This morning’s Golden Globe television nominations rather shockingly and dramatically flipped the script over last year’s nominations. Today’s field looks significantly different largely due a sizeable number of omissions, a few category shifts, and the Globe’s ability to consistently recognize new blood.
Starting with the omissions, major awards-bait series were completely ignored by the Globes after a storied history of nominations and wins. This list includes Showtime’s Masters of Sex, AMC’s Mad Men, FOX’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, ABC’s Modern Family, NBC’s Parks and Recreation, ABC’s Scandal, BBC’s Orphan Black among many, many others.
It’s a staggering list when you look at it really.
I’m not saying we were repeat-free. Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, and Girls all saw repeat success this year in addition to a scattering of repeat nominations. But you do have to admire the Globes for recognizing so much new talent / new series.
Personally, I am most thrilled with the large support for Showtime’s The Affair with three nominations including Dramatic Series as well as acting bids for Dominic West and Ruth Wilson. I’ve raved about the series in both this site and on our new TV Water Cooler podcast, and I’m excited about its potential Emmy chances down the road.
But also receiving well deserved bids were Viola Davis for her work in How to Get Away with Murder, Claire Danes for largely driving the successful reboot of Homeland, and Comedy Series/Actor bids for Amazon Prime’s Transparent – a first for the fledgling content provider.
Additionally, the Globes can be counted on to embrace at least one comedy ingénue each year. This year’s recipient of that honor was Gina Rodriguez and her series Jane the Virgin, which is *thisclose* to be a real buzzed-about event. No doubt this recognition will further that along.
This being an awards show, there’s always something to complain about. Only one nod for Veep? No Game of Thrones performances? And just when Tatiana Maslany starts making headway with her SAG nomination this week, the Globes pulls the rug out from under her by neglecting to cite her for her ongoing brilliant work. Similarly, I am sensing a downward trend in the reactions to this year’s American Horror Story outing, Freak Show, based on early awards possibilities. Sure, Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates made it in at the Globes, but the series was shut out at the SAG nominations and did not receive a Miniseries bid at the Globes this year (it also missed out on its Asylum outing as well).
My chief complaint here was in Kathy Bates’s recognition in her underwritten role as the bearded lady. Given her meaty role in Coven, Bates seemingly slept through Freak Show – no reflection of her talent but more ill will against her ill-conceived role. I would rather have seen Sarah Paulson in as the conjoined twins given the degree of difficulty alone. Perhaps the Globes are righting past wrongs with Bates.
Finally, in some category shenanigans, Orange is the New Black magically transformed itself from a Drama to a Comedy and saw three nominations as a result. True Detective, which has been recognized in almost every other voting body as a Drama Series, was relegated to the Miniseries category and received four nominations, including one for Supporting Actress Michelle Monaghan.
Which brings up a consistent complaint of mine: the Globes sees fit to break down television (and film) into Drama and Comedy categories, which I think is fine, but continues to lump supporting performances from television series (both Drama and Comedy) in with the TV-Movie and Miniseries performances. This is a bone-headed category that clearly makes no sense. Aside from the bizarre comparisons voters are forced to make (pitting one-shot performances with sustained, series long performances), they are omitting several great supporting performances that aren’t bubbling up to the surface. I’m thinking of the extensive Veep and Game of Thrones supporting casts as well as the broad perspective offered in The Normal Heart.
No wonder they all drink at the ceremony.