Golden Globes 2017: Paste‘s TV Nominations Predictions and Wish List

When the nominations for the 75th Golden Globe Awards are announced Monday morning (at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT, sadly), it will mark the beginning of the intense six-week prelude to the Oscar nominations. On the TV side, of course, the most important statuettes have already been handed out—the Emmy Awards were held in September—which means the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the 90-member body of international entertainment journalists that puts on “Hollywood’s biggest party,” has become much hipper than its industry counterpart, especially in the comedy categories.

That’s the spirit in which this combination of predictions and wishes is written—the hope that the Golden Globes will continue to point the way for the Emmys in terms of TV’s vanguard. (As for the film categories? You’ll have to ask someone who’s seen more of them.) Without further ado, here’s Paste Golden Globes (TV) Nominations Preview:

Best Drama Series

The trend in Best Drama is “debut series receives surprise nomination and goes on to win”: The Affair in 2014, Mr. Robot in 2015, and The Crown last year. If the HFPA plans to scoop the TV Academy again, its best bet is HBO’s The Deuce (The Handmaid’s Tale took home the Emmy), but my wish is for the Golden Globes to recognize two sterling series that ended their runs in 2017, HBO’s The Leftovers—our #1 TV show of 2017—and AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire.

Predicted nominees:
The Americans
The Crown
The Deuce
Game of Thrones
The Handmaid’s Tale

Best Comedy Series

The Emmys have nominated exactly three series for Best Comedy since 2007: 30 Rock, Modern Family and Veep. In the meantime, to quote Royal Tenenbaum, the Globes have been taking it out and chopping it up, awarding statuettes to Glee, Girls, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Transparent and Atlanta, among others. Fresh faces are ascendant again this year; both Better Things (FX) and The Good Place (NBC) are strong contenders, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW)—which earned Rachel Bloom a surprise Globe win in 2015—is more than ready for the main event after a brilliant start to its third season. That leaves another hour-long comedy for my greedy wish list, Netflix’s compelling wrestling match, GLOW. It has the benefit of containing the line this year that might’ve made me laugh hardest: “Fuck you, Nancy Reagan!”

Predicted nominees:
Better Things
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
The Good Place
Silicon Valley
Veep

 

Best Limited Series or TV Movie

This one may have more to do with me than it does with the HFPA: Though I reviewed it favorably when it premiered in January, The Young Pope (HBO) drifted down my list of the year’s best limited series as newer ones captured the collective attention. With its European and art house pedigree (Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino), not to mention its star power (Jude Law), I suspect The Young Pope will sneak in above Netflix’s late breakers, Alias Grace and Godless, if not (let’s hope) American Crime (ABC). Until, oh, five minutes before publication, I’d have called Big Little Lies a shoo-in here. But does it still qualify now that it’s been renewed for Season Two? And if not, would it compete in the Drama Series category instead? Beats me!

Predicted nominees:
American Crime
Big Little Lies
Fargo
Feud: Bette and Joan
The Young Pope

Best Actor (Drama Series)

For some reason, both the TV Academy and the HFPA have decided to force Liev Schreiber, a fine actor trapped in a dreadful series, to attend the Emmys and Golden Globes until either he or his TV series (Showtime’s Ray Donovan) expires. Free Liev Schreiber! And us: Justin Theroux (The Leftovers), Dan Stevens (FX’s Legion), and Scoot McNairy and Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire) all deserve a shot at it, and Ray Donovan is just taking up space. Barring some Billy Bob Thornton-in-Goliath shocker, though, this one should be pretty boilerplate.

Predicted nominees:
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
James Franco, The Deuce
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans

 

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

With defending champion Donald Glover ineligible, Mozart in the Jungle (once again) flying under the radar, and the allegations of sexual misconduct against Transparent’s Jeffrey Tambor, this category is ripe for a shake-up—and I wouldn’t complain if the final five shook out like this. But a brief word on behalf of Rob Delaney, the winsome, awkwardly funny, increasingly fat (his words!) co-star of Amazon’s excellent comedy series. He’s the third season’s MVP, and he deserves the recognition.

