The Hollywood Foreign Press are a fickle crowd — one day you may be in and winning by a landslide, the next day you are out. Showtime’s Homeland learned that this morning. The Golden Globes was the first major awards show to recognize the Showtime drama two years ago when it was tied for most nominations, 3, winning for best drama series and best actress, Claire Danes. The thriller drama did one better last year, leading the TV pack with most noms, 4, and sweeping the top drama categories: best drama, best actress and best actor, Damian Lewis. But there is no trace of Homeland on the list of nominations this year as the dominant winner of the past two Golden Globes has been shut out. 
The same goes for another big drama performer at the Golden Globes, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, which won the best drama series trophy before Homeland in 2011. The HBO drama had scored at least two nominations every year, also winning for star Steve Buscemi in 2011, but was left out completely today.
Related: Golden Globes TV Nominees Remarkably Snub-Free – Sorry, ‘Homeland’
The Golden Globes again took upon its role of the biggest cheerleader of new broadcast series. No, they didn’t hand a best drama series nomination to a freshman — extending first-year broadcast dramas’ drought in the category to seven years. But they still recognized broadcast’s freshman class, which had been completely ignored by the WGA and the SAG Awards. That includes best comedy series and comedy actor nominations for Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and star Andy Samberg; best comedy actor nom for Michael J. Fox, star of his struggling eponymous sitcom on NBC; and best drama actor for James Spader for hit new NBC drama The Blacklist. But the broadcast networks again fell short of unseating cable from the top of the network rankings. Premium cable and digital were dominant this year. Fueled by longform, HBO was once again No. 1 with 9 noms, followed by the two other pay cable networks, Showtime and Starz, and digital upstart Netflix with six each. But it was a broadcast net, CBS, that landed the only multiple best series nominations — for comedy The Big Bang Theory and drama The Good Wife.
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Golden Globes Nominees: Scorecard
Golden Globe Awards Nominations
Almost all buzzy cable/digital 2013 newcomers (sans FX’s The Americans) got a notice by the HFPA, with Netflix’s House Of Cards leading the way with four nominations including best drama series; Showtime’s Masters Of Sex landing nominations for best drama and best actor, Michael Sheen (but no Lizzy Caplan?!); and fellow Showtime newcomer Ray Donovan nominated for star Liev Schreiber and co-star Jon Voight. Two breakout performances by young actresses are getting first major award recognition, Tatiana Maslany of BBC America’s Orphan Black and Taylor Schilling of Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black. They are part of an overhauled best drama actress field which includes only one returning nominee, 2010 winner Julianna Margulies. The other first-timers are Kerry Washington for ABC’s Scandal and House Of Cards‘ Robin Wright. Things are mirrored on the male side with only one holdover, Bryan Cranston of AMC’s Breaking Bad, joined by Schreiber, Sheen, Spader and House Of Cards‘ Kevin Spacey. The Newsroom‘s Jeff Daniels, who landed a Golden Globe nomination last year and followed up with a surprise Emmy win, has been left out, along with Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm, who scored the AMC drama’s only nomination last year. The series’ tally went to zero this year. Also left out completely for a second straight year: HBO’s Game Of Thrones.
Things were a tad more stable in the best comedy actor category, with last year’s winner Don Cheadle of House Of Lies and 2011 winner Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory as the two to make it back, joined by Jason Bateman of Netflix’s Arrested Development (he was nominated in 2005 when the show was on Fox), Fox and Samberg.
Compare that to the best actress in a comedy series, which has been stagnant for a while. Four of the five nominees are repeat ones (and favorites of the HFPA): last year’s winner Lena Dunham of HBO’s Girls; Zooey Deschanel of Fox’s New Girl; Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who is yet to win a Globe for HBO’s Veep; and Amy Poehler of NBC’s Parks & Recreation who is co-hosting the ceremony. (Her show also is nominated for best comedy series.) With Poehler’s co-host, Tina Fey, out of contention since 30 Rock ended its run, her spot was taken by another former nominee, Edie Falco of Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. (Like the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes go by a calendar year, with a minimum of 6 episodes of a series required. The SAG Awards made an exception, nominating 30 Rock, which only aired 5 episodes in 2013, while HFPA didn’t.)
While Golden Globes love to be the first to recognize a series that would go on to become a pop culture phenomenon, like they did with HBO’s Sex And The City and The Sopranos, they missed the boat on AMC’s Breaking Bad, which is yet to score a Globe after three nominations for Cranston and one for the show. HFPA has one last chance to rectify that as both the show and Cranston, along with first-time nominee Aaron Paul, are nominated for the hit drama’s final installment.
CBS’ The Good Wife continues to garner accolades for its strong fifth season. Today it landed its first best drama series Golden Globe nomination and its most Globes noms ever, three, including a mention for co-star Josh Charles. It is one of three newcomers in the best drama series field, along with House Of Cards and Masters Of Sex, joining last year’s nominees Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey. Unlike the shake-up on the drama side where best series winner for the last two years, Homeland, is out, things are far more stable in comedy, where the last two best series winners, Girls and ABC’s Modern Family, are back, along with CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, joined by Brooklyn and Parks & Rec in its first showing in the category.
Like it did at the Emmys, HBO’s Behind The Candelabra will likely win big, tying House Of Cards today for most nominations including best movie/miniseries, best actor, Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, and best supporting actor, Rob Lowe. A curious development in the top longform category, traditionally dominated by HBO — it was Starz, not HBO, that had the most entries (2) in the category, imports White Queen and Dancing On The Edge. HBO’s Emmy-winning Behind The Candelabra is still the 800 lb. gorilla in the field, which also includes FX’s American Horror Story: Coven and Sundance’s Top Of The Lake.
Did HFPA try to confuse people with identical entries in best actor in a movie and TV movie? Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor will be squaring off in two categories, best actor in a motion picture-drama (for Mandela and 12 Years A Slave) and best actor in a TV movie/miniseries (Luther, Dancing On The Edge), respectively.
Finally, a portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor in a TV movie about Taylor’s romance with Richard Burton made it to the awards circuit. No need for Lindsay Lohan to start preparing an acceptance speech though — it was Helena Bonham Carter for the BBC film.
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