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On Thursday, the nominations for the 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards, the fun, cool younger sibling of the Oscars and Emmys, were announced. Many people look to these awards as a predictor of the Oscars and award shows to come.
Here's a brief look at the nine biggest surprises from the nominations:
1. Modern Family and Big Bang Theory got shut out
Modern Family and Big Bang Theory are two shows that really highlight the valley between television critics and regular television viewers. While both are still major ratings players for CBS and ABC, critics see the continual rewarding of the shows as lazy voters stuck in their sitcom-loving ways, all the while refusing to recognize groundbreaking shows like, say, Louie or Orange Is the New Black.
Going into this year's Globes, Modern had eight nominations since 2010 and Big Bang six, making the shutout even more surprising.
Instead, the Globes went with new blood. Jane the Virgin, Amazon's Transparent, and HBO's Silicon Valley all debuted this year, while Netflix's Orange Is the New Black scored its first nomination in the category. Only HBO's Girls returned.
2. There was love for The Affair but none for The Americans
With Breaking Bad wrapping up last year and a not-so-great season of Masters of Sex, there was also room for new blood in the television drama category. One of the spots went to HBO's Game of Thrones, back in the category after a surprise snub last year. The other slot went to Showtime's The Affair, which had an impressive debut this year.
FX's The Americans, with its strong second season, was the odd one out.
3. The continued Mad Men snub
The Golden Globes didn't recognize Mad Men last year, and continued that trend here. If The Globes are the litmus test as everyone says they are, the question among people who treat awards shows like sport is now whether or not Mad Men — a show that has, throughout the years, had to go up against an impressive variety of great shows like Breaking Bad, The Good Wife, Dexter, Downton Abbey, Lost, and Homeland — will be recognized here for the second half of its final season. That question will be answered next year.
4. Jane The Virgin gives us hope
One of the best things about the Globes is that they aren't afraid to reward new shows. One of our new favorites this season has been Jane The Virgin, thanks in large part to the rock-solid performance from the impossibly likable Gina Rodriguez. Both the show and Rodriguez's performance received surprising, though welcome, nominations.
5. The Walking Dead's drought continues
The Walking Dead was once nominated in the television drama back in 2010, for the show's first (not-that-great) season. That's the show's sole Golden Globe nomination. It's going to be that way for at least one more year, even though the show has been the best it's ever been this season.
6. Gone Girl wasn't nominated for Best Picture but...
Gone Girl not being nominated for Best Picture is a surprise because of how well it did in the other major categories. Rosamund Pike got a nod for Best Actress, while David Fincher scored in the director category and Gillian Flynn in screenplay. Even the film's score was nominated. Of course, Gone Girl sweeping those other awards might make its Best Picture surprise look a little silly.
7. Jennifer Aniston might get an Oscar nod. Laura Dern may not.
In the circles that follow awards shows, Laura Dern has been considered a supporting actress contender for her work in Wild (this is why she is included in The Hollywood Reporter's actress roundtable this year). Those hopes have dimmed considerably, as she didn't get nominated for a Globe and didn't snag a Screen Actor's Guild nomination either.
But Jennifer Aniston did! We're this close to seeing the phrase "Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Aniston" come to fruition and spell the end of days.
8. Selma got well-deserved recognition
There was a bit of worry among Selma fans this week when the SAG award nominations came out. Director Ava DuVernay's powerful film about Martin Luther King, Jr., and the marches in Selma, Alabama, didn't get any nominations there, despite being considered one of the best films of the year. (The film's late release date may have hobbled it at the SAG awards.)
That didn't happen at The Globes.
DuVernay was recognized, David Oyelowo was rewarded for his acting, and the film was also honored in the Best Picture category.
9. Robert Duvall was nominated for The Judge, even though The Judge was bad.
The Judge, a movie that required you to imagine Vera Farmiga as a small-town bartendress and Robert Downey Jr. as another Tony Stark-ish lawyer, was not a great movie. It was critically panned and widely seen as worthless Oscarbait. But both the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes have now nominated Robert Duvall for his supporting performance in the film. Granted, the best part of this garbage fire was Duvall, but these awards could have found literally anybody else.
