With the Oscars you get movies, with the Emmys you get television...and with the Golden Globes, you get both! Yesterday we broke down our predictions for the film categories at Sunday night's broadcast of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assocation's booze-a-thon/awards ceremony. Now it's time to take a look at who we think will be taking home trophies for their work in TV.
Monica Potter - "Parenthood" is one of those little television gems that's so quietly understated that it often gets lost amid the flashy distractions of zombies and detectives and terrorists. That's how, despite unanimous critical adoration, it never really gets noticed come awards season. Potter's nomination was something of a shock, but don't be surprised to see her take home the statue. Her work as a frustrated mother raising a son with Aspergers, battling cancer and running for mayor has been consistently stellar, and it's time the show got noticed for something.
Hayden Panettiere - This is Vergara's fourth nomination in a row and she hasn't won yet, so don't count on that pattern changing. And the HFPA is likely to give the award to someone more recognizable than the two ladies up for their roles in mini-series. So it's possible the trophy could go to Panettiere for her turn as conniving country starlet Juliette Barnes. Yes, she's a delicious, backhanded, ambitious villain, but somehow the young actress keeps her grounded enough to feel real.
Aaron Paul - For someone whose character was supposed to be killed off in the first season, Paul has done a bang-up job of proving why Jesse Pinkman is an indispensable part of "Breaking Bad". The horrors that Jesse was forced to endure this season, from being betrayed by his former partner to watching his girlfriend gunned down in front of him, were difficult to watch, but golden material for Paul to show off his increasingly solid acting chops.
Jon Voight - Of course, star power could always end up swaying the minds of voters. "Ray Donovan" wasn't exactly the most acclaimed new series of the year, but Voight's performance as a menacing and manipulative gangster/family man was often the best part of this muddled show.
Elisabeth Moss - Peggy who? Moss transcends her definitive role on AMC's "Mad Men" and proves she isn't just a one-trick pony in this slow-burn mini-series. Battling not just child rapers but also sexist cops and her own emasculating mother, Moss channels all that conflict into a laser-focused rage that's impossible to look away from.
Jessica Lange - As the cancer-ridden, chain-smoking, couture-wearing, one-liner-dropping, scenery-chewing magical Supreme witch Fiona, Lange is tearing it up for the third year in a row on AHS. It's a performance that's impossible to ignore -- which might actually end up working against her. Lange already gets so much attention, voters might want to give a younger, fresher face a chance in the spotlight.
Michael Douglas - It was fascinating to watch a man primarily known for quintessentially masculine roles sashay around in sequined gowns and tickle the ivories of a glittery piano. It's the sort of transformative performance that awards ceremonies were made for. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that Douglas won't be walking home with this one.
Idris Elba - If Douglas and "Candelabra" co-star Matt Damon manage to split the vote -- and that's a big "if" -- it could go to Elba for his tough-but-vulnerable cop on this acclaimed British series.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Whether she's accepting Angry Birds clocks from Finland's Prime Minister or breaking a glass door with her face, Louis-Dreyfus is consistently hilarious on this whip-smart parody of Washington politics. Equally adept with vicious bon mots and slapstick body humor, her VP Selina Meyer is a force to be reckoned with. Just a really, really silly force.
Lena Dunham - Count out the previous year's winner at your own peril. It's not unusual for members to vote for a winner out of force of habit, so if anyone could take this away from Louis-Dreyfus, it will be Dunham, who took home the trophy last year for "Girls", her opus of millennial angst.
Michael J. Fox - "Michael J. Fox" (the show) may have garnered a lukewarm reception from critics, but Michael J. Fox (the actor) is still universally adored. How do you not recognize an actor who, after battling Parkinson's, returns to primetime television in a starring role as a news anchor who, after battling Parkinson's, returns to primetime news? It's a serendipitous combination that HFPA voters are unlikely to ignore.
Jim Parsons - For whatever reason, Parsons and his show ("The Big Bang Theory") continue to be huge awards favorites. The actor has won one Globe before (in 2011) and three Emmys (in 2010, 2011 and 2013). If voters find "Arrested Development" too uneven, "House Of Lies" too un-buzzy and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" too new, it's possible they could fall back on this safe choice.
