From 'Bridgerton' shutout to James Corden backlash — here are all the 2021 Golden Globes snubs and surprises

Looks like we’ve found the only people in the world who didn’t binge-watch Bridgerton over the holidays. When the nominations for the 78th Golden Globes were announced this morning, including an incredible 42 nods for Netflix, Shonda Rhimes’s blockbuster series for the streamer was entirely absent from the final list. That shocking snub follows Netflix’s well-timed announcement that Bridgerton is officially the most-streamed series in its history, with 82 million global households tuning in since its Christmas Day premiere.

But Lady Whistledown wasn’t persuasive enough to win over members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Voters instead opted to stand by Netflix’s more established royal drama, The Crown, which nabbed nods for its cast — including breakout star Emma Corrin as a young Lady Di — and Best Television Series, Drama, the third time the show has been nominated for that top honor.

But enough about the queen: long live the King! One Night in Miami director, Regina King, became the second Black female director in Globes history to receive a Best Director nomination after Selma’s Ava DuVernay in 2015. In a welcome surprise, the actress-turned-filmmaker was nominated alongside Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell and Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao — the first time three women have been nominated in the Best Director category at the Globes.

Read on for our picks for the biggest snubs and surprises among this year’s nominees.

SNUB: Bridgerton goes bust

Eighty-two million households can’t be wrong... can they? Bridgerton’s snub is still surprising since the HFPA historically loves to honor shows that come roaring out of the gate. But in this case, voters seem to want a little more time for the series to prove itself as more than a one-season wonder. Look for the just-announced Season 2 to potentially pick up all the awards that this first go-around missed out on.

SURPRISE: A record three female directors represent in filmmaking race

It’s been well documented that it’s been a banner year for women behind the camera, and that’s extending into the awards race. Three of the five filmmakers nominated for Best Director are female: Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), Regina King (One Night in Miami) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland). How big of a deal is that? They’re only the sixth, seventh and eighth women to be recognized in this category ever. Fennell was the biggest surprise, edging out directors like Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods) and Paul Greengrass (News of the World) for her darkly comedic domestic assault revenge thriller. Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of parity here.

SNUB: Four prominent Black-led dramas lose out in Best Picture

Representation was not generally an issue for the Globes this go-around, with two directors and nine actors of color nominated. But as the New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan put it, the HFPA has “never the most racially attuned bunch” and it’s hard to ignore that the biggest snubs in the Best Picture race were the Black-lead ensembles Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami, not to mention other notable contenders like Da 5 Bloods and Judas and the Black Messiah. Instead all five films in the top race (The Father, Mank, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, The Trial of the Chicago 7) had largely white casts in what was a stellar year for diversity. Not a good look.

SURPRISE: James Corden outperforms fellow Prom attendant Meryl Streep

Speaking of the HFPA’s lack of wokeness, the voters nominated James Corden for Lead Actor, Comedy or Musial for Netflix’s The Prom — a performance that sparked backlash for the heterosexual late-night host’s overly flamboyant portrayal of a gay actor. Reaction to his nomination was predictably snippy.

Even more surprising, while Corden managed to score a nod, his co-star and Globe favorite Meryl Streep was shut out of her 33rd nomination.

SURPRISE: Kaley Cuoco flies high in The Flight Attendant

The Big Bang Theory favorite scored her first-ever Golden Globe nomination as the star — and executive producer — of the HBO Max hit, The Flight Attendant. The show also picked up a nomination for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy, which ensures that Cuoco will be able to keep flying the friendly streaming skies as long as she wants.

SNUB: Zendaya is home alone after her historic Emmy win

Fresh off her history-making Emmy victory last fall, Euphoria sensation, Zendaya, was poised to scoop up her first Golden Globe nomination for the buzzy black-and-white drama, Malcolm & Marie. But in a less-than-euphoric development, voters — who also completely overlooked the HBO hit last year — declined to honor her latest bold, bracing performance.

SURPRISE: Sia and Kate Hudson’s little known Music makes some noise

There’s a saying among pundits this time: “The Globes gonna Globe.” It means every year there’s at least one film or television show nominated by the HFPA that no one saw coming. The biggest example this year comes with two high-profile nominations for the Sia-directed Music, a stylishly filmed drama with music video elements about a recovering addict (Kate Hudson, rocking a shaved head) who takes over guardianship of her autistic younger half-sister (Maddie Ziegler). The film, which was shot way back in mid-2017 and was originally set to star Shia LaBeouf in the Hudson role, earned nomination for Best Picture and Best Actress in the musical or comedy categories.

SNUB: News of the World hardly registers on the map

Some prognosticators had designated News of the World — the acclaimed drama from Paul Greengrass about a Civil War veteran (Tom Hanks) who escorts an abandoned young girl (Helena Zengel) across dangerous Texas terrain — as a film that could quietly sneak up on the Oscars race. Its got the pedigree between Greengrass (United 93) and America’s Dad Hanks, and could find a lot of support from the Academy’s older members. The Globes, however, largely left News out of print, delivering only two nominations: Best Supporting Actress (the 12-year-old German breakout Zengel) and Best Original Score.

SURPRISE: Jared Leto pulls big upset for The Little Things

Jared Leto is indeed ghoulishly entertaining as a serial killer suspect who taunts cops Denzel Washington and Rami Malek in the late-breaking Se7en-esque crime thriller The Little Things, which premiered this past weekend in theaters and on HBO Max. But no one had him in the lineup for Best Supporting Actor, where he beat out the likes of Chadwick Boseman (who was nominated for Best Actor for Ma Rainey but denied a second posthumous nom for Da 5 Bloods), Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) and Trial of the Chicago 7 costars Mark Rylance and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

The 78th Golden Globes air Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

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