Tonight’s Emmy awards mark a special moment for television – with online series House of Cards and Scandal competing with more traditional cable and broadcast series, this marks a year in which online production and distribution has gained incredible momentum. Netflix’s House of Cards is a political thriller and the first online programme to be considered for the prestigious award for Outstanding Drama Series.

Neil Patrick Harris, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Premiere
Neil Patrick Harris will bring his trademark flair to the proceedings.

While online productions, extremely successful ones at that, have existed for years, it seems to have taken some time for mainstream media to catch on to the explosion that has been building up for years. At this point, it is pretty clear that online distribution is set to take its place amongst broadcast, cable and satellite TV, if it hasn’t already.

The show itself will be hosted by award show veteran Neil Patrick Harris and the attendee list is packed with A-listers like TV movie nominees Michael Douglas and Matt Damon for the Liberace biopic “Behind the Candelabra” and Al Pacino and Helen Mirren for “Phil Spector.”

Bryan Cranston, Hollywood Walk of Fame
Bryan Cranston could end his Breaking Bad run with a bang and a fourth best actor award.

Meanwhile, the nominee list also features some familiar names. While ABC’s Modern Family and Bryan Cranston from AMC’s Breaking Bad are both up for their fourth awards, in the best comedy and best actor in a drama series respectively, Mad Men, nearing the end of its run is nominated for its fifth win in the drama category, which might put it up there with greats like “Hill Street Blues,” ‘’The West Wing,” and “L.A. Law.” To see how it all plays out, tune into tonight’s live broadcast from NOKIA Theatre L.A.