The first barrage of winged-woman Emmy statuettes were handed out at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy on Sept. 15 (airing on FXX on Sept. 21), and Netflix won the night's first one for House of Cards in the Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series category.
The video-streaming service's hit political drama -- up for nine Primetime Emmys this season -- beat out Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland and The Good Wife.
This is Netflix's first Primetime Creative Arts Emmy; Netflix previously snagged two engineering Emmys, Netflix confirmed to Mashable. Held a week before the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, the Creative Arts ceremony honors behind-the-scenes achievements.
Casting directors Laray Mayfield and Julie Schubert are credited for the win. The cast includes Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly and Constance Zimmer.
Update: Netflix also won for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series for a Drama, defeating Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Mad Men.
"We are so proud that both Casting and Cinematography were recognized with these historic Emmy wins for House of Cards and Netflix," Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said in a statement. "Laray Mayfield, Julie Schubert abd Eigil Bryld's work was truly exquisite, and the Academy's acknowledgement for their work is richly deserved."
For next week's Primetime Emmys, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has pit Netflix against the traditional TV players in many categories (see list below). Netflix made history this year when the television academy nominated for the first time ever an original series hosted online instead of on cable or network TV.
The Creative Arts Emmys is being taped today but will air Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. ET. The Primetime Emmys air live Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS from the Nokia Theatre in L.A.
Three Netflix shows earned a total of 14 nods: political drama House of Cards (9), the new season of Arrested Development (3) and horror thriller Hemlock Grove (2).
Here's a rundown of Netflix's nominations:
House of Cards
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Robin Wright as Claire Underwood
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
Arrested Development
Outstanding Lead Actor in Comedy Series: Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
Hemlock Grove
Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
Outstanding Special Visual Effects
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