Poster of "Game of Thrones". [File photo]

The Television Academy has announced nominees for the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards on Thursday morning.

Fantasy drama "Game of Thrones" has received 23 Emmy nominations, one more than its closest rival, the crime series "The People vs. OJ Simpson."

"Thrones", which won a record-breaking 12 awards in 2015, delivered almost a quarter of the HBO network's 94 nods.

There were also several British nominees, including "Sherlock", "Luther" and "Downton Abbey" with talk show hosts James Corden and John Oliver also noted.

The awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on September 18.

Viola Davis, who also made history in 2015 by becoming the first black woman to win the best lead actress prize, has once again been nominated for her role in "How To Get Away With Murder".

Comedy star Amy Schumer secured four nominations, the most given to any one person this year, for her acting and writing in "Saturday Night Live" and "Inside Amy Schumer."

The acknowledgements for "Game of Thrones" included best supporting actor and actress nominations for last year's winner Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headley, Emilia Clarke and Maisie Williams and nods for writers David Benioff and DB Weiss.

"The People v OJ Simpson"'s lead actors, Courtney B Vance and Cuba Gooding Jr were both nominated for the outstanding lead actor award.

That category also saw nominations for Idris Elba for "Luther," Benedict Cumberbatch for "Sherlock" and Tom Hiddleston for "The Night Manager."

Five-time best comedy winner "Modern Family" was once again nominated.