We’ve been on the slow march toward award season since, well, the morning after the Oscars, but today’s Golden Globe nominations officially signal the start of the 2020 season. You know what that means: endless red carpets, hundreds of mid-size statuettes, and a dozen drunken speeches (at least).
This year’s nominations promise a stirring conversation, with few truly surprising—but overall, mostly disappointing—honorees. The film pool skews overwhelmingly male (more on that below), while TV noms are a weird mix of really, really great (Succession, Fleabag, Chernobyl, Unbelievable); mediocre and puzzling (Catch-22, The Kominsky Method, Living with Yourself); and downright wrong (the lack of honors for When They See Us is embarrassing). Below, a breakdown of the biggest snubs and surprises in the 2020 Golden Globe nominations.
Snub: Women directors. Again.
The HFPA’s exclusion of women filmmakers feels intentional at this point; the group hasn’t nominated a female director since Ava DuVernay for Selma in 2015. Portman pointed out the oversight onstage at the ceremony in 2018, but her comments—”here are the all-male nominees”—had no effect on the HFPA’s votes. Despite nominating women-directed films in other categories (The Farewell and Portrait of a Lady on Fire for Foreign Language film; A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Booksmart, Harriet, Hustlers, Late Night, and Little Women for acting), no women directors were nominated in the Best Director category.
Even worse, most women’s stories are relegated to performance honors in the movie categories. Of the 20 Motion Picture nominees (including Foreign Language and Animated), only three focus on telling stories solely from a woman’s point of view: The Farewell, Frozen 2, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. That’s a measly 15 percent. Women fared far better in the television space, with seven of the 15 nominated series focusing on the female POV: Big Little Lies, The Crown, Killing Eve, The Morning Show, Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Unbelievable.
Surprise: Netflix domination.
For the first year ever, Netflix leads with the most nominations across both film (17) and TV (17). The streamer has four movies (Dolemite Is My Name, Marriage Story, The Irishman, and The Two Popes) and eight shows (The Crown, Unbelievable, The Kominsky Method, The Politician, Dead to Me, Living with Yourself, Russian Doll, and The Spy) in contention, and given the rate at which its acquiring and producing content, this could very well become the new normal.
Snub: When They See Us
The HFPA shamefully shut out Ava DuVernay’s masterful chronicle of the injustice shown to five young black men wrongfully convicted of the 1989 murder of a Central Park jogger. The four-part Netflix miniseries garnered zero Globe nominations despite earning 11 Emmy noms and one win (Jharrel Jerome for Lead Actor in a Miniseries).
Surprise: Unbelievable
The powerful Netflix miniseries based on the 2015 Marshall Project/ProPublica article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” aired too late for 2019 Emmy consideration, but its strong Globes showing (four noms, for Miniseries and stars Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, and Toni Collette) brings the show back into the awards conversation for 2020.
Snub: Cats
The Globes famously embrace more eccentric offerings (they have a combined comedy/musical category, after all) which is why Cats receiving just one nomination—for Original Song, no less—is so confusing. The bizarre tail (sorry) of human-esque felines contemplating death through song should be catnip (sorry again) to the HFPA.
Surprise: Justice for Knives Out
Rian Johnson’s murder mystery was the most fun many of us ever had over a Thanksgiving weekend, and its three nominations—Best Comedy or Musical, Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (Ana de Armas in a breakout performance), and Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical (Daniel Craig)—will ideally encourage Hollywood to take more wholly original risks.
Snub: Hustlers
This one hurts. A saga about a group of strippers who make a living by scamming their clientele, Hustlers prioritized women in front of and behind the camera and deserves to be as much a part of the awards season conversation as Joker or The Irishman. Instead, the only nom—Jennifer Lopez for Supporting Actress—is confusing, since she shares the lead with Constance Wu. Wu’s own snub is unconscionable, and the film should have easily edged out one of the more mediocre offerings (Jojo Rabbit, Rocketman) in Best Musical or Comedy.
