In the announcement of the annual Primetime Emmy Award Nominations, there was good news for British shows as Downton Abbey, Sherlock and Luther all feature heavily.

Downton Abbey has 16 nominations as it features for the first time in the Drama Series category, there are also nods for cast members Hugh Boneville, Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and Jim Carter as well as creator Julian Fellowes who is nominated for Best Dramatic Writer.

Sherlock’s Scandal in Belgravia episode features in the mini-series category, and has 13 nominations including recognition for both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Sherlock faces competition from Luther while its Lead Actor Idris Elba is up against Cumberatch in the Best Actor in a Mini-Series award.

Other Brits nominated for Emmys include Damien Lewis for his wonderful performance as Sgt. Brody in Homeland, Clive Owen for playing Ernest Hemingway in Hemingway and Gellhorn, Archie Panjabi for her role as Private Investiagtor Kalinda in The Good Wife and Cat Deeley for her hosting duties on the American version of So You Think You Can Dance as well as Emma Thompson and Judy Davis for the David Hare drama Page Eight

In the Drama Series Category, Downton Abbey faces competition from Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and Homeland. Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, Dexter’s Michael C Hall, Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston and Boardwalk Empire’s Steve Buscemi go up against Bonneville and Lewis in the Best Dramatic Actor Category while Dockery is joined by Clare Danes for Homeland, Glenn Close for Damages, Elisabeth Moss for Mad Men, Kathy Bates for Harry’s Law and Julianna Marguiles for The Good Wife in the Best Dramatic Actress Category.

In the Dramatic Supporting Actor Category, Carter and Coyle face competition from Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul and Giancarlo Esposito as well as Jared Harris from Mad Men and Peter Dinklage who is the only member of the Games of Thrones cast to be recognised. Finally the aforementioned Smith, Froggatt and Panajbi join The Good Wife’s Christine Baranski, Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn and Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks in the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama category.

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The comedy categories are once again dominated by Modern Family with all six of the adult cast members being nominated for acting awards in the supporting categories. So in the Comic Supporting Actress category, Sofia Veraga and Julie Bowen are joined by Merritt Weaver for Nurse Jackie, Mayim Bialik for The Big Bang Theory and Kristen Wiig for Saturday Night Live, as well as the late Kathryn Joosten who gets a posthumous nod for playing Karen McClusky in the last season of Desperate Housewives.

Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell and Ed O’Neill bulk out the Comic Supporting Actor group, with Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader and New Girl’s Max Greenfield rounding out the back. In the comic actress category former winners 30 Rock’s Tina Fey, Mike and Molly’s Melissa McCarthy, Nurse Jackie’s Edie Falco and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss here nominated for Veep go against first time nominees Girls’ Lena Dunham and New Girl’s Zooey Deschanel while Parks and Recreations’ Amy Poehler is also recognised.

The comic actor category sees Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock compete with Jim Parsons for The Big Bang Theory, Louis CK For Louie, Larry David for Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men and Don Cheadle for House of Lies. Finally Girls, 30 Rock, Veep, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm are the six series nominated for Best Comedy Series

American Horror Story shares the title of most nominations, along with Mad Men, securing 17 nominations in the mini-series or movie category that also features both Sherlock and Lewis. American Horror Story’s nominations include nods for cast members Connie Britton, Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy and Denis O’Hare the last of whom goes up against Martin Freeman in the Supporting Actor Category.

Other big hitters in the Miniseries or Movie include Game Change, about Sarah Palin becoming John McCain’s running mate, as well the aforementioned Hemingway and Gelhorn and Civil War drama Hatfields and McCoys. Elsewhere Michael J Fox gets two Guest Actor nominations, for both Curb Your Enthusisam and The Good Wife, The Simpsons once again gets a Best Animated Series nomination and the once multi-nominated Glee only features once in the acting category as Emmy honours the fantastic Dot Marie Jones for playing Coach Bieste.

Find out who wins what when The Emmy Awards are broadcast on the 21st September.

Who are you rooting for here? Which of your favourites have been left out? Leave Your Comments Below.