LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Television thriller "American Horror Story: Asylum" and medieval fantasy "Game of Thrones" led nominees for primetime Emmy Awards on Thursday, while the Internet streaming service Netflix made history with nods for its first foray into original programming.
Netflix landed a total of 14 nominations for political drama "House of Cards," comedy "Arrested Development" and thriller "Hemlock Grove," a validation of its challenge to broadcast and cable networks. It is the first time programs not produced specifically for television have won Emmy nominations in the top categories, with "House of Cards" competing for best drama and leading stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright contenders for best actor and actress.
The breakthrough by Netflix was hailed as a turning point in television and an indication of an unabating shift toward Internet-delivered entertainment. It comes two decades after the first cable show, on HBO, earned a nomination in one of the best series categories.
"Everybody is stepping up their game. It's an opportunity to tell stories on multiple platforms and it's great news for our industry," said Bruce Rosenblum, chairman and chief executive of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
"It's not that dissimilar to a couple of decades ago when HBO and Showtime started producing original content," he added.
Netflix's chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, said the nominations were recognition that online television is on equal footing with cable and broadcast TV.
"As of today, the lines are forever blurred between TV and the Internet. It's about what's on the screen," he said.
"We had no expectation going in that we would have so much to celebrate this morning," Sarandos added.
FX's "American Horror Story: Asylum" pulled in 17 nominations including best miniseries and HBO's "Game of Thrones" landed 16 including best drama. Last year's winner, "Homeland," was nominated in 11 categories including best drama.
In comedy, where traditional broadcast is strongest, NBC's "30 Rock" anchored the most nominations with 13 including best comedy for the long-running series' final season. Creator and star Tina Fey and co-star Alec Baldwin picked up nominations in leading comedy actor categories. Last year's big winner, ABC's "Modern Family," scored 12 nods including best comedy series.
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The HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra," based on the life of pianist Liberace, pulled in 15 nominations, and Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his lover will compete in the lead actor in a miniseries or movie category.
AMC drama "Mad Men," an Emmy stalwart, picked up 12 nominations, including best drama series. Jon Hamm earned a nod for best actor in a drama, his 10th Emmy nomination, for his portrayal of ad man Don Draper, and Elisabeth Moss was nominated for best actress in a drama as Draper's protégé Peggy Olson.
British period drama "Downton Abbey," which airs on U.S. public broadcaster PBS, also earned a dozen nominations and will go head-to-head against "Mad Men" for best drama series, best actor (Hugh Bonneville) and best actress (Michelle Dockery).
"I think it's tremendously exciting when you make a show in the culture of one country and it's been a hit all over the world," creator Julian Fellowes said of the series, which is set in early 20th century aristocratic Britain.
"It means somehow you've touched universal values and interest," he added.
The Emmys are the top TV awards in the United States and are given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. This year's Emmy Awards will take place on September 22 and will be broadcast on the CBS network.
Among the networks, Time Warner's cable channel HBO was the clear leader with 108 nominations out of a total of 537. Broadcasters CBS and NBC each earned 53 nods, ABC had 45 and Fox trailed behind with 19.
(Additional reporting by Eric Kelsey and Lisa Richwine; Editing by Jackie Frank)