Neil Patrick Harris and Aaron Paul joined forces to announce the nominations for the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, July 18th, and for the second consecutive year 'American Horror Story: Asylum' leads the field of nominees with an astonishing 17 nominations.

Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Kevin Spacey, Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, Claire Danes and Kerry Washington were among the stars that heard their names called and the later, who became the first black woman to be nominated in the Lead Actress category since Cicely Tyson for 'Sweet Justice' in 1995.

"I am endlessly grateful to Shonda Rhimes and the entire cast and crew of Scandal," Washington told Us Weekly in a statement. "It is humbling to be nominated in the company of such extraordinarily talented and accomplished women and I am thankful to the Academy for this honor and privilege." Peep all of the major nominees beneath:

2013 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS : NOMINATIONS

Outstanding Drama Series:
"Breaking Bad" (AMC)
"Downton Abbey" (PBS)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"Homeland" (Showtime)
"House of Cards" (Netflix)
"Mad Men" (AMC)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey"
Damian Lewis, "Homeland"
Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom"

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Vera Farmiga, "Bates Motel"
Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey"
Claire Danes, "Homeland"
Robin Wright, "House of Cards"
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"
Connie Britton, "Nashville"
Kerry Washington, "Scandal"

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
Bobby Cannavale, "Boardwalk Empire"
Jonathan Banks, "Breaking Bad"
Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"
Jim Carter, "Downton Abbey"
Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"
Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland"

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"
Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"
Emilia Clarke, "Game of Thrones"
Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife"
Morena Baccarin, "Homeland"
Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"

Outstanding Comedy Series:
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
"Girls" (HBO)
"Louie" (FX)
"Modern Family" (ABC)
"Veep" (HBO)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development"
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"
Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Laura Dern, "Enlightened"
Lena Dunham, "Girls"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:
Adam Driver, "Girls"
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"
Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live"
Tony Hale, "Veep"

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:
Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory"
Jane Lynch, "Glee"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"
Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie"
Jane Krakowski, "30 Rock"
Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie:
"American Horror Story: Asylum" (FX)
"Behind the Candelabra" (HBO)
"The Bible" (History)
"Phil Spector" (HBO)
"Political Animals" (USA)
"Top of the Lake" (Sundance Channel)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie:
Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra"
Matt Damon, "Behind the Candelabra"
Toby Jones, "The Girl"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "Parade's End"
Al Pacino, "Phil Spector"

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie:
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Laura Linney, "The Big C: Hereafter"
Helen Mirren, "Phil Spector"
Sigourney Weaver, "Political Animals"
Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake"

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a 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"
Peter Mullan, "Top of the Lake"

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie:
Sarah Paulson, "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Imelda Staunton, "The Girl"
Ellen Burstyn, "Political Animals"
Charlotte Rampling, "Restless"
Alfre Woodard, "Steel Magnolias"

Outstanding Variety Series:
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)
"Real Time with Bill Maher" (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)

Outstanding Host for a Reality/Reality-Competition Program:
Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol"
Betty White, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers"
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing with the Stars"
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, "Project Runway"
Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance"
Anthony Bourdain, "The Taste"

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program:
"The Amazing Race" (CBS)
"Dancing with the Stars" (ABC)
"Project Runway" (Lifetime)
"So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
"Top Chef" (Bravo)
"The Voice" (NBC)

Outstanding Reality Program:
"Antiques Roadshow" (PBS)
"Deadliest Catch" (Discovery Channel)
"Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" (Food Network)
"MythBusters" (Discovery Channel)
"Shark Tank" (ABC)
"Undercover Boss" (CBS)

Outstanding Animated Program:
"Bob's Burgers" (Fox)
"Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness" (Nickelodeon)
"Regular Show" (Cartoon Network)
"The Simpsons"
"South Park"

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series:
Bob Newhart, "The Big Bang Theory"
Nathan Lane, "Modern Family"
Bobby Cannavale, "Nurse Jackie"
Louis C.K., "Saturday Night Live"
Justin Timberlake, "Saturday Night Live"
Will Forte, "30 Rock"

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series:
Molly Shannon, "Enlightened"
Dot-Marie Jones, "Glee"
Melissa Leo, "Louie"
Melissa McCarthy, "Saturday Night Live"
Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live"
Elaine Stritch, "30 Rock"

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series:
Nathan Lane, "The Good Wife"
Michael J. Fox, "The Good Wife"
Rupert Friend, "Homeland"
Robert Morse, "Mad Men"
Harry Hamlin, "Mad Men"
Dan Bucatinsky, "Scandal"

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series:
Margo Martindale, "The Americans"
Diana Rigg, "Game of Thrones"
Carrie Preston, "The Good Wife"
Linda Cardellini, "Mad Men"
Jane Fonda, "The Newsroom"
Joan Cusack, "Shameless"

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES

Leading men George Clooney, Matt Damon and Daniel Craig front the new February issue of Vanity Fair, shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Each of the guys are featured in buzz-worthy new films with Clooney locking up his eventual Oscar nomination with recent Golden Globe and SAG nominations for 'The Descendents', and Damon and Craig are also sparking conversation with their new films 'We Bought a Zoo' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.

'The Lion King' return to the top, seventeen years after the film first arrived.

The 3-D version of the 1994 Disney animated classic claimed the box-office throne with $30.15 million, pushing 'Contagion' to second with $14.5 million.

The Ryan Gosling-action vehicle flick 'Drive', which grabbed strong critical reviews, performed the best among the other new releases with $11.3 million.

Closing out the top 5: 'The Help' in fourth with another $6.5 million to up its cumulative total to $147.4 and 'Straw Dogs' opened in fifth with $5.1 million.

Romantic comedy 'I Don't Know How She Does It', starring Sarah Jessica Parker as a multi-tasking mom juggling her family and career as an executive, opened outside the top five with a worthless $4.4 million to finish in sixth place.

After 3 weeks at the forefront of the weekend box-office, 'The Help' was finally dethroned by the Matt Damon-led 'Contagion', which collected $22.4 million.

The high-profiled thriller, also starring Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne, was shown on virtually 3,900 big screens.

Rounding out the top 5: 'The Help' in second with $8.9 million, 'Warrior' with a weak $5.7 million debut, 'The Debt' with $4.9 and 'Colombiana' with $3.9 mill.

Elsewhere in limited release, the new Kevin Hart stand-up comedy 'Laugh At My Pain' bypassed projections at No. 13 with $1.9 million (at just 97 locations).