‘Golden Globes’ Shutout: Which Network Shows Should’ve Made the Cut?
Glittery awards shows like the Golden Globes need a major broadcast network like NBC, where it has aired since 1993, to give them exposure and credibility. But the networks might as well be invisible to the fickle members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which for the first time ever neglected to nominate a single network show or star for this year’s ceremony.
The shocking shutout only reinforces the power that streamers like Netflix (leading the field with 17 nominations) have in the industry; pay giant HBO (15), Hulu and Prime Video (tied with five each) were the next most nominated programmers. Is there really nothing worthy of recognition on traditional network TV anymore? Of course there is.
So while we engage in our annual crapshoot of predicting which way the Globes winds may blow, we’ll also call out network contenders who could have made the cut.
Comedy Series
(Credit:Michael Yarish/CBS)
There’s little doubt Prime Video’s Fleabag and its star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, will continue their sweep of the awards circuit. But last year’s NBC nominee The Good Place, now in its final season, is worthy of a nod, certainly over Netflix’s uneven The Politician. And the CBS charmer The Unicorn and former Globes fave black-ish, twice-nominated before for ABC, would also be deserving given their strong showings.
Drama Series
(Credit: Jeff Lipsky/NBC)
Back in the day, the Globes would champion offbeat network series such as The X-Files (a three-time winner) and Northern Exposure, but now they succumb to a starry vehicle like Apple’s The Morning Show over the daring experiment that is CBS’s Evil. At the very least, NBC’s This Is Us continues to surprise in a way that commands trophy-worthy attention. Not that anything could beat Netflix’s sumptuous third season of The Crown.
Comedy Actor
(Credit: Colleen Hayes/NBC)
The race here could be between last year’s winner, Michael Douglas (Netflix’s The Kominsky Method), and two-time Emmy champ Bill Hader of HBO’s Barry, though Paul Rudd‘s inspired double play in Netflix’s Living With Yourself could and should upstage them both. And yet I wish they had made room for Walton Goggins‘ sensitive leading man in The Unicorn and Ted Danson‘s range and beguiling brilliance in The Good Place.
Comedy Actress
(Credit: ABC/Tony Rivetti)
Fleabag’s dazzling Waller-Bridge is the hands-down favorite against two-time winner Rachel Brosnahan of Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. But notable by their absence are former favorites such as Allison Janney (a supporting actress nominee in 2014) along with Anna Faris, both from CBS’s Mom, and black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross (a 2016 winner in this slot).
Drama Actor
(Credit: ABC/Jack Rowand)
No reason to think the outrageously entertaining Billy Porter of FX’s Pose won’t add a Globe to his Emmy. But the increasingly moving work of Freddie Highmore as an autistic surgeon on ABC’s The Good Doctor — honored with a nomination in 2018 — went overlooked.
Drama Actress
(Credit: ABC/Jessica Brooks)
While The Crown’s Olivia Colman might as well start polishing her speech, how cool if Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer were to join last year’s winner and costar Sandra Oh as a Globes recipient. Even cooler if someone like Cobie Smulders of ABC’s Stumptown were in the mix. Her sexy, snarky star turn is the sort of quirky breakthrough performance the Globes used to love to celebrate and honor.
Supporting Actor/Actress
(Credit: David Giesbrecht / FOX)
This grab bag of roles in comedy, drama and limited series/movies is always a headscratcher. And while Meryl Streep of HBO’s Big Little Lies and Fleabag’s Andrew Scott (the “hot priest”) are justifiably favored in their respective categories, just imagine if some worthy network scene-stealers were in the running: The Good Place’s delightful Jameela Jamil and William Jackson Harper, Mom‘s hysterical Kristen Johnston, The Good Doctor’s Richard Schiff, Grey’s Anatomy‘s Camilla Luddington for her emotional depression arc, Michael Sheen as the scenery-chewing serial killer in Fox’s Prodigal Son, to name just a very few.
Limited Series/Movie
(Credit: HBO)
This is one area where it’s OK to ignore the networks. They’re no longer a factor, since they just don’t make them like that anymore. So put your money on HBO’s devastating disaster chronicle Chernobyl and, in the acting categories, Michelle Williams in FX’s Fosse/Verdon and a nearly unrecognizable Russell Crowe as Roger Ailes in Showtime’s The Loudest Voice.
77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, January 5, 8 pm ET/5 pm PT, NBC
