Few TV series have captured the pop culture and Internet zeitgeist in 2014 like HBO’s True Detective. Everyone was talking about it, theorizing about it, picking apart its every set detail, and then some, always earning acclaim, even when it was tinged by critiques on its overhyped nature. But when it comes to actually earning awards, True Detective has been almost as quiet as any series out there, and it was completely shut out in tonight’s Golden Globe Awards.
Unlike the Emmys, which set True Detective in the Drama category, the Globes had the Nic Pizzolatto-created drama set into the miniseries and TV movie category, which I actually thought would give it an advantage. (Its Emmy wins were limited to Outstanding Directing and a handful of Creative Emmys.) Silly me and the way I thought I could predict the Hollywood Foreign Press’ reception for the series in this category.
In what I thought was the lock for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries, Matthew McConaughey was beaten by Fargo’s Billy Bob Thornton. This kind of blew me away, even though I thought Thornton did a fine job. He just didn’t do as much of a job in that show’s limited run as McConaughey did as Rust Cohle. To judge an actor’s work by the amount of Twitter traffic and memes he or she inspired, well, you’d have to be a moron, but perhaps Rust’s online omnipresence is what made me think the character was there in everyone else’s minds as well.
It was even tougher competition in the Best TV Movie or Miniseries category, as True Detective was facing Starz’s The Missing and HBO’s Olive Kitteridge and The Normal Heart, as well as Fargo. And yes, the latter series is the one that ended up taking the award home. This was less of a surprise than Thornton’s win, although I don’t really agree with it, as I thought the story lost a lot of steam as it went on. But don’t tell Thornton, because he’s scary and stuff.
Finally, True Detective’s Michelle Monaghan lost out to Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt in the Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie. I’m not sure Monaghan would have won even if the Globes separated its Supporting categories, so this is the least surprising of all.
This sets up an interesting 2015-2016 season, in which the second seasons of True Detective and Fargo once again go head to head with completely different casts and stories.
Did you guys agree with True Detective losing in all three categories?
