While the Oscars dominate this portion of the awards season calendar, television still looms large in terms of honors–even with the Emmys quite a ways down the road. TV nominations recently unveiled and currently in play for the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards are coveted in and of themselves while also carrying some prognostication relevance for the Emmys. Any harbinger of things to come would perhaps smile most sweetly upon Netflix which finished a resounding first in the Golden Globe nods tally with 20, nearly three times as many as its closest competitor, HBO, and surpassing the 17 noms it received last year.
Netflix garnered three out of the five Golden Globe nominations for Best TV Drama Series–The Crown, Ozark and Ratched–and four of the five Best Actress nods in TV series drama: Olivia Colman and Emma Corron for The Crown, Laura Linney for Ozark, and Sarah Paulson for Ratched, Ryan Murphy’s backstory of the cold, heartless, controlling nurse from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
The remaining Best Actress nom in TV series drama went to Jodie Comer for Killing Eve (BBC America) while the two other series in the running for best drama distinction are Lovecraft Country (HBO), a horror series that meshes the supernatural and racial inequalities, and The Mandalorian (Disney+).
Leading the Golden Globes TV noms parade for Netflix was The Crown with a total of six (Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Colman and Corron, Best Actor for Josh O’Connor, Best Supporting Actress for Gillian Anderson and Helena Bonham Carter), followed by Ozark with four (Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Linney, Best Actor for Jason Bateman, Best Supporting Actress for Julia Garner), Ratched with three (Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Paulson, Supporting Actress for Cynthia Nixon), Emily in Paris (Best Musical or Comedy Series, Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series for Lily Collins), The Queen’s Gambit (Best Limited Series, Best Actress in a Limited Series for Anna Taylor-Joy) and Unorthodox (Best Limited Series, Best Actress in a Limited Series for Shira Haas) with two apiece, and Hollywood with one (Best Supporting Actor for Jim Parsons).
Peter Morgan, The Crown creator and showrunner, said of the Golden Globe recognition, “All of us on The Crown are thrilled to be recognized in this way by the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association). This season really seems to have resonated with audiences of all generations all around the world.”
The recognition takes on added meaning in the throes of a pandemic. Chris Mundy, showrunner/writer/EP of Ozark, shared, “If the last year taught us anything, it’s how lucky we feel just to get to make the show. So, thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the extra reason to feel good. It’s great to be in the company of all these amazing shows.”
HBO finished second in the Golden Globes nominations derby with seven–four for The Undoing (Best Limited Series, Nicole Kidman for Best Actress in a Limited Series, Hugh Grant for Best Actor in a Limited Series, Donald Sutherland for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series), and one apiece for I Know This Much Is True (Mark Ruffalo for Best Actor in a Limited Series), Lovecraft Country (Best Drama Series) and Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys for Best Actor in a Drama).
Hulu nabbed third place with a tally of six–The Great with three (Best Musical or Comedy Series, Best Actress for Elle Fanning and Best Actor for Nicholas Hoult), Normal People with two (Best Limited Series, Best Actress for Daisy Edgar-Jones) and one for Ramy (Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series for Ramy Youssef).
Fourth place was a tie at five noms apiece for Showtime and Pop TV. The latter’s five nods all came for Schitt’s Creek (Best Musical or Comedy Series Best Actress for Catherine O’Hara, Best Actor for Eugene Levy, Best Supporting Actress for Annie Murphy, Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Levy). Showtime scored two for The Comey Rule (Best Actor in a Limited Series for Jeff Daniels, Best Supporting Actor for Brendan Gleeson), and one each for Black Monday (Best Actor in A Musical or Comedy Series for Don Cheadle), The Good Lord Bird (Best Actor in a Limited Series for Ethan Hawke) and Your Honor (Best Actor in a Limited Series for Bryan Cranston).
Finishing in the sixth slot was Amazon Studios with three TV nods–two for Small Axe (Best Limited or Anthology Series and Best Supporting Actor for John Boyega) and one for Hunters (Al Pacino as Best Actor in a Drama Series).
Steve McQueen, director/writer/producer of Small Axe, credited the success to “such a brilliant crew and cast across the anthology series, some highly experienced actors and craftspeople as well as a lot of exciting new talent who made it onto a set for the very first time.”
