It can often be frustrating to watch the Golden Globes in regards to television. They have a tendency to nominate series of the moment, rather than the best performers of the year. But every so often, they will correct many of the lapses the Emmys frequently make. These are the awards that were willing to honor The Americans and The Shield when The Emmys failed too, Gina Rodriguez and Rachel Bloom, who the Emmys never even nominated, and will often pay tribute to series that have never gotten their full due from the Emmys, such as Sons of Anarchy, House of Cards, and my personal favorite, Mr. Robot.
And even in a year where the Hollywood Foreign Press was under far closer scrutiny than it often is, in my humble opinion, they actually got the awards for television almost completely right. The fact that I actually managed to predict correctly the lion’s share of the winners is only a happy coincidence.
I knew The Crown was going to do very well, but I didn’t expect it was going to run the table. I knew it would win Best Drama and that Gillian Anderson would carry the day for her extraordinary work as Margaret Thatcher, and I figured that Emma Corrin had a good chance of winning for portraying a young Princess Diana. I just didn’t believe that Josh O’Connor would prevail for Best Actor, not because he didn’t deserve it, but because it’s been a very long time since the Globes gave this many awards to a Drama. (They more frequently give them to Limited Series; three years ago, Big Little Lies won three of the four acting awards.)
And I pretty much expected that The Queen’s Gambit was going to do very well. (Yes, it was a great night for Netflix.) Anya Taylor-Joy was superb in her work, and even though she was probably surprised at her victory, I wasn’t. This is a superb series that may lead the way at next year’s Emmys. (Though the Broadcast Critics may show more deference to other performance…but we’ll get to that later in the week.)
I’m glad that Schitt’s Creek prevailed and I’m also glad to see Catherine O’Hara manage to win (and honestly, her speech was the most entertaining of the night, as she seemed to bring her own orchestra). But I’m overjoyed that the HFPA was willing to recognize Jason Sudeikis for his incredibly fun work in the title role as Ted Lasso. And while his victory speech may have been scattered (Don Cheadle’s expression has already gone viral) I prefer to think he was channeling the character he plays to perfection.
And I’m glad to see Mark Ruffalo finally win something in the Best Actor category for his incredible dual performance in I Know This Much Is True. Make no mistake this was a very crowded field, with some truly masterful performances most of which will give the Emmys judges a hard choice this coming year.
The only win that I wasn’t really thrilled about was John Boyega’s victory for Small Axe. He’s a great actor, but I’m still not convinced that this is the kind of thing that is television as opposed to motion pictures. (The LA Film Critics gave the series its trophy for Best Picture, which set off a controversy on its own.) But still, considering how good most of the choices were as opposed to, well, most years I’ve been covering this, I’ve rarely been more satisfied with the actual results.
I’m more than willing to admit the ceremony itself was something of a mess. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did their very best, but it was hard to ignore the various elephants in the room from the last month. That said, the way they were willing to pay tribute to the winner of the Carol Burnett Award – Norman Lear, a man for whom no adjectives at this point seem sufficient - was very touching. And it was incredibly powerful to see this 99 year old icon - who won an Emmy just a few months ago and is still working! – thoughtfully pay tribute to all the partners he’s had over the decades as well as his family. And the way he was willing to pay tribute to Burnett herself was one of the most powerful moments of the night. I had tears in my eyes.
Hopefully, by this time next year, things will be normal enough that we can get back to a normal awards show. Also hopefully, the HFPA will make the changes it needs to on the inside but keep making the same great choices it did this year.
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