After so many years of watching award ceremonies where nothing technically goes haywire and embarrasses someone for the rest of their lives, my enjoyment of them relies mostly on seeing favored shows and actors winning, obviously, as well as dark horses beating out surer bets. And tonight’s Golden Globes delivered a constant stream of awe-drawing winners, with many young projects gaining spray-tanned superiority over seasoned vets. It also delivered a lot of bleeped-out jokes, because nothing says broadcast hilarity like silence.
Here are the five biggest shocks that we experienced during the Globes. I assume everyone expected the telecast to inspire the mental image of Ricky Gervais having a Golden Globe inserted into one of his orifices, so that didn’t make the cut.
Lady Gaga Did It, Guys
When it was announced that Lady Gaga was going to be taking over American Horror Story’s leading lady duties once Jessica Lange opted out of returning, expectations were all over the place. But as the lustful and domineering bloodsucker at the center of the nightmare-driven Cortez on American Horror Story: Hotel, she proved herself a fine actress, even if some of the acting involved murder-humping. Regardless of how spun out the plotline has gotten this season, Gaga has anchored most of the madness in the same way Lange did. Did her Countess inspire better performances than those of her fellow nominees like American Crime’s Felicity Huffman or Fargo’s Kirsten Dunst? Not to these voters.
Everybody Loves Mozart in the Jungle
If Transparent will be known as the critical success that made Amazon Originals great, Mozart in the Jungle is proving itself to be another fantastic choice to put faith into. (Among many others.) For his captivating performances as the maestro Rodrigo, Gael Garcia Bernal took home his first Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. And the entirety of Season 1 – developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Alex Timbers – was rewarded for being the Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy. Its biggest contender in the category was probably Transparent anyway, so Amazon was a beast here.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom Destroyed Her Veteran Competition
Last year, Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez was the rather shocking winner for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, and The CW has now seen another freshman series getting recognized for its female lead. As the neurotically complex Rebecca Bunch, Rachel Bloom doesn't just draw out laughs and empathy on screen, but she's also the co-creator, and her musical comedy chops are a huge part of why the show is so great and unique. And to win the award, Bloom left behind Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lily Tomlin, Jamie Lee Curtis and the aforementioned Rodriguez. An enviable feat, to say the least. Here's hoping the show goes on for years.
Mr. Robot Got What It Deserved
It's no surprise or secret that deserving shows and actors sometimes get passed over for a more go-to choice for winner, and I truly thought Mr. Robot's nominations would be the extent of the show's success on awards night. Boy, was I wrong. While Rami Malek lost out to Jon Hamm for Best Actor in a Drama, arguably unfairly, anarchist Christian Slater got recognized for his best TV role ever by winning Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. And the show won Best Drama, beating out ratings monsters like Empire and Game of Thrones, as well as the lauded dramas Narcos and Outlander. Give us more stuff like Mr. Robot, USA!
Let us know what you thought the biggest shock of the night was on the poll on the next page, and you can see all of tonight’s winners in TV and in movies by clicking over.
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