By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
HBO's sci-fi/western hit Westworld and NBC's long-running late-night variety show Saturday Night Live dominated the Emmy nominations Thursday, taking 22 nods apiece.
Saturday Night Live’s viewership skyrocketed after its cast and crew lampooned the Trump administration in a series of skits highlighted by Alec Baldwin's not-far-from-the-mark take on President Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy's gender-bending portrayal of his press secretary, Sean Spicer.
Stranger Things, Netflix's sci-fi story of a group of children who cross into a parallel dimension, and FX's FEUD: Bette and Joan, each racked up 18 nominations.
At 17 nominations, HBO's political satire Veep is not far behind, with Julia Louise-Dreyfus in the running for best actress in a comedy series.
Drama newcomers on traditional television and streaming services commanded the category with five of seven nominations -- The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, Stranger Things, This Is Us and Westworld. They are joined by past nominees Better Call Saul and House of Cards.
Streaming service programming also made a showing in the outstanding comedy series category with Aziz Ansari's Master of None and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, both from Netflix, joining Atlanta, black-ish, Modern Family, Silicon Valley and Veep in the category.
"It’s been a record-breaking year for television, continuing its explosive growth," said Television Academy Chairman and CEO Hayma Washington. "The creativity and excellence in presenting great storytelling and characters across a multitude of ever-expanding entertainment platforms is staggering."
A list of selected categories and their nominees listed below.
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid's Tale
House of Cards
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Westworld
Outstanding Comedy Series
Atlanta
black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Zach Galifianakis, Baskets
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Jane Fonda, Grace And Frankie
Lily Tomlin, Grace And Frankie
Allison Janney, Mom
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Anthony Hopkins, West world
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Keri Russell, The Americans
Claire Foy, The Crown
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
Ewan McGregor, Fargo
Geoffrey Rush, Genius
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
John Turturro, The Night Of
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Lying Detective
Robert De Niro, Wizard Of Lies
