17 Snubs & Surprises from the 2016 Golden Globes TV Nominations

Surprises

1. “Outlander” snags three nominations.
Starz, in general, had an excellent morning, but the network has to be most excited by the HFPA’s love for “Outlander,” a highly-rated (if not critically-adored) drama getting ready to release its second season. In addition to its somewhat surprising nod for Best Drama Series, stars Caitriona Balfe and Tobias Menzies scored nominations for Best Actress in a Drama and Supporting Actor. 

2. “Mozart in the Jungle” gets into the awards race.
Other than an Imagen Foundation Award, this Amazon dramedy has been kept out of all awards races, and it didn’t seem likely that the Globes would be the first to get on board given when its release date was scheduled in conjunction with nominations’ day (Season 1 came out December 23, 2014, and Season 2 will arrive on December 30, 2015, making it a Globes nominee before anyone has even seen it). But the always fickle HFPA has thrown it some major love anyway, giving it a Best Comedy Series nod as well as Gael Garcia Bernal a slot in the Best Actor race. 

3. “Flesh and Bone” is a Golden Globe nominee. 
Granted, the limited series/miniseries race isn’t exactly flush with contenders, but Starz must’ve appealed to some very specific voters in getting the quickly-forgotten drama “Flesh and Bone” nominated for Best Limited Series/Miniseries and star Sarah Hay up for Best Actress in the category. It bumped off two major projects from HBO (which we’ll get into soon) in doing so, and undoubtedly will have people asking, “What the heck is ‘Flesh and Bone’?” all day? 

4. “Narcos” is the new “House of Cards”
Okay, so we may be surprised that “Flesh and Bone” snuck into the race, but we’re not upset about it. Switch those emotions around and you’ve got our reaction to “Narcos” earning two coveted spots in Drama Series and Best Actor for star Wagner Moura. We technically saw this coming — even if we didn’t want to believe it — but the Globes virtually subbing in the new Netflix drama for the old one (“House of Cards”) was still unsettling. Season 3 may not have been the best year for Beau Willimon’s political soap opera, but it’s still superior to that other Netflix option.

5. Finally! Someone noticed Eva Green!
All praise be to the Hollywood Foreign Press for being the first major awards show to recognize the utterly magnificent work of Eva Green on Showtime’s superb “Penny Dreadful.” We’ve been singing her praises since Season 1, taking note she would be an Emmy and Globes winner by now if award shows didn’t hold a grudge against the horror genre. Thankfully the Globes looked past that this year, and hopefully this is the start of a run. 

6. Rachel Bloom? Hell yes!
Why say anything about more about this fully deserved nomination than what Bloom herself so aptly wrote on Twitter: 

7. And Netflix’s sole nominee for “Bloodline” is…Ben Mendelsohn?
Let me say this quickly so no one gets confused: Ben Mendelsohn gives the best performance of anyone on “Bloodline.” He absolutely deserves this award, just as he did at this year’s Emmys. But there he was nominated alongside Kyle Chandler, and many expected Sissy Spacek to sneak in as well. Considering the Globes’ love for famous faces, it’s somewhat surprising they picked the largely unknown Mendelsohn’s over Coach Taylor and a three-time former winner. More power to them, though, for doing just that.

8. And Showtime’s sole nominee for “The Affair” is…Maura Tierney?
Again, same deal: Maura Tierney has rocked it on this season of “The Affair,” but the Globes fell head over heels in love with the Showtime drama last year, awarding it Best Drama Series and Ruth Wilson Best Actress in a Drama Series. Dominic West also scored a nomination, and now none of those same categories feature the show. West and Wilson were blanked, as was the show in the race it won last year. But Tierney persevered, earning her first Globes nod ever.