Surprise: Apple TV+ makes a strong start.
Apple’s streaming service launched just one month ago and already has three Globes noms to its name, all for star-studded drama The Morning Show. This chronicle of a national morning news program rocked by #MeToo allegations earned Best TV Drama and double Best Actress nominations for stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Though this type of show—middling story quality, high-powered talent—feels deeply on-brand for the HFPA (hello, The Kominsky Method), these nominations would’ve been better suited to Apple TV+’s most original (and genuinely good) offering: Dickinson.
Snub: Game of Thrones and Pose
One of these is a snub worth celebrating; the other is another unfathomable oversight. Game of Thrones‘ final season was one of the worst ever committed to the screen, and its single nod (Kit Harington for Best Actor in a TV Drama) is vindication for fans forced to sit through 432 minutes of lazy storytelling—especially after the season received an overwhelming 14 Emmy noms.
Pose also received just one nomination—Emmy winner Billy Porter for Best Actor in a TV Drama—but this FX series, about the highs and lows of life in the ballroom world of 1980s New York, deserved an overall nom for Best Drama at least. It’s also criminal that all the major voting bodies have ignored star Mj Rodriguez for two years in a row.
The Nominees
Best Motion Picture – Drama
- 1917
- The Irishman
- Joker
- Marriage Story
- The Two Popes
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- Dolemite Is My Name
- Jojo Rabbit
- Knives Out
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Rocketman
Best Motion Picture – Animated
- Frozen 2
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- Missing Link
- Toy Story 4
- Lion King
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
- The Farewell
- Les Miserables
- Pain and Glory
- Parasite
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
- Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
- Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
- Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
- Charlize Theron, Bombshell
- Renee Zellweger, Judy
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
- Christian Bale, Ford v. Ferrari
- Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
- Adam Driver, Marriage Story
- Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
- Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- Ana de Armas, Knives Out
- Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go Bernadette?
- Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart
- Emma Thompson, Late Night
- Awkwafina, The Farewell
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- Daniel Craig, Knives Out
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Taron Egerton, Rocketman
- Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
- Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
- Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
- Annette Bening, The Report
- Laura Dern, Marriage Story
- Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
- Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
- Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
- Al Pacino, The Irishman
- Joe Pesci, The Irishman
- Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Director – Motion Picture
- Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
- Sam Mendes, 1917
- Todd Phillips, Joker
- Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
- Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
- Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
- Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han, Parasite
- Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
- Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
- Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
- Randy Newman, Marriage Story
- Thomas Newman, 1917
- Daniel Pemberton, Motherless Brooklyn
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
- “Beautiful Ghosts,” Cats — Taylor Swift & Andrew Lloyd Webber
- “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman — Elton John & Bernie Taupin
- “Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2 — Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
- “Spirit,” The Lion King — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Timothy McKenzie & Ilya Salmanzadeh
- “Stand Up,” Harriet — Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo
Best Television Series – Drama
- Big Little Lies
- The Crown
- Killing Eve
- The Morning Show
- Succession
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
- Barry
- Fleabag
- The Kominsky Method
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- The Politician
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Catch-22
- Chernobyl
- Fosse/Verdon
- The Loudest Voice
- Unbelievable
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Joey King, The Act
- Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
- Helen Mirren, Catherine the Great
- Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
- Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Christopher Abbott, Catch-22
- Sacha Baron Cohen, The Spy
- Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
- Jared Harris, Chernobyl
- Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
- Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
- Olivia Colman, The Crown
- Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
- Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
- Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
- Brian Cox, Succession
- Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
- Tobias Menzies, The Crown
- Billy Porter, Pose
- Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
- Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
- Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Kirsten Dunst, On Becoming a God in Central Florida
- Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
- Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
- Bill Hader, Barry
- Ben Platt, The Politician
- Paul Rudd, Living With Yourself
- Rami Youssef, Ramy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Patricia Arquette, The Act
- Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
- Emily Watson, Chernobyl
- Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
- Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
- Kieran Culkin, Succession
- Tobias Menzies, The Crown
- Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl
- Henry Winkler, Barry