For the first time maybe ever, the Golden Globe TV nominations were…actually good?
While this is certainly something to celebrate, we're a little bit sad that this year's list is missing the deranged, nonsensical, WTF nominations of bizarre starlets from bizarre TV shows that we had no idea even existed: the likes of a Piper Perabo for Covert Affairs nom or a Callie Thorne nod for a show that allegedly existed called Unnecessary Roughness. Those crazy nominations were always infuriating, but also a little fun.
(See the full list here.)
And while that particular Globe tradition took a year off, the one of rewarding new, buzzy series that will likely end up being snubbed by the old, stuck-in-its-ways Emmys is still alive and well, with big mentions for The Affair, Jane the Virgin, and Transparent. More reason to celebrate: as Girls showrunner Jenni Konner so awesomely pointed out this morning, “Every show but one in comedy category for Globes run by women! Retweet that sh**!”Still, as always, the list has its fair share of maddening snubs, too. Sorry: Kerry Washington, Tatiana Maslany, and, most confusingly, Golden Globes host Amy Poehler. Here's a look at the biggest snubs and most pleasant surprises.SNUBS
Amy Poehler - Parks and RecreationIt should be an awkward night of hosting for Amy Poehler on Jan. 11, as the Globes co-emcee was a baffling omission from this year's Best Actress in a Comedy list. Adding insult to injury: Poehler won her very first, very overdue acting award for her Parks and Rec performance at last year’s ceremony. She shouldÆve been the defending champion. Now I suspect she’s just bitter.
Kerry Washington - ScandalIs there room for only one Shonda Rhimes darling in Best Actress in a Drama? Apparently, because the category's former buzziest inclusion, Scandal's Kerry Washington, has been swapped out for St. Shonda's newest leading lady, How to Get Away With Murder's Viola Davis. It's a shame, too. Not only is Washington still delivering her ballsy, operatic, just-to-the-line-of-campy-ridiculousness performance on Scandal, it would say a lot about Hollywood's embracing of diversity if two black leading actresses were nominated in the same year. Why does it have to be one or the other?
Jim Parsons - The Big Bang TheoryAfter three Globe nominations and one win—not to mention a veritable dynasty of Emmy victories—it's actually a little nice that Jim Parsons is sitting this year out, making way for fresh blood in the Best Actor in a Comedy category. While Jeffrey Tambor's sure-to-win performance in Transparent is an essential addition to the shortlist, it's frustrating that Parson's snub didn't pave the way for more exciting new nominees—like Anthony Anderson for black-ish—while veterans like Don Cheadle (House of Lies) and Ricky Gervais (Derek) aggravatingly show up in this category again. Surely, Parsons could've replaced one of them.
VeepTwo HBO comedies make it into the Best Comedy category and neither of them are Veep? The Julia Louis-Dreyfus series is not just the funniest show on the network, it's the funniest show on TV. Season three was the strongest one the series has produced yet, to boot. While it's great to see Silicon Valley continue its freshman year Cinderella awards run and Girls gain recognition for what was a creatively strong reboot after a so-so second season, either one of those series could've been chucked out for the far superior Veep. There should be a plethora of four-letter words flying around the Veep set this morning.
Andy Samberg - Brooklyn Nine-NineLast year everyone's jaws dropped when the former SNL star took home the Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy. Maybe feeling a little embarrassed by its much-talked-about decision the Hollywood Foreign Press overcompensated this year by not nominating him at all? It's a shame, because Samberg's work on Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been stronger than ever this past season. He's no longer a sketch comedy guy trying to lead a sitcom. He's grown into a legitimately talented comedic actor. Again, Don Cheadle? Really?
Mad MenThe former awards darling was once such a trophy power player that a time when it would be a dark horse for kudos attention seemed like an impossibility. Yet the Globes have snubbed the AMC series in Best Drama for three consecutive years now, and shut it out completely for the second time (Jon Hamm did receive a nod in Best Actor last year). While the most recent season got off to a rough start, its final run of episodes were the strongest of any drama this past year, with brilliant work by Hamm and Elisabeth Moss also deserving of recognition. Perhaps the smoke of all the early season buzz really did get in the Hollywood Foreign Press's eyes.
