The Latest on the nominations for the 70th annual Emmy Awards, which are being announced Thursday by in Los Angeles (all times local):

8:45 a.m.

鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� roared back onto the Emmy battlefield, topping Thursday鈥檚 nominations with 22 bids.

HBO鈥檚 fantasy saga is a two-time best drama winner that sat out the last year鈥檚 awards.

It鈥檚 returning to face formidable competition: 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale,鈥� the dystopian sci-fi series that claimed top drama honours last year, drew 20 bids, with 鈥淲estworld鈥� close by with 21.

Donald Glover鈥檚 鈥淎tlanta鈥� is the top comedy with 16 bids. It will face newcomers including 鈥淭he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel鈥� and 鈥淏arry,鈥� starring Bill Hader.

The revival of 鈥淩oseanne,鈥� cancelled because of star Roseanne Barr鈥檚 racist tweet, drew only one major nomination, a supporting actress nod for Laurie Metcalf.

鈥淪aturday Night Live,鈥� riding high with its relentless pillorying of the Trump administration, was rewarded with 21 nods.

The previous high for 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� was 24 nominations in 2015. It got 23 nods in 2016 but wasn鈥檛 eligible last year.

The Emmys ceremony airs Sept. 17 on NBC with Colin Jost and Michael Che of 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� as hosts.

8:40 a.m.

The Emmy nominations for the top television drama and comedy series have been announced.

The nominees for best drama series include: 鈥淭he Americans,鈥� 鈥漈he Crown,鈥� Game of Thrones,鈥� 鈥漈he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale,鈥� 鈥漇tranger Things,鈥� This Is Us鈥� and 鈥淲estworld.鈥�

The nominees for best comedy series include: 鈥淎tlanta,鈥� 鈥滲arry,鈥� 鈥漛lack-ish,鈥� 鈥滳urb Your Enthusiasm,鈥� 鈥滸LOW,鈥� 鈥漈he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,鈥� 鈥漇ilicon Valley鈥� and 鈥淯nbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.鈥�

8:35 a.m.

The 2018 Emmy nominations for lead actors in a drama series have been announced.

The nominees for best actor in a drama series include: Jason Bateman, 鈥淥zark鈥�; Sterling K. Brown, 鈥淭his Is Us鈥�; Ed Harris, 鈥淲estworld鈥�; Matthew Rhys, 鈥淭he Americans鈥�; Milo Ventimiglia, 鈥淭his Is Us鈥� and Jeffrey Wright, 鈥淲estworld.

The nominees for best actress in a drama series include: Claire Foy, 鈥淭he Crown鈥�; Tatiana Maslany, 鈥淥rphan Black鈥�; Elisabeth Moss, 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale鈥�; Sandra Oh, 鈥淜illing Eve鈥�; Keri Russell, 鈥淭he Americans鈥�; Evan Rachel Wood, 鈥淲estworld.鈥�

8:30 a.m.

The nominees for lead actor in a limited series or movie include: Antonio Banderas, 鈥淕enius: Picasso鈥�; Darren Criss, 鈥淭he Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story鈥�; Benedict Cumberbatch, 鈥淧atrick Melrose,鈥� Jeff Daniels, 鈥淭he Looming Tower鈥�; John Legend, 鈥淛esus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert鈥�; Jesse Plemmons, 鈥淯SS Callister (Black Mirror.鈥�

8 a.m.

The final preparations are being made for the 2018 Emmy nominations.

Actors Samira Wiley of 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale鈥� and Ryan Eggold, who starred in 鈥淭he Blacklist,鈥� will read this year鈥檚 nominees beginning at 8:25 a.m. PDT. About an hour before the nominations, Wiley, wearing a burgundy dress and gold heels, stepped out into the lobby of the television academy and snapped photos in front of a giant screen promoting the 70th annual Emmys.

Dozens of journalists have cameras set up to record the announcement, which will be made on a giant stage decked out with four giant Emmy statuettes.

Wiley is a possible nominee for 鈥淗andmaid鈥檚 Tale,鈥� which won best drama series last year.

The Emmy Awards will be presented Sept. 17 on NBC with Colin Jost and Michael Che of 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� as hosts.

3 a.m.

Blockbuster movies typically are snubbed by the Oscars, leaving fans grumbling, but TV鈥檚 top prize takes a different approach.

When the 70th Emmy Awards nominees are announced Thursday morning, popular series including HBO鈥檚 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� NBC鈥檚 鈥淭his Is Us鈥� and CBS鈥� 鈥淢om鈥� are likely to be in the running.

鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� is a two-time best drama series winner. It鈥檚 back in the running for honours for its next-to-last season after a production delay kept it out of the 2017 competition.

Its biggest adversary is 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale,鈥� the dystopian drama that captured last year鈥檚 top series prize and acting awards for Elisabeth Moss, Ann Dowd and Alexis Bledel among its eight wins.

The Emmy Awards ceremony airs Sept. 17 on NBC.

The Associated Press

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