Friday, January 6, 2023

I Finish My Predictions For This Year's Golden Globes TV Awards Like Everything's Normal: Limited Series and Supporting Awards

 

Before I continue, a reminder. Those of you who have read my columns may remember that I have spent quite some time advocating for at least two sets of Supporting Awards; one set for Limited Series/TV Movie and one for Drama and Comedy. I’ve actually been pressing like this well beyond the time I began posting on Medium. So the fact is, the realization of this dream in the 2022 Golden Globes fill me with an inordinate amount of personal satisfaction. Perhaps this is not the kind of change that Hollywood was looking for when the HFPA was placed under intense scrutiny the previous year, and I don’t pretend it begins to solve the structural problems. But as someone who knows just how much pressing it takes for the Golden Globes to create a new award at all, this is progress. And for TV in general, it’s a step in the right direction.

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA OR COMEDY

A category filled with veteran actors. Even Tyler James Williams has been acting for more than fifteen years. And much as I would love to see him triumph here, I think it’s going to be an actor with some variation of the name John.

John Lithgow has done exceedingly well in the Golden Globes in the past, having already won twice, once  in the Supporting Actor category for Dexter. However, I think this award will come down to the two other Johns: Turturro for Severance and Pryce for The Crown. There is much to recommend either actor. Pryce is the third actor to take on a role that two other men have been nominated for Emmys for, and Turturro has been one of the best actors working in the industry for nearly forty years. Both are long overdue recognition from any awards show; both are among the most versatile character actors in history. It is a very close call. My personal preference is for Pryce, simply because I like The Crown more than Severance, and because as great as Turturro is, there are any number of his co-stars (including Christopher Walken) who could just as be here. But Turturro has been robbed of awards from the Emmys far more often, most recently when he was ignored for a nomination in the superb limited series The Plot Against America.  I think he pulls it off by an eyelash, but there really aren’t any bad choices here.

Should Win: Pryce.

Will Win: Turturro.

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA OR COMEDY

I will not pretend to be overjoyed to see Julia Garner here for Ozark instead of Rhea Seehorn for Better Call Saul, even though it was the last chance for either of them and neither ever received a nomination in this category. Still, the remainder of the choices are all ones I would love to see win. And much as I’d love to see Hannah Einbinder take the prize for Hacks or Elizabeth Debicki for The Crown, I think ultimately one of the women from Abbott will prevail.

Last year, I made the mistake of thinking that Janelle James priceless Ava would manage to triumph over Sheryl Lee Ralph: despite the similar levels of their magnificent performances, James is more of a scene stealer than Ralph who is just effortlessly brilliant.  Now, of course, I want Ralph to win every single award going forward, if only to see what song she’ll sing next time and how much she’ll bring the house down. That may be the only reason I’m glad Seehorn isn’t here – now I can root for Ralph with a clear conscience.

Should Win/Will Win: Ralph (and again, all good choices.)

 

Now, let’s move on to Limited Series/TV Movie or Special (they might start considering eliminating the last two parts, when was the last time any actor from any of the other two were nominated for anything? Write in if you remember.)

BEST LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR SPECIAL

Very easy choice. As great as The Dropout is and as much potential as Black Bird has, it’s The White Lotus in a landslide. At this point, I don’t have to make any arguments in favor of its quality overall any more, so let’s just add this; last year, for reasons that boggle the mind the Golden Globes did not nominate the show for Best Limited Series or practically anything else. (Then again, neither the Critics’ Choice nor they didn’t do it this year, either so…we’ll deal with that next week.) At this point, it’s hard to think of anyone on the show lacking anything resembling gold, but The White Lotus still is. I think that will change on Tuesday.

Should Win/Will Win: The White Lotus.

 

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR SPECIAL

This is an interesting group, with three major nominees from series that the Emmys fundamentally shut out in 2022, one nominee that is a controversial choice (Evan Peters is a fine actor, but there’s a lot of animosity towards Dahmer as a whole) and Taron Egerton from Black Bird.  While the Globes do tend to look backwards as much as they do forwards, I’m going to consider that they will more likely look towards the future.

I will give the barest of edges to Egerton, partially because he has a good history with the Globes (he won Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for Rocketman for playing Elton John) and his work in Black Bird is generally brilliant. As a man in hell trying to get the truth from a man who does nothing but lie, facing horrors everywhere he looks, he makes you root for him even though its hard to like him.

Should Win: Egerton.

Will Win: Egerton (?)

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR SPECIAL

By contrast, the Golden Globes will look back in this category, mainly because most of the more impressive performances were given in the previous year. And much as I’d like to see Julia Roberts take the prize for Best Actress, I think we all know who it’s going to.

Amanda Seyfried is on her awards show tour, just like Kate Winslet was last year for Mare of Easttown and Michelle Williams two years before that for Fosse/Verdon. And considering that it is one of the great performances of 2022, considering that the actual Elizabeth Holmes has recently been sentenced for fraud, and considering that even with this series, we’re still no closer to understanding Homes – but slightly more to empathizing her – Seyfried takes this in a walk.

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR SPECIAL

Much as I would like to see Domhnall Gleason prevail for his fascinating work in The Patient since he is the only nominee for the Series the Golden Globes has given, I think he’s out. I think it will come down to two choices: F. Murray Abraham, for his magnificently comic work as paterfamilias of the Grasso clan in The White Lotus or Paul Walter Hauser for his superbly unsettling study as a serial killer in Black Bird.

Both performances have much to recommend them. Abraham’s is the more enjoyable and rollicking, Hauser’s the more measured and fascinating. Abraham overplays without quite hamming it up; Hauser is so soft spoken (and oh, that voice) that he almost blends into the scene, which is remarkable considering how massive he is. I think, at the end of the day, the Globes will go for Hauser, mainly because he accomplishes something almost unheard of in the era of television: he plays a monster who even when he tells the world what he's done, they don’t believe him. And someone who almost got away with it but didn’t is more frightening than someone who got away with it and was caught.

Should Win: Gleason.

Will Win: Hauser.

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR SPECIAL

I admit, I’m prejudiced here. I want Aubrey Plaza to win because she gave a great performance in The White Lotus and because, you know, she’s Aubrey Plaza. I’ve long since given up at marveling what she can’t do because she finds a way to do it. But let’s not kid ourselves, we all know who’s winning in this category.

We love Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya. We loved her after she won the Emmy last year. We loved her in Season 2 even though we already knew we shouldn’t and she kept giving us more reasons not to.  Hell, she died like an idiot at the end of Season 2, and we got pissed at Mike White for killing her off. Because we love Jennifer Coolidge. And considering that the Golden Globe was basically the only award she didn’t win on her march to the Emmy last year (except the SAG award, but that’s another mess), we all know she’s going to win it this year. And I want to hear her give another speech. I’ll settle for them giving the Emmy to Aubrey Plaza.

Should Win: Plaza.

Will Win: Coolidge.

 

Well, the awards are happening Tuesday. I will get to them next week – you know, between my Critics Choice predictions and the SAG nominations and everything else. Like I said, there will be a lot of drama on Tuesday night – and much of it will probably have nothing to do with the winners and losers.

No comments:

Post a Comment