Les Fabian BrathwaiteIt's been a great year. Well, no, it's been a god awful year, but culturally, it's been a great year. The 2016 Golden Globes reflects this, thankfully, with a crop of diverse nominations—and I mean diverse in myriad ways. There were a few pleasant surprises thrown in on the television side as La La Land and Moonlight continue their inexorable march to the Oscars.
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Moonlight is up for Best Motion Picture (Drama), competing against Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Lion, and Manchester by the Sea.
La La Land will go to to toe for Best Motion Picture (Comedy) against 20th Century Women, Deadpool, Florence Foster Jenkins, and Sing Street.
Damien Chazelle's acclaimed musical recently snatched eight trophies at the Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, furthering its lead to the the grand daddy of awards, the Oscars. Moonlight, also an Oscar fave, picked up Best Acting Ensemble and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali. La La Land is now up for seven Globes to Moonlight's six.
Elsewhere on the film side, Tom Ford picked up screenplay and directing nominations for Nocturnal Animals, the Globes are trying to make Mel Gibson a thing again with a Best Director nod for Hacksaw Ridge, and Meryl Fucking Streep picked up her 30th Golden Globe nomination for Florence Foster Jenkins. La Streep will also be honored with the Cecile B. DeMille Award, honoring her lifetime of slaying this thing we call "ACTING."
While a competitive year, certain films and performances have made themselves clear frontrunners: Casey Affleck is basically walking away with the Best Actor Oscar for Manchester by the Sea, and the Globes will be yet another stepping stone; Natalie Portman (Jackie) and Isabelle Huppert (Elle) are going to have a nice run-off in the dramatic actress category; and Emma Stone will twirl away with the comedic/musical equivalent for La La Land, thus denying national treasure Annette Bening (20th Century Women), who I'd like to remind you still doesn't have an Oscar. She was Swankedtwice now it looks like she might be Portmaned again.
Though Annette Bening's frequent snubs—and this year in general—leave me doubting, if there's any justice in the world this will finally be Viola Davis's year. She's already won the supporting actress Critics' Choice Award for Fences and though she faces stiff competition from Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea) and to a lesser degree Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), she bested nearly all the same fellow thesps at the CCAs. With an Emmy and a Tony already, can we get Viola Davis the O in EGOT already?
Now, for the interesting stuff: television.
Over in drama, Netflix is coming for all the wigs. The Crown and Stranger Things picked up multiple nominations, including Best Drama for both, Best Actress for comeback kid Winona Ryder (Stranger Things) and Supporting Actor for John Lithgow (The Crown) and Best Actress for Claire Foy (The Crown). I just started watching The Crown and I'm ready to start pelting both Lithgow and Foy with every award I can find.
But Westworld left me for dead this season. HBO's ambitious sci-fi drama picked up three nominations: Best Drama, Best Actress for Evan Rachel Wood, and Supporting Actress for Thandie Newton. Curiously and frustratingly absent: Jeffrey Wright. Wright, Wood and Newton delivered some of the finest acting on television this year, or any year, but awards are not, by any means, perfect. Still...shade.
Other dramatic television nominees include Game of Thrones and NBC's This Is Us, a surprise hit for NBC which has been having a real rough time at the Globes, scoring no nominations last year despite broadcasting the ceremony. Meanwhile, Mandy Moore, everyone—Golden Globe nominee. The (lest we forget) "Candy" singer picked up a Supporting Actress nomination for This Is Us.
In comedy, two of my favorite new shows of the year got some love: Atlanta nabbed two nominations, Best Comedy and Best Actor for Donald Glover, and Insecure's Issa Rae is up for Best Actress.
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That category has traditionally been a welcome mat for newcomers, with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom winning last year and Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez the year before. Both, btw, are nominated again this year.
And finally, The People v. OJ Simpson continues its tour of community service, picking up spare awards on the side of the road. Ryan Murphy's juggernaut miniseries won four trophies at the Critics' Choice Awards, the same four it won (among many more) at the Emmys, and the same four it's nominated for at the Globes—Best Limited Series and nominations for Courtney B. Vance, Sarah Paulson, and Sterling K. Brown.
The 74th annual Golden Globes airs live from the Beverly Hilton on NBC on Sunday January 8, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. While not Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, at least he's not Ricky Gervais.