'House of Cards' makes TV history with Emmy nod

The Netflix political drama "House of Cards" made entertainment history Thursday, becoming the first online-only series ever to be nominated for a major Emmy award.

The FX miniseries "American Horror Story: Asylum" collected 17 nods, the most of any TV show, in the run-up to the 65th annual primetime Emmy awards ceremony in Los Angeles on September 22.

But "House of Cards," starring Hollywood veteran Kevin Spacey as a shrewed and cunning US congressman, broke fresh Emmy ground, scoring nine nominations including best drama.

Inspired by a BBC series from the early 1990s, "House of Cards" was made exclusively for Netflix, the online movie streaming website, which put all 13 episodes online in February in one fell swoop.

Other nominees for best drama included "Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey," "Game of Thrones," "Homeland" and "Mad Men" -- marking the first time no series from a mainstream US television network has been nominated in the category.

Up for best comedy were "Modern Family," "The Big Bang Theory," "Girls," "Louie," "Veep" and "30 Rock."