Annual US TV backslap-fest the Primetime Emmys will be held on September 23 this year, and the association behind it has now produced the list of nominations for the year. As usual with the Emmys, there were few surprises and a lot of repetition. And yes, there were the frustrating snubs, particularly in the comedy division.

The drama category is always hard to compile, since there are several solid choices, but Downton Abbey made it into the list to fly the flag against the repeating likes of Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game Of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire. The new entry this year was a deserving one, with Homeland now a big favourite.

Drama acting revealed few surprises, with the Homeland leads Claire Danes and Damian Lewis taking their places among the regulars (your Jon Hamms, your Steve Buscemis etc). We were glad to see nods for both Giancarlo Esposito and Mark Margolis in Supporting Actor / Guest Actor from Breaking Bad, especially given their great work this last year.

Sadly on the comedy front, the likes of Community and Parks And Recreation were once more shut out of the main award, though Amy Poehler is again up for Outstanding Actress In A Comedy. The big new arrivals in comedy are Armando Iannucci’s Veep and Lena Dunham’s Girls, although House Of Lies (via leading man Don Cheadle) is also in there. Otherwise, it looks like Modern Family has the biggest chance of taking home trophies.

Finally, and most importantly (to him, at least), will this be Stephen Colbert’s year to win against The Daily Show? We’ll have to wait until September to find out. For a complete list of the nominations, head to the official Emmy site.