Snubs

1. “Mad Men” and “Better Call Saul” underperform
Both AMC dramas were able to score a nod for Best Actor for Jon Hamm and Bob Odenkirk, respectively, but neither could fight their way into the Best Drama race. “Mad Men” hoped to get back into the field for its last season after being excluded for the past few, and “Better Call Saul” was a strong contender as the first season of a well-received spin-off of a former winner (“Breaking Bad”). But Matthew Weiner’s swan song wasn’t enough to upset “Narcos” or “Empire” (what the Globes apparently consider to be instant TV classics), and Vince Gilligan’s latest couldn’t even secure a Supporting Actor nod for Jonathan Banks, an actor many considered a favorite in the category. All these snubs have to hurt.

2. “Downton Abbey” ends its streak.
The much-loved PBS period piece had been nominated for Best Drama Series or Miniseries (it switched categories to Drama in Season 2) for four years straight, winning three trophies along the way. But Season 5 just wasn’t good enough to make the cut for drama series, even if Joanne Froggatt — a winner in the Supporting Actress field last year — did land another nod. At least one part of the Crawley family will still be represented a bit at the Beverly Hilton this January.

3. “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” gets blanked.
Many thought the Netflix comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock was the frontrunner, or at least a lock to be nominated, in the comedy races, but the mercurial HFPA instead saw fit to reward “Mozart in the Jungle” in the series race and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” star Rachel Bloom in the Best Actress category. Not even Jane Krakowski could sneak into the Supporting Actress race (which isn’t too much of a surprise given she was never nominated for “30 Rock”), and everyone’s favorite new comedian/wine snob, Tituss Burgess, was also left off the short list. 

4. “Show Me a Hero” and “Bessie” are shut out of Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
HBO comes to play when it comes to awards, and while they still made a respectable showing at the 2016 Golden Globe nominations, these two have to have them baffled. “Show Me a Hero” is one of the best-reviewed TV shows of the year, and both shows earned nods for their lead actors. What, exactly, did the voters not like about each show as a whole? 

5. “Marvel’s Jessica Jones” couldn’t overcome the superhero bias.
We’re not saying “Marvel’s Jessica Jones” is the TV equivalent to “The Dark Knight” (or that the Globes are equivalent to the Oscars), but the recent Netflix release earned across-the-board raves for its authenticity and emotional core. It’s a grounded, realistic and gritty psychological thriller more than an action series, and star Krysten Ritter delivers one helluva performance. Hopefully, the Emmys will be able to look past the “Marvel” part of its title next year. 

6. “Parks and Recreation” gets nada.
The NBC sitcom has never been an awards behemoth, but we were hopeful Amy Poehler would at least be nominated for her final season as Leslie Knope. No such luck. Despite killing it as host of the Golden Globes — three times — the former Emmy nominee and Globe winner will go home empty-handed for an impressive and brave last year.

7. No love for “True Detective” Season 2
Other than the Pizzo-lunatics who are hopelessly devoted to the HBO drama, no one was fighting all that hard for “True Detective” Season 2 to land a slew of nods. But there were at least two worthy performances from stars who some thought the HFPA might want to see stroll down the red carpet. Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams were as terrific as Season 2 was terrible, but apparently the Globes couldn’t look past the latter. 

8. The Supporting Acting fields went bananas.
We’ve already mentioned a few of the surprises in these consistently unpredictable fields, but here’s a full list of names we thought had a good chance to get a phone call Thursday morning and didn’t: Jonathan Banks, Tituss Burgess, Ted Danson (“Fargo”), Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”), T.J. Miller, Tony Hale (“Veep”), Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”), Allison Janney (“Mom”), Jean Smart (“Fargo”), Julie Walters (“Indian Summer”) and Mo’Nique (“Bessie”). That right there, on its own, would make for an impressive group of nominees, but they’ll all be sitting at home come January 10 instead.

9. “The Leftovers” remains overlooked.
It was highly unlikely this somber drama with few household names would suddenly score a Best Drama Series nod at the Globes, but call us overly optimistic after reading all the incredible reviews out there and remembering that if Justin Theroux was nominated, he’d probably be bringing Jennifer Aniston with him to the ceremony. And who doesn’t want to see that? 

READ MORE: Full List of Golden Globe Film and Television Nominations