Jon Hamm and Game of Thrones finally win Emmys glory

Jon Hamm accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Mad Men at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 20, 2015. AP

HBO's fantasy epic Game of Thrones won for best drama series and Jon Hamm finally took home a trophy for Mad Men on Sunday at the Emmy Awards - a night of firsts that saw a black actress make history.

Viola Davis gave an emotional speech as she became the first African-American to win the award for best actress in a drama series for her portrayal of a law professor involved in a twisted plot on ABC's How To Get Away with Murder.

Other highlights of the show included a best comedy series prize for HBO's political satire Veep and several prizes for Amazon's dark transgender comedy Transparent - a major breakthrough for the streaming content provider.

Game of Thrones was the big winner at the star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles, raking in 12 awards, and HBO also struck gold with Olive Kitteridge, about a couple whose marriage is in trouble, which won eight awards.

Thrones - a sweeping epic filled with blood, sex and back-stabbing - had won many awards before, but never the top prize.

“Thanks again, HBO, for believing in dragons,” said series co-creator David Benioff.

But the emotional high points of the night - television’s equivalent of the Oscars - belonged to Hamm and Davis.

Hamm - whose portrayal of seductive, mysterious ad man Don Draper on retro-cool Mad Men had won him rave reviews and transformed his career - finally struck gold on his eighth nomination for the role.

“It’s incredible and impossible for me personally to be standing here,” Hamm said after receiving a standing ovation from the audience at the 67th Emmys.

For Davis, the moment was not one to be missed.

“Let me tell you something,” she told the audience to wide applause. “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.”

She thanked series creator Peter Nowalk, executive producer Shonda Rhimes and others, calling them “people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.”

Transparent, about a transgender woman, won five Emmys overall for Amazon in its first year with nominations for its scripted content, as it tries to catch up with streaming pioneer Netflix.

Jeffrey Tambor took home the trophy for best actor in a comedy for his portrayal of a transgender woman in the series, which also took honors for directing, best guest actor in a comedy and for two technical categories.

“I have been given the opportunity to act because people’s lives depend on it,” Tambor said in his acceptance speech.

“I’d like to dedicate my performance and this award to the transgender community. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your inspiration.”

In addition to top comedy series honors, Veep - the story of a female US vice president who rises to the presidency and her bumbling staff - saw its star Julia Louis-Dreyfus win for the fourth time in a row. Co-star Tony Hale won his second Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy.

Louis-Dreyfus cracked a joke about Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump in her acceptance speech, saying, “It’s getting trickier and trickier to satirise this stuff.”

Host Andy Samberg kicked off the ceremony with a musical video skit about the wealth of quality television now on offer, featuring several stars like Hamm and Kerry Washington, the star of Scandal.

Samberg - the star of Fox's sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine and a former cast member of US comedy show Saturday Night Live - then hailed this year's event for recognizing diversity.

“This is the most diverse group of nominees in Emmy history,” he said, then quipping: “So congratulations Hollywood, you did it. Yeah, racism is over.”