'Stranger Things,' 'Westworld' among top Emmy nominees

No golden crowns for "Game of Thrones" at this year's Emmys. The HBO fantasy hit, which returns Sunday, was ineligible for consideration because its new season airs too late. But that left plenty of prizes for other sci-fi and fantasy-themed shows when the Television Academy announced its nominations Thursday.

Don't feel sad for the folks at HBO. "Westworld," their sci-fi drama set in a technologically advanced Wild West theme park full of eerily realistic host characters, earned 22 nominations, tying it with "Saturday Night Live" for the most of any show this year.

Nominations for "Westworld" included Evan Rachel Wood as lead actress in a drama for her role as Dolores, the rancher's daughter host who discovers her whole life is a lie, and Anthony Hopkins as lead actor in a drama for his role as the park's founder. Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton also received supporting-role nominations.

"Stranger Things," the Netflix '80s-set drama about Indiana kids confronting the unknown, landed 18 nominations, including outstanding drama. David Harbour, who plays the town's police chief, was nominated for best supporting actor, and 13-year-old Millie Bobby Brown, who plays test subject Eleven, for best supporting actress.

And in a "Stranger" surprise, actress Shannon Purser, whose put-upon Barb character became a fan favorite, earned a nomination for outstanding guest actress. Purser appeared in four of the show's eight episodes.

Another fan-favorite nod came when "Star Wars" legend Carrie Fisher, who died suddenly in December at age 60, was nominated for her guest role in the Amazon comedy "Catastrophe."

Hulu, while not yet in Netflix's class, had a good morning thanks to "The Handmaid's Tale." The story about a dystopian future where some women are kept only to serve as breeders for wealthy infertile couples was nominated for outstanding drama and 12 other awards. Elisabeth Moss was nominated for outstanding lead actress and her co-stars Ann Dowd and Samira Wiley received supporting nominations.

With last year's winner, "Game of Thrones," out of the outstanding drama category, competitors now are "Better Call Saul," "The Crown," "The Handmaid's Tale," "House of Cards," "Stranger Things," "This is Us," and "Westworld."

Among the first-time Emmy nominees is Claire Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth II in the critically acclaimed Netflix series "The Crown," about the life of Britain's longest-living monarch.

A full list of nominations is available on the Emmys website.

If you've already moved much of your television watching over to streaming services like Netflix, Thursday morning's Emmy nominations were of no surprise to you. While HBO earned the most nominations with 110, Netflix followed closely with 91.

Naturally, there were choices that fans saw as snubs. Carrie Coon, who was indeed nominated for her role in "Fargo," did not receive a nod for her role in HBO's "The Leftovers," which surprised some.

Another surprise came when "The Tonight Show," "The Daily Show" and "Late Night With Seth Meyers" didn't make the list of nominees for variety talk series, but "Real Time With Bill Maher" did.

Stephen Colbert will host this year's Emmys Sept. 17 on CBS. (Disclosure: CBS is CNET's parent company.)

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