Predicted nominees:
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Zach Galifianakis, Baskets
Marc Maron, GLOW

Best Actress in a Drama Series

I’ve been beating this drum so long I’ve nothing left to add, so let me just say: Carrie Coon, Carrie Coon, Carrie Coon.

(As a side note, I’m not sure how the HFPA plans to categorize Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which is an astounding stand-up routine wrapped in a mediocre dramedy. I slotted her in here for convenience’s sake, but the luminous Rachel Brosnahan, as an aspiring comedienne in 1950s New York, is so endlessly compelling she’d earn a nomination no matter what category the Globes put her in.)

Predicted nominees:
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Claire Foy, The Crown
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Keri Russell, The Americans

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Fingers crossed: Six-time (consecutive) Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus has never won a Globe for Veep, and I’d like the HFPA to keep it that way. After all, instead of handing the trophy to the same person year after year, the HFPA has been spreading the love—and most winners in the past decade (Fey, Linney, Dern, Poehler, Rodriguez, Bloom, Ross) have been inspired choices. Next in line? Issa Rae, for her supremely confident turn in the terrific second season of HBO’s Insecure.

Predicted nominees:
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Issa Rae, Insecure
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish

 

Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie

It’s an unassuming performance from a veteran character actor, up against flashier roles (the Pope! Bernie Madoff!) played by brand name stars. But Benito Martinez’s turn as a migrant laborer on a North Carolina tomato farm, in the harrowing final season of American Crime (ABC), is as powerful as any of those delivered by the men below. Consider this my plea to the HFPA not to forget about him.

Predicted nominees:
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies
Jude Law, The Young Pope
Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks: The Return
Ewan McGregor, Fargo

Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie

Cut Felicity Huffman (American Crime) from the Emmy field and you have your final five, a high-wattage fight for a prize that seems destined to go (as did the Emmy) to Kidman. But pour one out for Sarah Gadon, of Alias Grace, who gives an impressively complex, sometimes charming, almost always inscrutable performance as a “celebrated murderess” and may yet come up empty-handed. The competition is that tough.

Predicted nominees:
Carrie Coon, Fargo
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan
Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or TV Movie

My wish for the HFPA, this and every year, is to separate the supporting actor and actress categories into comedy, drama and limited series/TV movie fields, à la the Emmys. More often than not, the traditional approach, though it saves time on the all-important telecast, leaves voters with pie on their faces. (For one thing, a quick glance a the categories since 2010 suggests that comedies are at a serious disadvantage.)

It’s probably too late to change this year, but just in case, I have some ideas:

Supporting Actor (Drama Series): Frank Langella, for his finest season to date of The Americans

Supporting Actor (Comedy Series): John Early, for his relentlessly funny, star-making performance in Search Party

Supporting Actor (Limited Series/TV Movie): Frontrunner and Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård, for the menace he brings to Big Little Lies.

 

Predicted nominees:
David Harbour, Stranger Things
Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan
Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies
David Thewlis, Fargo
Stanley Tucci, Feud: Bette and Joan

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or TV Movie

Supporting Actress (Drama Series): Rhea Seehorn, for being so perfectly suited to the unflagging, quietly ambitious Kim Wexler on Better Call Saul

Supporting Actress (Comedy Series): D’Arcy Carden, for her hilarious breakout performance as The Good Place’s guide/assistant/earthquake-causing infinite void, Janet.

Supporting Actress (Limited Series/TV Movie): Jackie Hoffmann, as Joan Crawford’s hard-edged but protective wrangler, Mamacita, in Feud: Better and Joan.

Predicted nominees:
Judy Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies
Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies

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Matt Brennan is the TV editor of Paste Magazine. He tweets about what he’s watching @thefilmgoer.