LOS ANGELES, CA — HBO's "Game of Thrones" and "Veep" will look to defend their crowns Sunday as television's best drama and comedy series, while a miniseries chronicling the fall of O.J. Simpson will look to make a splash at the 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

"Game of Thrones" will face a stiff challenge from FX's critically acclaimed cold-war drama "The Americans" and USA's cult favorite "Mr. Robot."

Also vying for the top drama series prize will be PBS' "Downton Abbey," Netflix's "House of Cards," Showtime's "Homeland" and AMC's "Better Call Saul."

This is the fifth year in a row that none of the outstanding drama series nominees have come from the four major broadcast networks. The CBS legal drama "The Good Wife," which ended its seven-season run in May, was the last major network show to crack the list, earning a nomination in 2011.

A series from the major broadcast networks has not won in the category since Fox's "24" in 2006.

"Veep" ended a five-year winning streak by "Modern Family" in the outstanding comedy series category last year, and is in a strong position to repeat. Netflix's "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" is an upstart challenger, along with ABC's "Black-ish" and Amazon's "Transparent."

"Modern Family" is again among the nominees — its seventh nod in seven seasons on the air — along with HBO's "Silicon Valley" and Netflix's "Master of None."

Rami Malek has earned growing support for a best drama actor prize for his lead role in "Mr. Robot," but he will have to beat out perennial contender Kevin Spacey, Bob Odenkirk from the "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul," Kyle Chandler of "Bloodline," Matthew Rhys of "The Americans" and Liev Schriber of "Ray Donovan."

Viola Davis is a good bet to repeat as best drama actress for ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder," although Taraji P. Henson could make a run at the award for "Empire." Also vying for the statuette are Keri Russell for "The Americans," Robin Wright of "House of Cards," Tatiana Maslany for "Orphan Black" and Claire Danes of "Homeland."

Jeffrey Tambor is also a strong contender to repeat in the comedy actor category for his work in the transgender Amazon comedy "Transparent." Anthony Anderson will likely gain some support for his work in "Black-ish," as will Aziz Ansari for the Netflix series "Master of None." William H. Macy of Showtime's "Shameless," Will Forte of Fox's "The Last Man on Earth" and Thomas Middleditch of "Silicon Valley" will look to score an upset win.

The comedy actress Emmy will likely go again to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "Veep," although Ellie Kemper's quirky role in "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" could earn her some attention from Television Academy voters. Television veteran Lily Tomlin could also earn well-deserved attention for her work in Netflix's "Grace and Frankie." Amy Schumer is also nominated for Comedy Central's "Inside Amy Schumer," along with Tracee Ellis Ross for "Black- ish" and Laurie Metcalf for "Getting On."

The FX limited series "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," chronicling the Trial of the Century, will likely garner the most attention at the Emmy ceremony.

The show will compete with FX's "Fargo," AMC's "The Night Manager," History's "Roots" and ABC's "American Crime" in the limited series category, but "Simpson" appears to be an overwhelming favorite.

Virtually all of the show's major stars are also nominated, with many of them competing with each other, including Cuba Gooding Jr. and Courtney B. Vance in the lead actor category for their respective portrayals of Simpson and defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. They will compete with Bryan Cranston of "All the Way," Benedict Cumberbatch of "Sherlock: The Abominable Bride," Idris Elba for "Luther" and Tom Hiddleston for "The Night Manager."

Sarah Paulson is nominated for her work as prosecutor Marcia Clark in "People v. O.J. Simpson," and will compete with Kirsten Dunst of "Fargo," Felicity Huffman and Lili Taylor of "American Crime," Audra McDonald for "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grille" and Kerry Washington for "Conformation."

"People v. O.J. Simpson" also has three nominees in the supporting actor category -- David Schwimmer, Sterling K. Brown and John Travolta -- three nominees for directing -- Ryan Murphy, Anthony Hemingway and John Singleton — and two for writing — D.V. DeVincentis and Joe Robert Cole.

Up for outstanding variety talk series are "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," "The Late Late Show with James Corden," "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

For variety sketch series, the nominees are "Documentary Now!," "Drunk History," "Inside Amy Schumer," "Key & Peele," "Portlandia" and "Saturday Night Live."

The 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which honor programming initially airing between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. from June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016, will be presented at the Microsoft Theater, with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel as the host. The ceremony will be televised by ABC.

The biggest rule changes in this year's competition are the increase from five to six for the number of nominees for outstanding writing and directing in drama and comedy series in an attempt to reflect the dramatic increase in series production, according to Bruce Rosenblum, the chairman and CEO of the Television Academy.

— City News Service, photo courtesy of the Television Academy

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