Thursday, January 5, 2023

For Now, Let's Just Pretend This is A Normal Golden Globes For TV Predictions Article, Part 1: My Picks for Drama and Comedy

 

Before I begin my predictions for the TV awards for the Golden Globes, let’s address what everyone else is thinking. On Tuesday night, will everybody just pretend that everything is normal? Is E! going to spend hours covering the red carpet talking about what everyone’s wearing before starting to talk to every celebrity who shows up? Will Jerrod Carmichael, this year’s emcee, do what NBC tells him to do and spend three hours talking about all the nominated shows and films? Will the winners in their acceptance speeches dutifully thank the Hollywood Foreign Press like every other year?

Or will everybody not pretend that this is normal? Is someone going to actually comment on who is and isn’t showing up this year? Will Carmichael make a joke about how glad he is to not see Brendan Fraser? Will someone in their speech – maybe Eddie Murphy or Ryan Murphy who are accepting lifetime achievement awards – actually mention that they think the Globes have learned their lesson?

There is a part of me that wishes that Joan Rivers was still alive or that Ricky Gervais was hosting. Because neither would have any problem putting the HFPA’s collective ass in a sling. None of them would mind making everybody feel awkward for being there; they did that for a living. And given that NBC’s treatment of the Golden Globes based on the past year was to essentially give them a slap on the wrist and then say all is forgiven, it’s hard not to think the corporate overlords deserve to get stung too.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. The nominees for television generally reflect the high quality of the series in 2022. And I’m more than overjoyed that after nearly a decade of my urging them every year to do something about the mess that was their Supporting Awards, they finally decided to do something about it this year, particularly when so many other awards shows are shrinking the number of categories they give.  I’ll even acknowledge that after all of this mess, I want to see Bob Odenkirk and Sheryl Lee Ralph accept prizes if they win them. (We will get to that when this rant is over.) But for all of those people who believe that Hollywood deals with its problems by making the illusion of systemic change rather than actual change, I’m pretty sure the fact that the Golden Globes are being broadcast in the first place isn’t going to change anybody’s mind in that regard. It hasn’t changed mine.

So, now that I’ve vented, I will try to give my usual even handed prediction of this year’s Golden Globes in television. And the fact is, with only a few exceptions, most of which reflect my personal prejudices rather than anything else, the HFPA this year more than lived up to the high standards it has shown throughout the era of Peak TV as far as nominations. It is likely that they will do the same when it comes to the actual awards.

I will start, as I inevitably do, with Drama.

 

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

I realize the Golden Globes has a habit for recognizing the most talked about series of 2022 and for that reason it might well go for House of The Dragon. But considering it only received one other nomination and the HFPA never really cared much for Game of Thrones (another reason I respect them) I don’t think they will this year. The other clear frontrunner is The Crown, which leads all dramas with four nominations and did dominate the awards the last year it was on the air.

But I’m going to make a different prediction based on history. The Golden Globes spent the better part of Breaking Bad’s run fundamentally ignoring it until the final season, when it took Best Drama and trophies for Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. I don’t think its beyond the pale to think that they’ll have a similar reckoning for Better Call Saul, considering they’ve treated it just as poorly over its run and this is their last chance to do so. I admit they might be willing to do the same for Ozark but since that show has gone unrecognized, I’m going to lean towards Saul.

Should Win: Better Call Saul.

Will Win: The Crown/Better Call Saul.

 

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA

This is one of the easier calls of the night, even though it shouldn’t be. Jeff Bridges did some of his best work in The Old Man, and given everything he went through to get there, it’s hard to argue he hasn’t earned it. Kevin Costner is an industry veteran, and Yellowstone has basically been ignored by every major awards show. Adam Scott is one of my favorite actors of all time, and his work in Severance is remarkable.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Bob Odenkirk is going to start making his victory lap run towards the Emmys on Tuesday. Like all of the actors I’ve listed, he’s an industry veteran. He’s been playing one of the most iconic characters in television history for a decade on two extraordinary series with no recognition from almost any awards show (except you know, my fellow critics) and oh yeah, he almost died while filming the final season. Seriously, if he doesn’t take the prize this year, that’s a crime that the HFPA will need to Call Saul to get them out of.

Should Win/Will Win: Odenkirk.

 

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Not going to lie, I’m pretty sure I know who the winner will be, but I’m not happy about it. It seems inevitable that Zendaya will end up taking another Best Actress prize for her work in Euphoria. That said, you can never be sure with the Golden Globes. They’ve given the Best Actress prize to one of the leads in The Crown the last two years it was eligible and three times in four of its seasons. Considering that the previous two actresses who played Elizabeth have triumphed in this category, one could very well see Imelda Staunton pulling it out this year. (The Globes do owe her for denying her the Best Actress prize for Vera Drake nearly twenty years ago.) And they could very well decide to give it to Laura Linney, who has a pretty good track record here. Best Drama is the only category she hasn’t won Lead Actress for; they might complete the set. Still, I think Zendaya will pull it out. I hope I’m wrong.

Should Win: Staunton.

Will Win: Zendaya (sigh).

 

Now, on to Comedy/Musical

OUTSTANDING COMEDY/MUSICAL

This is even easier to predict. Much as I’d like to see Only Murders in the Building prevail, this is going to go to Abbott Elementary in a walk. With five nominations, it’s the most nominated series in any category. It’s been winning awards right and left for the last five months (and its going to win more the next few weeks), and let’s face it, for an awards show accused of having a diversity problem, you want to give the award to the most diverse show here. And it’s a masterpiece if that counts for anything.

Should Win/Will Win: Abbott Elementary

 

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY/MUSICAL

Much as I really want to see Bill Hader win in this category (he seems to have won every prize in the book but the Golden Globe for Barry) the betting is on Jeremy Allan White. And having seen five episodes of The Bear, I can’t say I blame them. White has always been an extraordinary actor but his work as Carmy, the very troubled sous chef desperately trying to make his dead brother’s nearly broke restaurant a success, is at another level. Forget all of the muscle and bulking up he did for this role; on a purely emotional level White’s work is nearly the equal of Hader’s. He’s not as obviously broken as Barry is, but he’s not doing a very good job of hiding it. Throw in the fact that White was ignored by every critical organization for his brilliant work on Shameless, and I don’t have a problem with him taking the prize.

Should Win: Hader.

Will Win: White.

 

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

There are some of my colleagues who think this category is much closer than it actually should be. A lot of them do think that Jenna Ortega deserves to win for her work on Netflix’s Wednesday. Not having seen the series yet, I can’t pretend this isn’t outside the Golden Globes oeuvre. Others are far more inclined to see Jean Smart prevail yet again for her work on Hacks and having seen Smart’s work on Season 2, I can’t even fake a lie saying she’s unworthy because, well, it was incredible. Some are even willing to say that there might be a tie.

But for all that, I still think that Quinta Brunson is going to prevail in this category. To argue that somehow Brunson isn’t the hippest thing around because Wednesday debuted a few months ago instead of last year strikes me as utterly ludicrous. Considering that Abbott is likely to do very well at the Golden Globes this year, ignoring Brunson for Best Actress seems silly. And considering that she did lose to Smart at the Emmys – well, that was a fair fight, but I know the Golden Globes well enough to know that redressing the Emmys losses is one of the things they actually do still do well. (Witness giving Hacks Best Comedy last year – although no one actually did.)

Should Win: Brunson.

Will Win: Brunson/Smart.

 

This is starting to get a little lengthy. Tomorrow I’ll handle Movie/Limited Series as well as the brand new Supporting Actor and Actress awards (squee!) 

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