Masters of SexThe thing with the Globes is: as quick as they are to anoint you the hot new thing on TV, they're just as quick to take it away. Such is the case for Masters of Sex, which was last year's freshman success story at the Globes, winning nods for Best Drama and Best Actor (Michael Sheen). This year? Zilch, what with Showtime's other steamy sex-heavy drama, The Affair, stealing its thunder. That's fine and well, until you see that Downton Abbey was nominated again. AGAIN.Tatiana Maslany - Orphan BlackThe ecstasy of Tatiana Maslany's SAG nomination Wednesday was short-lived, so quickly followed by the agony of a Globes snub on Thursday. TV's perennially most under-appreciated and most snubbed actress once again misses out on a nod in Best Actress in a Drama for her work in Orphan Black, in which she plays not just one character, but nearly a dozen of that character's clones. The silver lining: maybe she's used to it by now?
Lisa Kudrow - The ComebackHow—HOW—is Lisa Kudrow not a nominee for the revival of The Comeback? No one on TV does comedic work as nuanced, as simultaneously hysterical and tragic, or as simply good as Kudrow does on the series. The fanfare surrounding the series' return after nine years should've been enough to carry Kudrow's cherished (see what I did there?) performance into the race. But alas, a snub is yet another of the many indignities Valerie Cherish shall endure.Julia Roberts - The Normal HeartNot only was Julia Roberts, this year's quintessential A-lister "slumming it" on TV, supposed to be nominated in the Globes' strange Best Supporting Actress amalgam category for The Normal Heart, she was predicted to win it. Her searing turn in the HBO movie was spectacular, too, which would've made it not a case of star-gazing, but rewarding a bold turn by a huge star who doesn't need to take such risks in her career. But the strange way the Globes populates its eclectic supporting category by combining contenders from every field ultimately hurt her chances.
SURPRISES
Downton AbbeyYou've got to be kidding me with this one. At least the HFPA did one thing right in not rubber stamping yet another Maggie Smith nomination in Supporting Actress and giving the nod to the far-more deserving Joanne Froggatt, who was so brilliant playing Anna's controversial rape storyline, instead.
Alan Cumming - The Good WifeThe Good Wife has been so, so good lately that every award show's nomination announcement is anxiety-inducing for fans. It deserves all the trophies in the world, and yet still somehow was snubbed for Drama Series at the most recent Emmys. Blessedly, the CBS drama scored Globe noms in Best Drama, Best Actress (Julianna Margulies), and, most surprisingly, Best Supporting Actor this year. Alan Cumming's inclusion in the latter category is a special joy, considering how entertaining and just-plain-fun, but not necessarily traditionally histrionic or awards-baity, the actor's performance is on the series.
Uzo Aduba - Orange Is the New BlackEmmy-winner Uzo Aduba, known to Orange Is the New Black fans as Crazy Eyes, is clearly the breakout star of the Netflix series, having just snuck her way into highly competitive acting races at both the SAG Awards and the Globes this week. While there's an entire correctional facility's worth of deserving actresses ready to rack up awards for OITNB, it's a delight to see Aduba's star-is-born performance that caught everyone eyes in Season 1 parlay into a more prolonged success story.
Gina Rodriguez - Jane the VirginThere's a lot of industry good will towards CW star Gina Rodriguez and her simply splendid work on the telenovela-esque Jane the Virgin. Given the actresses' backgrounds and the tones of their respective shows, it's not hard to liken Rodriguez's industry and awards-season journey to that of America Ferrera's for Ugly Betty, in that the press can't wait to make her a star. The difference, however, is that Ferrera's show aired on ABC while Jane the Virgin is a CW hit—a network that's not typically taken seriously by awards groups. That the Globes did this year, rewarding both Rodriguez and the series in Best Comedy, is a pleasant surprise.
TransparentSure, awards organizations already sent a signal that they were down to embrace series that air exclusively online when they lavished awards attention on the first seasons of House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. But would they be willing to extend their welcome to series that are streamed outside of Netflix? Thankfully the Globes paid due attention to Amazon's gem of a series, Transparent, which was probably the most interesting, important, and, at its heart, loveliest new show of the year. The Best Comedy and Best Actor in a Comedy (Jeffrey Tambor) mentions aren't just wonderful. They're necessary.
