LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Six months after #Oscarssowhite upset the biggest movie awards in the world, television's Emmy line-up is telling a different, far more colourful, story.

Some 21 actors across the ethnic spectrum have been nominated for Emmys this year. For the first time in the 68-year history of the biggest honours in television, men of colour were nominated in all six lead actor categories.

It does not end there. Emmy organisers have showered nominations on shows like Mr. Robot, starring Egyptian-American Rami Malek as a socially awkward hacker; African-American family sitcom Black-ish; Master Of None, created by actor Aziz Ansari and his Asian-American writing partner Alan Yang; and FX's marathon recreation of the 1995 OJ Simpson double murder trial seen through the prism of modern US race relations.

Part of the greater diversity in television is due to the sheer number of scripted shows - currently around 400 - now available on mainstream networks.

Television's biggest night, The Primetime Emmy Awards take place on Sept 18.