HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The History Channels miniseries about the legendary family feud between the Hatfields & McCoys has received 16 Emmy nominations.

The nominations were announced Thursday morning.

The three part series that aired in late May was nominated for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. The other nominees in this category were: "American Horror Story," ''Game Change," ''Hemingway & Gellhorn," ''Luther" and "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia."

Kevin Costner who played “Devil 'Anse' Hatfield" and Bill Paxton who played "Randall McCoy" were nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

Tom Berenger who played "Jim Vance" and Mare Winningham who played "Sally McCoy" were nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Miniseries or Movies.

Kevin Reynolds was nominated for Best Director.

The mini-series was also nominated for Writing, Art Direction, Costumes, Single-Camera Picture Editing, Hairstyling, Makeup, Music Composition, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Casting.

The 64th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be presented Sept. 23 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

“I think people all over the country are talking about West Virginia and the Hatfields and the McCoys at their dinner tables in the evenings, and that's a good thing,” WVU Extension Associate Professor Bill Richardson said.

The History Channel's popular miniseries with Kevin Costner as Devil Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy had ratings through the roof.

Now a production company out of Huntington is getting its chance to tell the same story from a homegrown perspective.

“We felt like we were given the opportunity to make sure that we depicted West Virginians and our ancestors in a light that isn't the stereotype that honestly this feud began,” Trifecta Productions vice president Joe Murphy said.

Trifecta Productions will have its two hours of fame after shooting a Hatfield and McCoy documentary, produced by Thinkfactory Media.

Richardson has done extensive research on the Hatfields and McCoys. You'll see him and about half a dozen other local people in the documentary.

“In a documentary you don't have to have good guys and bad guys,” Richardson said. “You can just tell here are the facts that happened.”

Richardson is pleased with the response from Hollywood’s version.

“People are coming in droves. I can't answer the phones fast enough,” Richardson said.

He hopes that when it comes to bringing more people to the state, this documentary will just add more fuel to the fire.

“For the last 100 years coal has really helped the economy of West Virginia. It's been a backbone. For the next 100 years it might be tourism,” Richardson said.

You can catch the documentary on the History Channel at 4 p.m. Saturday.

If you missed the miniseries, all three episodes will air right after the documentary -- beginning at 6 p.m.

Some Hatfield and McCoy descendants are reacting to a new television series with some big stars.

Linda Hatfield-Vanmeter and Charley McCoy get along just fine now, but go back more than 120 years and their families have a violent past that will soon play out on televisions everywhere.

“There's gonna be explosions in it, and it's going to be a little bit exaggerated. That's kind of what Hollywood does. But it's going to be entertaining and it's going to be good. That's going to get people interested in this history, and they're gonna come to our state to want to learn about it,” WVU Extension Associate Professor Bill Richardson said about the series.

The three-part series set to air on the History Channel stars Bill Paxton as Randolph McCoy and Kevin Costner as Devil Anse Hatfield.

The hope is that their portrayals will be the real deal.

“Kevin Costner is playing the lead, and he's not gonna portray himself as an ignorant hillbilly that's violent for the sake of violence,” Richardson said. “I think it will be a very balanced story.”

And in this case both sides agree.

“We just live it every day, but when someone from outside comes in and they can show a positive light to that story, we're really encouraged about that. We will share that,” McCoy said.

“When history is shared with other people and it is portrayed in a way that respects their heritage, then I think it's a very good thing,” Hatfield-Vanmeter said.

"Hatfields and McCoys" will begin airing on the History Channel Memorial Day. It's causing a domino effect, too, as other shows pick up on the theme.

In addition to the six-hour mini series, American Pickers, Pawn Stars and How the States got their Shapes are also doing Hatfield-McCoy episodes.

There also will be a two-hour documentary to air on the History Channel, and Anderson Cooper is including the theme in one of his shows.

The link to the “Hatfields and McCoys” series trailer is: http://www.history.com/hatfields-and-mccoys

For more information on the Hatfields and McCoys, visit http://www.hatfieldmccoycountry.com/