The 73rd Golden Globe Awards were held this Sunday in Los Angeles as you no doubt have heard. The awards ceremony brought about the regular bevy of A-list stars and was hosted for the 4th time by comedian Ricky Gervais. While the ceremony itself was panned by many critics for being dull, the TV portion of the ceremony brought about some refreshingly welcome surprises that defied the usual award-show predictability. Empire’s Taraji P. Henson shockingly nabbed the Best Actress in a Drama Series award. Rachel Bloom won her first ever Globe in the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical category. The biggest shock of the night, though, was left for arguably the biggest TV category of the night, as little-known Mr. Robot beat out Empire, Game of Thrones, and Narcos to win Best Drama Series. The evening was so shocking, in fact, that even Lady Gaga managed to go home with a Golden Globe for her memorable performance in American Horror Story: Hotel. All of which brings us to the inevitable question: who deserved to go home with the Globes? Enigma Magazine has decided to compile a list of some major TV categories and analyze whether the awards went to their rightful recipients.
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees: Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men, Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot, Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar in Narcos, Bob Odenkirk as James McGill in Better Call Saul, Liev Shreiber as Ray Danovan in Ray Danovan.
It comes as no surprise that Jon Hamm was awarded the Golden Globe in this category for his work in the last season of the critically acclaimed Mad Men. Historically speaking, award shows have routinely rewarded iconic TV performances with awards in their final season; with Hamm’s first-ever Emmy win in 2015 the biggest example. There is no doubt that Hamm’s portrayal of Don Draper is among the most memorable TV performances of all time, and his performance in this season was typically formidable. Nevertheless, this award had one name on it in 2015: Rami Malek. We’ve routinely banged Malek’s drums in recent times, so this may be viewed as just another bit of flattery. However, anyone who saw Malek’s absolute tour de force in Mr. Robot would’ve had no choice but to award the bourgeoning star with his first Golden Globe win. In essence, while Hamm deserved the award in our hearts, Malek deserved it in our minds.
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees: Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon in Empire, Viola Davis as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder, Caitriona Balfe as Claire Fraser in Outlander, Robin Wright as Claire Underwood in House of Cards, Eva Green as Vanessa Ives in Penny Dreadful.
For the first time since 2008, the Best Actress in a Drama Series didn’t feature Juliana Margulies for her role as Alicia Florick in The Good Wife. Two-time winner, Clare Danes, was also visibly absent from the list of nominees despite her continuously excellent performances in Homeland. All of which allowed this category to be wide open with five candidates of a relatively equal chance. Henson’s win is fully deserved after her impeccable performance in Empire. The star of the other Shionda Rhymes drama nominated in this category, Viola Davis, was arguably her biggest challenger for her work in How to Get Away with Murder. While Davis is more deserving of this award in our eyes, we absolutely have no problem with the Globe going to Henson, after Davis had went home with the Emmy in the same category 4 months ago.
Best Supporting Actor:
Nominees: Christian Slater as Mr. Robot in Mr. Robot, Alan Cumming as Elly Gold in The Good Wife, Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall, Ben Mendelshon as Danny Rayburn in Bloodline, Tobias Menzies as Frank and Jonathan Randall in Outlander.
At first glance, it might seem like Christian Slater’s win for his role in Mr. Robot comes as a case of a big name being recognized over his lesser-known competitors. After all, Slater is noticeably subdued in his performance as the title character in the best new show on TV. However, we would argue that Slater’s subdued performance is mainly because his role as the mysterious Mr. Robot couldn’t have worked otherwise. Through that scope, Slater absolutely delivered a memorable, winning performance on a show that would’ve failed if he hadn’t. While the same could be said for some of the other nominees, with Tobias Menzies chief among them, Slater’s win is absolutely deserved and brings a fresh reminder that creativity is imperative in acting. For that, there is no more worthy winner.
Best Supporting Actress:
Nominees: Maura Tierny as Hellen Solloway in The Affair, Uzo Aduba as Suzanne Warren in Orange is the New Black, Joanne Froggat as Anna Bates in Downton Abbey, Regina King as Aliyah Shadeed in American Crime, Judith Light as Shelly Pfefferman in Transparent.
Maura Tierny’s win for her work in The Affair might have been a shock to many who expected big names such as Uzo Aduba or Anna Bates to go home with the Globe in this category. For anyone who’s seen the show, though, Tierny’s win is unequivocally deserved after her hauntingly emotional performance in its second season. While Bates won last year, Aduba’s time will surely come, especially since this year’s Orange is the New Black season didn’t really focus as much on her character as much as previous seasons have.
Best Drama Series
Nominees: Mr. Robot, Empire, Narcos, Game of Thrones, Outlander.
With no previous winners nominated in this category, many had expected the only previously nominated show, Game of Thrones, to take home the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series after their previous Emmy success. Such expectation was exasperated by the fact that Thrones had not yet won Best Drama Series during its sterling 5 year run. Mr. Robot’s win thus came as a massive shock in the industry; nevertheless, it’s much deserved. The show’s engrossing first season was among the best the industry has witnessed in a while, and consequently needed to be rewarded. Further, it has to be said that GOT’s 5th season, while still outstanding, was one of the weaker ones in the show’s run. Narcos, Empire, and Outlander on the other hand, while all remarkable in their own right, failed to replicate the standards set by Mr. Robot in this award’s season.
