Catrione Balfe, Rami Malek and Lady Gaga are among the many new faces scoring TV nominations for the 73rd Golden Globe Awards announced Thursday.
Although the Globes aren’t taken as seriously as other awards, the injection of so many first-time nominees in this year’s TV categories is refreshing to see. Still, for every surprise nominee fans will find horrible snubs. As I said after yesterday’s SAG nominations announcement, get used to it. So much good TV means a whole lot of snubs, but I’ll let someone else complain. This year’s batch of TV nominees mostly feels like a worthy list.
(I say mostly because, well, Lady Gaga. She slipped into the best actress nod spot for “American Horror Story: Hotel” that in the past has gone to Jessica Lange. Which wasn’t necessary. I’m not even sure the nom for “Hotel” was, either, as much as I love to watch naked hot bodies rolling around in blood.)
Past winners such as “Mad Men” and “The Affair” mostly were snubbed Thursday, with “Games of Thrones” being the only returning nominee in the best TV drama category. It competes against newcomers “Empire,” “Mr. Robot,” “Narcos” and “Outlander.”
The best TV comedy category honored two first-timers: Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle” and Hulu’s “Casual,” two comedies I have enjoyed this year. Joining them are returning nominees “Orange Is the New Black,” “Silicon Valley,” “Transparent” and “Veep.”
Malek followed up Wednesday’s SAG award nomination with another best drama actor nod for “Mr. Robot.” he joins another newbie, Wagner Moura for “Narcos,” along with Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”) and Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”).
Two nominations that have me especially happy are in the best actress in a comedy category. Jamie Lee Curtis (“Scream Queens”) and Lily Tomlin (“Grace & Frankie”) have been working for years, but both offered excellent comedic performances in their respective shows this year.
Another high point among the nominations is Tobias Menzies’s best supporting actor nod for “Outlander.” His take on Black Jack Randall could have been a mustache-twisting cartoon, but he embued the baddie with pain and suffering that showed a human under the evil. Joining Menzies in the category is another worthy nom that could have been overlooked, Ben Mendelsohn for “Bloodline.”
Menzies’s show also is nominated, as is his co-star Balfe, who scored a best dramatic actress nomination after being overlooked at the Emmys this year.
Other notable newbies—at least for their programs—include Aziz Ansari (“Master Of None”), Gael García Bernal (“Mozart In The Jungle”), Patrick Stewart (“Blunt Talk”) and Rob Lowe (“The Grinder”) in the best comedy actor category. They will compete against last year’s winner, Jeffrey Tamobr (“Transparent”).
I’d say it’s a good day for new shows.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 90 journalists and photographers, vote on the Golden Globes. In the past, the group has been criticized for its head-scratching choices as well as controversial voting practices.
The HFPA will hand out the 2016 Golden Globes during a ceremony broadcast at 7 p.m. Jan 10 on NBC. Ricky Gervais once again will host the event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Find the Golden Globe movie nominations here.
Golden Globe nominations
TV series, drama
“Empire”
“Game of Thrones”
“Mr. Robot”
“Narcos”
“Outlander”
TV series, comedy
“Casual”
“Mozart in the Jungle”
“Orange Is the New Black”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”
“Veep”
Actress in a TV series, comedy
Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Scream Queens”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”
Actress in a TV series, drama
Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”
Viola Davis, “How To Get Away With Murder”
Eva Green, “Penny Dreadful”
Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Actor in a TV series, drama
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”
Wagner Moura, “Narcos”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
Actor in a TV series, comedy
Aziz Ansari, “Master Of None”
Gael García Bernal, “Mozart In The Jungle”
Rob Lowe, “The Grinder”
Patrick Stewart, “Blunt Talk”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”
TV movie or miniseries
“American Crime”
“American Horror Story: Hotel”
“Fargo”
“Flesh and Bone”
“Wolf Hall”
Actress in a TV movie or limited series
Kirsten Dunst, “Fargo”
Queen Latifah, “Bessie”
Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”
Sarah Hay, “Flesh and Bone”
Lady Gaga, “American Horror Story: Hotel”
Actor in a TV movie or limited series
Oscar Isaac, “Show Me a Hero”
Patrick Wilson, “Fargo”
Idris Elba, “Luther”
David Oyelowo, “Nightingale”
Mark Rylance, “Wolf Hall”
Supporting actor in a TV series, limited series or TV movie
Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”
Damian Lewis, “Wolf Hall”
Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”
Tobias Menzies, “Outlander”
Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”
Supporting actress in a TV series, limited series or TV movie
Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is the New Black”
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”
Regina King, “American Crime”
Judith Light, “Transparent”
Maura Tierney, “The Affair”