The 2014 awards season kicks off with the 2014 Golden Globes airing on Sunday. This year’s awards show looks exciting, with comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fay easily at the helm. Netflix has a strong presence (“House of Cards,” “Arrested Development,” and “Orange Is the New Black” all have nominations), but Hulu original series’ are still being ignored. Very few Best Comedy movies are actually funny, and “Breaking Bad” looks to clean up with its swan song.
Get prepped for this weekend’s ceremony by familiarizing yourself with the nominees, who should have been nominated, and my predictions for who will win each major category:
TV
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Best Drama
Nominees: “Breaking Bad”; “Downton Abbey”; “The Good Wife”; “House of Cards”: “Masters of Sex”
Snubbed: Both “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead” have huge fan followings, and are undeniably well-written, beautifully acted, and entertaining. “Treme,” which brought the gritty realism of “The Wire” (along with notable members of the cast and crew) to New Orleans, ended its run in 2013, while newcomer “Hannibal” and MTV’s “Teen Wolf” deserve more attention from awards committees outside of Nickelodeon. Although “Homeland” lost almost all of its season one magic, “The Newsroom” should’ve been recognized for keeping its charm up.
Who Will Win: “Breaking Bad” – It’s not just that “Breaking Bad” had its last season; it’s that five out of six seasons are among the best in television history, and the last season (split into two parts) is no exception. “Downton Abbey” and “The Good Wife” are great shows in their own right, but neither breaks any new ground. Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” is too racy for the Globes (as evidenced by the GoT snub), and they’ll be too skittish to hand the award to the first season of cable-cutter “House of Cards” over the last season of the old guard’s best.
Best Comedy
Nominees: “The Big Bang Theory”; “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”; “Girls”; “Modern Family”; “Parks and Recreation”
Snubbed: Animation – Animated TV shows never get the respect they deserve from awards shows. While shows such as “Archer,” “South Park,” and “Futurama” regularly provide more laughs than most sitcoms, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup is a breeding ground for comedy that puts “Saturday Night Live” to shame. Speaking of which, both SNL and “Key & Peele,” deserve love too. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” improved from its previous season, and “Happy Endings” had a great last season as well. Grow up, Golden Globes, and start recognizing real comedy.
Who Will Win: “Modern Family” – The Andy Samberg led ensemble “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” delivers laughs, but is too cool for the Globes crowd. “The Big Bang Theory” picked last season, but spends too much time teasing the possibility of Sheldon Cooper having sex, making it the longest shark jump set-up in television history. Both “Parks and Recreation” and “Girls” are strong, but “Modern Family” is an awards magnet.
Other Predictions:
Best Actress – Drama: Kerry Washington, “Scandal”
Best Actress – Comedy: Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Best Actor – Drama: Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Best Actor – Comedy: Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Best Miniseries or TV Movie: “Top of the Lake”
Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Rebecca Ferguson, “The White Queen”
Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra”
Best Supporting Actress: Hayden Panettiere, “Nashville”
Best Supporting Actor: Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”
Film
Best Drama12 Years a Slave, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Philomena, Rush
Snubbed:The Butler, focusing on a White House butler, brilliantly portrayed American history, racial inequality, and politics, but was aparently too similar in subject matter to 12 Years a Slave. Brian Percival’s The Book Thief had strong performances, yet only received nominations for best score. Kill Your Darlings and Before Midnight aren’t traditional awards fodder, but were strong and entertaining films.
Who Will Win:Gravity – Being the only film on this list that’s not some form of historical or political drama will help Gravity‘s chances. Ron Howard’s Rush is an inspirational and beautiful film and both Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave showcase important events, but Gravity showcases breath-taking (sometimes more literally than others) visuals and brilliant performances from Hollywood A-listers – it’s everything we love about both sci-fi and thrillers without dumbing down to the lowest common denominator.
Best Musical/ComedyAmerican Hustle, Her, Inside Lleweyn Davis, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street
Snubbed: The only remotely funny movie in this bunch is The Wolf of Wall Street, although the film ends tragically for the protagonists. Jonah Hill’s other comedy This Is the End, however, easily delivered both laughs and musical performance while mocking the end of the world (as did At World’s End). The Kings of Summer delivered coming-of-age laughs in a surprisingly watchable film, We’re the Millers merged “Weeds” and RV into a laughable road trip movie, The Act of Killing, although a documentary, is a true black comedy, Bad Grandpa has the best low-brow laughs this side of Borat, and Saving Mr. Banks should’ve been a shoo-in for this category.
Who Will Win:Inside Lleweyn Davis – If you’re going to give a comedy award to an unfunny movie, it may as well go to the Coen brothers. It’s possible that Scorcese’s Wolf of Wall Street may win on the back of Jonah Hill’s performance, however.
Other Predictions:
Best Actress – Drama: Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Best Actress – Comedy: Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Best Actor – Drama: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor – Comedy: Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Best Screenplay: Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Best Animated Feature:Frozen
Best Original Score: John Williams, The Book Thief
Best Foreign Language:Blue is the Warmest Color