Boyega shared, “I am thrilled to be part of this anthology series and grateful that it is also being recognized with a nomination by the HFPA. Thank you to Steve McQueen for his vision and trust, to Leroy Logan for sharing his story with us, and to Amazon Studios for its continued support in telling these important, and often overlooked, stories.”
Next in seventh place with two Globe nominations apiece were HBO Max and Apple TV+. The former’s nods were for The Flight Attendant (Best Musical or Comedy Series, and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series for Kaley Cuoco). And the pair of nods for Apple TV+ came courtesy of Ted Lasso (Best Musical or Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series for Jason Sudeikis).
Ted Lasso faces off against The Flight Attendant, The Great, Emily in Paris and Schitt’s Creek for Best Comedy Series.
A year after traditional broadcast networks were shut out from Golden Globe nominations, NBC broke through this time around with one nod: Jane Levy for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
SAG Awards
Netflix was also dominant in the SAG Awards derby with a total of 17 nominations–five for The Crown (Best Drama Series Ensemble; Anderson, Coleman and Corron for Best Female Actor in a Drama Series; and O’Connor for Best Male Actor), four for Ozark (Best Drama Series Ensemble; Best Female Actor in a Drama Series for Garner and Linney; and Best Male Actor for Bateman), three for Dead to Me (Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series, Best Female in a Comedy Series for Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini) and two apiece for The Queen’s Gambit (Female Actor in a Limited Series for Taylor-Joy, Male Actor for Bill Camp) and Bridgerton (Best Drama Series Ensemble, Best Male Actor in a Drama Series for Rege-Jean Page).
Hulu and Pop TV tallied five SAG nods apiece. Hulu’s haul consisted of two for The Great (Best Comedy Series Ensemble, Male in a Comedy Series for Hoult), and one each for Ramy (Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Youssef), Mrs. America (Female
Actor in a Limited Series for Cate Blanchett) and Little Fires Everywhere (Female Actor in a Limited Series for Kerry Washington).
Pop TV’s noms were all for Schitt’s Creek (Best Comedy Series Ensemble, Female Actor in a Comedy Series for O’Hara and Murphy, and Male Actor for Dan and Eugene Levy).
HBO earned four SAG nods: Lovecraft Country (Best Drama Series Ensemble), The Undoing (Female Actor in a Limited Series for Kidman, Male Actor for Grant) and I Know This Much Is True (Male Actor in a Limited Series for Ruffalo).
HBO Max registered a trio of nods–two for The Flight Attendant (Best Comedy Series Ensemble, Female in a Comedy Series for Cuoco) and one for I May Destroy You (Female Actor in a Limited Series for Michaela Coel).
AMC and Apple TV+ each garnered two noms. The latter’s pair came for Ted Lasso (Best Comedy Series Ensemble, Male Actor for Sudeikis). AMC took its two noms for Better Call Saul (Best Drama Series Ensemble, Male Actor in a Drama Series for Bob Odenkirk).
Single noms went to NBC for This Is Us (Male Actor in a Drama Series for Sterling K. Brown), Disney+ for Hamilton (Male Actor in a TV Movie for Daveed Diggs) and Showtime for The Good Lord Bird (Male Actor in a Limited Series for Hawke).
Common thread
The success of Bridgerton in the SAG Awards, Emily in Paris in the Golden Globes, and The Queen’s Gambit in both the SAG and Globes competitions underscores what Jinny Howe, VP, original series for Netflix, observed is a common bond among the three shows.
Regarding Shonda Rhimes, whose creative acumen is again reflected in Bridgerton, Howe observed, “Shondaland’s fans have come to expect diversity in all her shows. Bridgerton took a seed of truth about Queen Charlotte’s background to reimagine her as a Black monarch using her power to affect broader change in British society. The empowerment of people of color and women made Bridgerton feel accessible and contemporary, resonating with audiences all around the world. Like The Queen’s Gambit and Emily in Paris–two other hugely popular Netflix series–Bridgerton draws upon themes that are universal yet speak directly to women because they feature independent-minded female protagonists in lead roles.”
