With the 2019 Emmy Awards having come and gone back in September, the TV awards season is now able to look forward with focus on the slightly less proper Golden Globe Awards, which will air on NBC in January. With just three weeks or so to go until the big day, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association unveiled its list of high-profile nominees for the 2020 Golden Globes, and there were quite a few surprises to take away from the announcements delivered by Tim Allen, Dakota Fanning and Susan Kelechi Watson.
Below, we've rounded up not only some of the more questionable exclusions from this year's Golden Globe nominations, but also some of the more positive-minded surprises. So without further ado, let's kick things off with one of the most adorable snubs that could possibly exist.
The Mandalorian Was Totally Ignored
Okay, so did I truly expect the very first Star Wars live-action TV series to immediately be embraced by the HFPA less than two months into its first season's run? Not really, but that was back before audiences had a chance to witness the slow and methodical magic of Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian, which instantly made a star out of its tiny puppet Baby Yoda. While it may not be as densely plotted as other top-tier TV dramas, The Mandalorian fills those gaps with gorgeous locations, A+ camera work and a plethora of amazing special effects. Maybe the Globes voters just weren't sure whether to call it a drama or a comedy...
No Veep, BoJack Horseman Or The Good Place
Entertainment awards used to be pretty dependable when it comes to honoring TV series for their final seasons, but the 2020 Golden Globes apparently aren't about that life anymore. Not only did HBO's Veep get completely ignored for its cringe-heightening seventh season, but so did Emmy collector Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose breast cancer diagnosis postponed the season's production. Beyond Veep, both Netflix's BoJack Horseman and NBC's The Good Place also earned zero nominations, though both still technically have more episodes coming in 2020 that could secure their last shots at the gold.
Apple TV+ Crushed It With The Morning Show
Though the release of the streaming service Apple TV+ didn't seem to put any giant dents into the respective armors of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, the digital company has already made other waves where it counts by securing a trio of nominations for the similar-to-real-life drama The Morning Show. The high-profile project earned nominations for stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and it's also up for the top honor of Best Drama Series. Considering the so-so early buzz for The Morning Show (and Apple TV+ in general), it's gotta be a huge boost of confidence for Apple to have its original programming plans vindicated so quickly.
The Complete Lack Of When They See Us
One of the most-watched shows on Netflix in 2019, Ava DuVernay's When They See Us was also one of the most powerful and jarring series of this or any year, focusing on conviction and release of the so-called Central Park Five. Series star Jharrel Jerome took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, and the show also celebrated another six Primetime Emmy nominations. Meanwhile, the Golden Globes completely left it out of its Limited Series and TV Movie choices. Granted, it's a stocked category, but it seems like When They See Us would stand tall against everything there now.
HBO's Watchmen Was Super-Snubbed
Clearly, comic book entertainment gets the shaft year in and year out when it comes to the most prestigious award shows. But this seemed like the year when the Golden Globes might throw caution to the wind by heaping all the nominations possible at HBO's thought-provoking Watchmen, which has delivered some of the most impressive acting, special effects, writing, directing, etc. in all of TV in 2019. Unfortunately, Regina King, Jeremy Irons and Damon Lindelof got dissed, and fans still aren't sure if it's even getting a second season or not.
Netflix's Unbelievable And The Politician Scored Big
With each year that passes, streaming services gain more awards-worthy ground over traditional network and cable channels, with Netflix being the reigning king of non-linear nominations. Beyond the repeat noms for past successes, the streaming giant also earned Golden Globes love for its based-on-a-true-story limited series Unbelievable, which is up for Best Drama Series, while stars Caitlin Dever, Merritt Wever and Toni Collette are also nominated. On the flip side, Ryan Murphy's first Netflix project, the satirical The Politician, landed a Best Comedy Series nomination, with star Ben Platt securing his first Golden Globe nomination.
Game Of Thrones Got Almost Entirely Ignored
For all the fanfare and goodwill that Game of Thrones earned from its audience base over the years, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss arguably destroyed the show's iron-clad reputation with the HBO drama's truncated eighth season. The six episodes certainly had their share of wondrous moments, but they were few and far between for many, and the Golden Globes apparently thought it was only necessary to recognize Kit Harington for his (fairly limited) final work as Jon Snow. Now compare this single nod to the huge number of nominations Game of Thrones got during the most recent Emmys.
Expect to hear about quite a few of these nominees in the weeks ahead of the 77th Golden Globe Awards, which are set to air on NBC on Sunday, January 5. Be sure to mark your calendars for the first big TV awards of 2020!
