HBO dramas Succession, The Last of Us and The White Lotus lead nominations for this year's Emmy Awards – the television industry's version of the Oscars – which were announced on Wednesday.
Succession's critically adored final season earned a whopping 27 nods, in an announcement overshadowed by the threat of a Hollywood actors' strike that could derail the industry's entire awards calendar.
Topping the Emmys nominations for a second year in a row, Succession dominated the acting categories, becoming the first show to earn three of the six available slots for Best Lead Actor in a Drama.
Echoing their characters in the series, Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin will now battle each other for the award – while their co-star Sarah Snook is the favourite for Best Lead Actress.
The Last of Us became the first live-action video game adaptation to earn major Emmy nominations with 24, including Best Drama and acting nods for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
The White Lotus, a stylish satire on wealth and hypocrisy which switched from the limited series categories to drama after returning for a second season set in Sicily, earned 23 nods.
Apple TV+'s feel-good Ted Lasso topped the comedy section with its third and possibly final season, taking 21 nominations.
Netflix's Beef and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story led the limited series category with 13 nominations apiece.
After a final round of voting by the Television Academy's 20,000-odd members, the 75th Emmy Awards are scheduled to take place on September 18.
But that ceremony is highly likely to be delayed if the Screen Actors Guild calls a strike, with a looming negotiations deadline. An actors' strike would mean a boycott of the ceremony by stars.
“We hope the continuing guild negotiations can come to an equitable and swift resolution,” said Television Academy chairman Frank Scherma, according to AFP.
“We are committed to supporting a television industry that stands strong in equity, and where we can continue to honour all the incredible work you do.”
Studios including Netflix and Disney have called in federal mediators to help resolve the deadlock over pay and other conditions, AFP reported.
But the actors' union said on Tuesday it is “not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining towards an agreement”.
This year's Emmy nominations were selected by the highest ever number of Television Academy voters, the group said.
“We are thrilled with the historic level of participation from our voting members this Emmy season,” said Mr Scherma.
Other shows that proved popular with voters included Amazon Prime's period comedy The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, which earned 14 nods, and The Bear, a Hulu cult hit that takes viewers inside the astonishingly stressful kitchen of a rundown Chicago sandwich shop, with 13.
Disney+'s Star Wars series had a successful nominations round since The Mandalorian, Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi earned 22 nods between them.
