Britain leads International Emmy nominations with 6

In this Feb. 6, 2014 file photo, Olivia Colman arrives for the World Premiere of 'Cuban Fury,' in central London. (AP / Invision / Jonathan Short)

NEW YORK -- Britain picked up a leading six International Emmy nominations Monday, including best actor and actress nods for Stephen Dillane and Olivia Colman for their roles as detectives in popular crime dramas.

Dillane, who stars in "Game of Thrones" as Stannis Baratheon, was recognized for his portrayal of an aging British police detective in the British/French crime drama "The Tunnel," which as an entry from France was among the nominees for best drama series.

"The Tunnel," adapted from a Danish/Swedish crime series, finds Dillane teaming with a female French detective, portrayed by Clemence Poesy, seeking out a politically motivated serial killer who left the mutilated bodies of a French politician and British prostitute in the middle of the Channel Tunnel.

Colman was nominated for her role in "Broadchurch" as a detective investigating the murder of an 11-year-old boy in a tightknit coastal Dorset town. Earlier this year, she won the BAFTA TV Award for best actress for the same role.

"Broadchurch" has been remade for U.S. audiences as the new Fox crime drama "Gracepoint" set in California, with former "Dr. Who" star David Tennant reprising his detective role from the British series and Anna Gunn, of "Breaking Bad," starring as the female detective.

Other British nominees include: the crime-thriller "Utopia" (drama series), "An Adventure in Space and Time" (TV movie/miniseries) about the creation and early years of the "Dr. Who" sci-fi series, "No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka" (documentary) and "Educating Yorkshire" (non-scripted entertainment).

The Argentine drama "Television por la Justicia," directed by Rodolfo Cella, about cases inspired by real-life people harmed by bad judicial rulings had two nominations in the acting categories -- for Pablo Rago as a police officer debating whether to expose efforts by his peers to frame an innocent person and Romina Gaetani as a woman who suspects her daughter is a victim of sexual harassment.

Brazil had five nominations, including nods for three Globo TV productions: "The Mayor's Wife" (comedy), "Precious Pearl" (telenovela) and "Alexander and Other Heroes" (TV movie/miniseries).

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that 40 nominees from 19 countries will be competing in 10 categories for International Emmys, established to honour excellence in TV programming outside the U.S. The awards will be presented Nov. 24 at the Hilton New York Hotel.

"In these troubled times in many places around the world, it is gratifying to see so many countries and organizations still striving and competing for excellence in television programming," said Bruce L. Paisner, the International Academy's president and CEO, in a statement announcing the nominations.

This year, the organizers established a new category to recognize non-English language U.S. prime-time programs. The nominees include three Telemundo Internacional productions -- "Pasion Prohibida," "La Patrona" and "El Senor de los Cielos" -- and Nat Geo Mundo's "Temple de Acero."

Argentina, Canada and Japan each had three nominations, while Germany, China and Belgium had two apiece.

Also nominated for drama series were Chile's "Profugos" and Japan's "Yae's Sakura." The comedy nominees include Australia's "Please Like Me," South Africa's "Late Nite News With Loyiso Gola" and Belgium's "Wat als 2?" ("What If?" Season 2).

The other actor nominees were Canada's Claude Legault for "19-2" and China's Xiubo Wu for "The Orphan of Zhao." Rounding out the actress nominees were Turkey's Tuba Buyukustun for "20 Dakika" ("20 Minutes") and the Netherlands' Bianca Krijgsman for "De Nieue Wereld" ("The New World").

At the November awards ceremony, Matthew Weiner, the creator and executive producer of "Mad Men," which airs its final episodes in spring 2015, will be presented the honorary 2014 International Emmy Founders Award. Roberto Marinho Irineu, CEO and president of Brazil's Globo Organization, will receive the International Emmy Directorate Award.

Last week, the academy announced its nominees for the International Emmy Kids Awards for children's programming, which will be presented Feb. 20 in New York.

A total of 23 nominees from 17 countries will be competing for Kids Awards in six categories. Australia led with three nominations, followed by Britain, Germany, Sweden and South Korea with two apiece.