six nods in 2017 to 16 this time around, making it the overall leader among comedy series.
Despite a somewhat wide-open field, voters didn't make much room for "Roseanne," which was shut out in almost all the major categories. The one exception: supporting-actress nominee Laurie Metcalf, who has three previous Emmys.
And despite "GLOW's" 10 nominations, its star, Alison Brie, was left off the list for outstanding comedic actress — a shocker, but one that may have allowed room for Issa Rae, the star and co-creator of HBO's "Insecure," who will contend for her first Emmy.
While controversy may have kept "Roseanne" from being more of a force, it didn't seem to affect Samantha Bee, who apologized earlier this year after some below-the-belt comments aimed at Ivanka Trump. TBS' "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee" earned seven nominations, including one for outstanding variety talk series.
Minnesota native Louie Anderson made it three in a row for his supporting turn in FX's "Baskets." He won in 2016, but lost out last year to Alec Baldwin, who was again nominated for his Donald Trump impersonation on "Saturday Night Live."
The happiest person in Hollywood this week may be Jeff Daniels, who was nominated as both supporting actor in Netflix's "Godless" and for lead actor in Hulu's "The Looming Tower," a stellar political thriller in which Minnesota native Ali Selim played a key behind-the-scenes role; he did not share in the series' four nominations, however.
If you're looking for other Minnesota connections, scroll down to the race for outstanding director for a variety special. Hamish Hamilton was recognized for his work on Justin Timberlake's halftime show at the Super Bowl. And the FX miniseries "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story," which was partially set, but not shot, in Minnesota, earned a whopping 18 nods.
The Emmys, which will be hosted by "SNL" cast members Michael Che and Colin Jost, will air Sept. 17 on NBC.
