Golden Globes nominees avoid obvious pitfalls, but won’t restore awards’ luster

Snoop, cool as he is, stumbled over the names of quite a few nominees, including megastar Ben Affleck.

It’s tough to see how the nominations revealed for films and TV shows in 2021 — which weren’t particularly groundbreaking — argue for the Globes’ influence, especially on the television side.

Now, Uzo Aduba and Michaela Jae Rodriguez were nominated as best actresses in a drama for their work on HBO’s In Treatment and Pose, respectively.

But, aside from nominations for Lupin and FX’s Native American-led comedy Reservoir Dogs, there wasn’t much of a sense that the Globes were elevating new voices or shows into the awards season conversation.

If anything, perhaps the controversy pushed the Globes into paying attention to shows it should have championed anyway.

Similarly, the most-nominated films – Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog and Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up – are also considered Oscar contenders already.

Even this cycle’s snubs — which included no nods for Adam Driver or Al Pacino from House of Gucci , Meryl Streep in Don’t Look Up and Jennifer Hudson’s turn as Aretha Franklin in Respect – weren’t that surprising.

Continuing the domination of streaming and cable in awards ceremonies, ABC was the only broadcast network to get any nominations, thanks to nods for the two leads from its comedy, Black-ish.

In the past, the Globes offered a few advantages: It was one of the first major awards ceremonies to announce winners in the film industry, helping assess which work might be contenders for later honors.

So there likely won’t be images of tipsy stars breaking the rules on a nationwide broadcast – unless they show up at the Critics’ Choice Awards, which also take place on Jan.

If they hope to bring the Globes back to its previous status, they will have to find a new niche for their awards that elevates something other awards shows aren’t already honoring.

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