Kerry Washington - Who doesn't enjoy making history? In the 71 years the Golden Globes have been awarding talent, Washington is only the sixth African-American woman to even be nominated in this category. If she won, she would only be the third (after Gail Fisher for "Mannix" in 1973 and Regina Taylor for "I'll Fly Away" in 1993). HFPA voters may end up casting their ballots in favor of diversity...which isn't to say Washington doesn't deserve the award on her own merits. "Scandal" is inarguably one of the buzziest shows on television and her performance as D.C. fixer Olivia Pope is fierce, vulnerable and consistently fun to watch. I mean, just look at that hat!
Tatiana Maslany - The Emmys totally ignored this young woman's mind-boggling portrayal of seven identical but distinct clones, so Maslany may have to take her nomination here as a prize in itself. But if there's any justice in the world, she'll be mounting that stage on Sunday night to accept a trophy for her layered, specific, funny, scary, solid performance(s). She deserves it solely for the episode where two clones continually trade places in a bizarro upstairs-downstairs pastiche where one is hosting a neighborhood potluck in the dining room while the other is torturing her husband in the basement. Hilarious. Creepy. Masterful.
Bryan Cranston - It's inconceivable that "Breaking Bad" has yet to take home a single Globe. Don't expect the HFPA to ignore the year's most universally acclaimed performance in the year's most universally acclaimed drama, especially since there's a chance the show itself will miss out on the top prize. (More on that later.)
Kevin Spacey - Enter Mr. Spacey with his fists full of star power. If anyone could throw a wrench into Heisenberg's plans for world domination, it would be Frank Underwood and his egomaniacal, machiavellian rise to the top.
Behind The Candelabra - HFPA voters are likely still blinded by the glitz and glamor of this sordid tale of fame and botched plastic surgery. Not that the HBO movie shouldn't win, but nothing else really stands a chance against the magnetic pull of Liberace and his bedazzled Vegas lifestyle...
American Horror Story: Coven - ...unless it's a coven of witches wearing fabulous hats while battling voodoo zombies in the hot, steamy streets of New Orleans. It's hard to bet against an ensemble which includes Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Patti LuPone. This season has been the most-watched and buzziest iteration yet of the FX anthology series, but it's not all gore and Gucci. It also harbors a subtle but incisive social commentary on race and gender...and the bewitching power of Stevie Nicks.
Girls - If "Veep" were on this list, it would be the easy winner. With its inexplicable absence, the category is a bit harder to predict. "Parks And Rec" is the most consistently funny show on this list, although this is the first time in the show's six seasons that the HFPA has even deigned to give it a nomination, so don't count on them actually giving it the prize. "Modern Family" used to be the go-to safe bet, but it's lost a bit of steam and was defeated last year by newcomer "Girls". So good money is on the HBO comedy repeating its win.
Modern Family - Of course, if the experimental sophomore season of "Girls" proves too divisive for HFPA voters, they could always fall back on the old stand-by.
House Of Cards - A category almost too close to call. This is really a two-horse race between the final season of "Breaking Bad" and the premiere season of "House Of Cards". Both shows landed on almost every Top 10 Of The Year list (including mine), with most critics giving "Bad" the edge because it was the beloved show's swan song. But critics were equally enamored with the David Fincher/Kevin Spacey political thriller that put Netflix on the map of original programming (and legitimized the practice of "binge-watching"). The sad fact is, this is only the second nomination for Series that "Bad" has received from the HFPA in its six-year run, and it has yet to win a single trophy from them, so history is against the dearly departed drug drama. And the HFPA does love its shiny new toys, so don't be shocked if "Bad" is slighted one final time.
Breaking Bad - Again, could go either way. (Although if the vote gets well and truly split, could a dark hose nominee sneak through the crack to grab the prize? Say, "The Good Wife" with its revitalized and brilliant fifth season?)
The Golden Globes will air this Sunday, January 12, starting at 8pm ET on NBC.
