LOS ANGELES — “Game of Thrones” conquered the Emmy kingdom Sunday, honored as top drama for the second consecutive year and becoming the most honored prime-time TV series ever on a night of surprises and sharp political jabs.

“Veep” repeated as best comedy series and its star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won a record-breaking sixth Emmy as best comedy actress. Jeffrey Tambor’s trophy as top comedy actor for “Transparent” also was his second.

But the top drama acting trophies were far from predictable: Rami Malek of “Mr. Robot” and Tatiana Maslany of “Orphan Black” were the winners, both overcoming heavyweight competition.

“Oh, my God. Please tell me you’re seeing this too,” said a stunned Malek, who plays an emotionally troubled engineer caught up in a dangerous hacking conspiracy.

“Games of Thrones,” the fantasy saga based on George R.R. Martin’s novels, received a total of 12 awards Sunday and at last weekend’s technical arts ceremony for a cumulative 38, besting “Frasier” by one to claim most prime-time series awards ever.

The Emmys proved more adroit than the Oscars at recognizing and honoring diversity in Hollywood’s top ranks, with trophies going to minority actors and behind-the-scenes artists including writers Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang of “Master of None.”

But Viola Davis of “How to Get Away with Murder” failed to repeat her 2015 best drama actress win, the first for a woman of color.

Tambor, who plays a transgender character on “Transparent,” called on Hollywood to make him the last non-transgender actor to get such a role.

A shaking Louis-Dreyfus ended her speech by dedicating the trophy to her father, who she said died Friday. Before that, she honed in on GOP contender Donald Trump’s campaign.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to personally apologize for the current political climate,” she said. “I think that ‘Veep’ has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as a political satire but it now feels more like a sobering documentary.”

She promised to “rebuild that wall and make Mexico pay for it.”

Her victory gave her six best comedy wins — five for “Veep,” one for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” — and broke her tie with Candice Bergen and Mary Tyler Moore.

Maggie Smith was honored as best supporting actress in a drama series for the final season of “Downton Abbey.” It was her third win for playing the formidable dowager. As has become her custom, she didn’t attend the ceremony. After Smith’s win, Kimmel said her Emmy would not be mailed to her but would be kept in the Microsoft Theater’s Lost and Found until she shows up to claim it.

Ben Mendelsohn of “Bloodline” won as best supporting drama actor and also was a no-show.

John Oliver captured the top variety talk series award for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” besting competitors including Jerry Seinfeld and host Jimmy Kimmel — who received barbed consolation on stage from Matt Damon, his longtime faux nemesis. The loss “makes a lot of sense,” Damon said.