Netflix series House of Cards nominated for top Emmy

Netflix's House of Cards is the first online series to snag a top series Emmy Award nomination, TV stars Aaron Paul and Neil Patrick Harris announced at Thursday's nominee-reveal in Los Angeles.

House of Cards will contend against Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland and Mad Men in the category.

Kevin Spacey from House of Cards is nominated for best actor in a drama series.House of Cards'Robin Wright is nominated for best actress in a drama series.

House of Cards was not the only online series nominated for an Emmy.Netflix's Arrested Development alsohas an actorup foran award.

In the comedy series category, Arrested Development's Jason Bateman is nominated for best actor.

Arrested Development ran for three seasons on TV, however Fox cancelled the show in 2006. Netflix reunited the show's cast for a fourth season that consisted of 15 episodes all released in one day online.

A six-year-old TV academy rules change allows online entries to compete with cable and broadcast programs, althoughuntil this yearinternet shows have popped up only in lower-profile categories.

American Horror Story leads

The most Emmy nominations, 17, went to American Horror Story: Asylum. Close behind was Game of Thrones with 16 nods, while Saturday Night Live and the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra earned 15 nominations each, including nods for stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

Series nominees include:

Comedy: 30 Rock, Girls, Louie, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and Veep.

Reality: Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, So You Think You Can Dance, The Amazing Race, The Voice, and Top Chef.

Mini-series or movie: American Horror Story: Asylum, Behind the Candelabra, Phil Spector, Political Animals, The Bible, and Top of the Lake.

Variety: Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Real Time with Bill Maher, Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

5 Canadians nominated

Five Canadians earned Emmy nods this year, including actor Michael J. Fox and Oscar-winner Mychael Danna.

Fox, who hails from Edmonton, has already won several Emmys. He is up for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his performance as a lawyer on The Good Wife.

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Toronto's Danna, who won an Oscar earlier this year for his work on music in Life of Pi, got a nod for his music composition on World Without End.

London, Ont., native Trevor Morris also received a music composition nod. His work is for the papal drama series The Borgias.

Michelle MacLaren, raised in Vancouver, is among the best direction nominees for her part in Breaking Bad.

Childrens Hospital executive producer Keith Crofford, from Thornhill, Ont., is the last Canadian nominated this year.

Elisabeth Moss snags 2 acting nods

Breaking Bad's Paul and How I Met Your Mother's Harrisannounced this year's Emmy Award nominees, which celebrate primetime television achievements.

Both emcees were themselves nominated for an Emmy. Paul is up for best supporting actor in a drama series, while Harris is up for his role as a producer for another awards show.

Harris, the host of this year's celebration, was a last-minute addition to the nomination announcement. Kate Mara, from Netlix's House of Cards, was to co-host the announcement. Her flight had mechanical issues Wednesday night, and she was unable to make it.

Harris thanked Mara for getting him out of the house before his twins woke up and started crying.

Elisabeth Moss scored two acting nominations for her work in Mad Men and Top of the Lake.

Acting nominations include:

Actress, drama: Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel; Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey; Claire Danes, Homeland; Robin Wright, House of Cards; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men; and Connie Britton, Nashville.

Actor, drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad; Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey; Damien Lewis, Homeland; Kevin Spacey, House of Cards; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; and Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom.

Supporting actress, drama: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad; Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey; Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones; Morena Baccarin, Homeland; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men; and Christina Baranski, The Good Wife.

Supporting actor, drama: Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire; Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad; Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad; Jim Carter, Downton Abbey; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; and Mandy Patinkin, Homeland.

Actress, comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Laura Dern, Enlightened; Lena Dunham, Girls; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation; and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep.

Actor, comedy: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Jason Bateman, Arrested Development; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes; Don Cheadle, House of Lies; Louis C.K., Louie; and Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory.

Supporting actress, comedy: Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock; Jane Lynch, Glee; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Marritt Wever, Nurse Jackie; Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; and Anna Chlumsky, Veep.

Supporting actor, comedy: Adam Driver, Girls; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O'Neill, Modern Family; Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live; and Tony Hale, Veep.

Actress, mini-series or movie: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum; Helen Mirren, Phil Spector; Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals; Laura Linney, The Big C: Hereafter; and Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake.

Actor, mini-series or movie: Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra; Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra; Benedict Cumberbatch, Parade's End; Al Pacino, Phil Spector; and Toby Jones, The Girl.

Supporting actress, mini-series or movie: Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Asylum; Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals; Charlotte Rampling, Restless; Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias; and Imelda Staunton, The Girl.

Supporting actor, mini-series or movie: James Cromwell, American Horror Story: Asylum; Zachary Quinto, American Horror Story: Asylum; Scott Bakula, Behind the Candelabra; John Benjamin Hickey, The Big C: Hereafter; and Peter Mullan, Top of the Lake.

The awards ceremony will air Sept. 22.