Emmy Awards 2015: HBO Dominates With Most Nominations Since 'The Sopranos' And 'Sex In The City' Years

HBO, the channel that’s brought you critical favorites and think-piece generators like “Game of Thrones”, “Girls”, “Last Week Tonight” and “Silicon Valley,” received the most Emmy nominations since 2004, when "Big Pussy" and Paulie Walnuts were kings of the small screen.

For the 67th Annual Emmy Awards, the Home Box Office received 126 nominations, the most nominations that HBO has received since 2004, when it had 124 during the heyday of "The Sopranos" and "Sex In The City." Last year, HBO had 99. Nevertheless, it consistently receives the most nominations of any network. As Vox’s culture editor Todd Van Der Wherff explained last year, HBO dominates because it has the most people in the Television Academy, the Emmy voting body. The Television Academy has over 15, 000 members, most of whom have some affiliations with networks.

With 24 nominations, “Game of Thrones” was the most nominated drama this year. "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," everyone's new favorite late night comedy series, was also nominated for four Emmys, including "oustanding variety talk series."

There’s a sizable gap between HBO and the next leading network, ABC, which earned 42 Emmy nominations. CBS and NBC tied for third place with 40 nominations, and FX received 38, three more than its corporate sibling Fox. ABC and Fox were the only broadcast networks that had more nominations this year than last year.

The streaming platforms definitely have reason to celebrate. Closely trailing behind Fox is Netflix with 34 nominations, which is three more than last year. Of course “House of Cards” and “Orange Is The New Black” were nominated, but so were freshman shows like “Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Grace and Frankie,” and “Marco Polo.” In its first year being nominated, Amazon Instant Video garnered 12 nominations: one for “Bosch” and 11 for the critically acclaimed and Golden Globe winning series “Transparent.” The latter is also the comedy with the most nomniations.

On the other side of the list is The CW, which received two nominations. One for “The Flash” in the visual effects and one for “Jane the Virgin” for “outstanding narrator.” Some were surprised and disappointed that “Jane the Virgin” was nominated in any of the major acting or series categories because Gina Rodriguez, its lead, won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy and the show was nominated for best comedy.