"House of Cards" makes Emmy history

Kevin Spacey

"House of Cards" made history Thursday morning by becoming the first significant series in Emmy not directly made for television. The Netflix series got nods for best series as well as for its stars, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

Here are some of my initial reactions to the nominees in major categories:

DRAMA SERIES: It's telling that "Cards" made the cut, but it's equally important to note that, for the second year in a row, none of the major networks have a pony in the show (unless you want to count PBS's "Downton Abbey"). Another sign that, when it comes to quality drama, broadcast TV matters very little. Sorry to see "Boardwalk Empire" and "The Newsroom" didn't make the cut. I would have preferred "Empire" over the bloodbath that is "Game of Thrones."

COMEDY SERIES: Very familiar-looking list.

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA: Nice to see Jeff Daniels get his first Emmy nod. This is going to be a heck of a race, with Bryan Cranston, Jon Hamm, Spacey and last year's winner, Damian Lewis, all going for the gold.

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA: NIce to see Academy recognize both Kerry Washington ("Scandal") and Vera Farmiga ("Bates Motel"). The big shocker: No Julianna Marguiles ("The Good Wife"). Elisabeth Moss could be the belle of the Emmy ball with nods both here and for her work in "Top of the Lake."

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY: "Arrested Development" didn't make the cut for best comedy, but kudos to star Jason Bateman for representing here. NIce to see Matt LeBlanc recognized for his stellar work on Showtime's "Episodes."

LEAD ACTRESS,, COMEDY: Once again, Kaley Cuoco ("The Big Bang Theory") gets the shaft. It'll be weird not seeing Tiny Fey's ("30 Rock") on this list next year. No Melissa McCarthy ("Mike & Molly), a former winner. Oh, well. She's getting to be too big a movie star to bother with the Emmys.

I'll be posting a complete story around 9:15 CST at startribune.com