GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 2018: TELEVISION PREDICTIONS – 'THE HANDMAID'S TALE', 'BIG LITTLE LIES'

Will a new ‘queen’ be ‘crowned’? Will Netflix outdo HBO and FX? Will GAME OF THRONES finally win? Or will the HFPA go left-of-center with it all, as they often tend to do? Till we find out, here are my predictions… 

Best Television Series, Drama

THE HANDMAID’S TALE

THIS IS US

THE CROWN

GAME OF THRONES

STRANGER THINGS

This isn’t tough. Of course it’ll be THE HANDMAID’S TALE! Why? Because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have been partial to new series in recent years. THE CROWN, currently reigning, was one of them, and it’s time for a new queen. As for the others, they’ve all been nominated before and haven’t won, so never mind them. Besides, THE HANDMAID’S TALE is that good. Personally, THE CROWN is my favorite of these, but I'm confident that the HANDMAID will be crowned this year.

Best Television Series, Comedy

BLACK-ISH

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

MASTER OF NONE

SMILF

WILL & GRACE

None of the last six winners (and beyond) have been nominated here. And the last five wins have gone to new series. WILL & GRACE has had 29 nominations in various categories, but never won. Maybe this will be the year the HFPA makes up for that. However, I think it’ll be THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL.

Best Limited Series or Television Movie

BIG LITTLE LIES

FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

FARGO

TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL

THE SINNER

BIG LITTLE LIES all the way! It's their year. And with all the recent buzz surrounding the miniseries and the confirmation of a second season, this one's pretty much a done deal.

Best Actress, Limited Series or Television Movie

Nicole Kidman, BIG LITTLE LIES

Reese Witherspoon, BIG LITTLE LIES

Jessica Lange, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

Susan Sarandon, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

Jessica Biel, THE SINNER

Again, this is the year of BIG LITTLE LIES. I’m sorry, Sarandon, Lange. And, sorry, Witherspoon; Kidman was better, ‘by a nose’ (get it?)! This is not where the HFPA will go left-of-center.

Best Actor, Limited Series or Television Movie

Robert De Niro, THE WIZARD OF LIES

Kyle MacLachlan, TWIN PEAKS

Jude Law, THE YOUNG POPE

Ewan McGregor, FARGO

Geoffrey Rush, GENIUS

This could be anyone’s! In recent years, there’s been no clear winner, except for Billy Bob Thornton for FARGO, in 2014. But he was exceptional. McGregor was good, but this season of FARGO was way off the mark, in my opinion, and I think he’ll suffer. Law has a slim chance, since the buzz surrounding THE YOUNG POPE has been way below expectations. On the other hand, TWIN PEAKS had a good run. And I think MacLachlan will be the one to benefit from that this year.

Best Actress, Television Series, Drama

Elisabeth Moss, THE HANDMAID’S TALE

Claire Foy, THE CROWN

Katherine Langford, 13 REASONS WHY

Maggie Gyllenhaal, THE DEUCE

Caitriona Balfe, OUTLANDER

I think we can safely say that Moss’ performance has been exceptional enough for the HFPA to go with the obvious. She is the obvious choice, and with very good reason. Claire Foy would have won again this year, if Moss had not been in the running. Yes, there’s been no offbeat picking so far. But wait for it...the HFPA will go left-of-center. They will.   

Best Actor, Television Series, Drama

Freddie Highmore, THE GOOD DOCTOR

Sterling K. Brown, THIS IS US

Bob Odenkirk, BETTER CALL SAUL

Jason Bateman, OZARK

Liev Schreiber, RAY DONOVAN

Let’s just say last year, Billy Bob Thornton winning for GOLIATH was just as offbeat as the HFPA goes. This year, we have two usual suspects, who won’t win, because they never do – Odenkirk and Schreiber. Brown just lost out last year, so there’s a chance he could win. But then he won the Emmy, and is hence a popular choice, so maybe he won't. Highmore is so far a stretch, I don’t know how he even made it to the list. So I’m going to go with Bateman.

Best Actress, Television Series, Comedy

Pamela Adlon, BETTER THINGS

Alison Brie, GLOW

Rachel Brosnahan, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

Issa Rae, INSECURE

Frankie Shaw, SMILF

This one’s really tough to predict. The HFPA have gone with unlikely candidates over many recent years, but this list is brand new. None of these roles have been nominated before, except for Rae’s. So we can safely say that she won’t win! (Sorry!) Besides that, it’s an open playing field, and I must admit, I haven’t seen any of these shows to even have an idea. Let me just put my finger on a rolling wheel here… And I got Brosnahan! Let’s just go with that.  

Best Actor, Television Series, Comedy

Anthony Anderson, BLACK-ISH

Aziz Ansari, MASTER OF NONE

Kevin Bacon, I LOVE DICK

William H. Macy, SHAMELESS

Eric McCormack, WILL & GRACE

I think the buzz for BLACK-ISH has come and gone, as is the case for MASTER OF NONE. SHAMELESS has sadly become that show that gets nominated for something or the other every year, but rarely ever wins. So it’s between McCormack and Bacon. The former has been nominated five times before for this role, and went home without a Globe each time. And I don’t think this year will be any different. Bacon winning for DICK will be one of their less predictable wins this year. But I’m predicting it anyway.   

Best Supporting Actress, Television Series

Laura Dern, BIG LITTLE LIES

Ann Dowd, THE HANDMAID’S TALE

Chrissy Metz, THIS IS US

Michelle Pfeiffer, THE WIZARD OF LIES

Shailene Woodley, BIG LITTLE LIES

The HFPA have been quite left-of-center with this one too, sidelining popular favorites, except for maybe Maggie Smith or Jessica Lange in recent years. This time, it’s tough, since the Television Academy also went with the unobvious, making Ann Dowd an unlikely winner here. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’ll be Michelle Pfeiffer!

Best Supporting Actor, Television Series

Christian Slater, MR. ROBOT

David Harbour, STRANGER THINGS

Alfred Molina, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

Alexander Skarsgård, BIG LITTLE LIES

David Thewlis, FARGO

I think we can safely say that this will go to Skarsgård. He was scarily outstanding. He won his first Emmy for this role, and he’s going to take home his first Globe for it too.