Golden Globes Predictions: Best TV Series (Drama) – ‘The Crown’ May Retake the Throne

Michael Schneider

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2021 GOLDEN GLOBE PREDICTIONS:
BEST TV SERIES (DRAMA)

UPDATED: Jan. 11, 2021

AWARDS COMMENTARY:
Production delays due to COVID-19 mean that some of last year’s contenders, including best drama winner “Succession,” aren’t back to compete in 2021 — opening the door to some new possibilities. Could this also be a year that genre makes a big splash with HFPA members? Hot off its Emmy streak, “The Mandalorian” is in the hunt, while HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” seem also poised for attention. Among returning nominees, “The Crown” (a winner in 2017) and “Killing Eve” are still in the hunt.

AND THE PREDICTED NOMINEES ARE:

  1. "The Crown" Season 4 (Netflix)

    The Crown
    The Crown

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Peter Morgan, Stephen Daldry, Andy Harries, Philip Martin, Suzanne Mackie, Matthew Byam-Shaw, Robert Fox, Tanya Seghatchian, Nina Wolarsky, Allie Goss
    SYNOPSIS: The story of the Royal Family, in Season 4 focuses on the time frame between 1979 and 1990 — including the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, as well as the strained relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
    STARRING: Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter, Gillian Anderson, Josh O'Connor, Emma Corrin, Marion Bailey, Erin Doherty, Stephen Bozer, Emerald Fennell

  2. "Ozark" Season 3 (Netlfix)

    Ozark Netflix
    Ozark Netflix

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jason Bateman, Chris Mundy, Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams
    SYNOPSIS: Wendy and Marty Byrde convince a drug cartel to spare their lives by allowing them to set up a money laundering operation (eventually through a casino) in the Ozarks.
    STARRING: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Janet McTeer, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Tom Pekphrey, Madison Thompson, McKinley Belcher III, Marylouise Burke

  3. "The Mandalorian" Season 2 (Disney Plus)

    Disney Plus - Mandalorian
    Disney Plus - Mandalorian

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson
    SYNOPSIS: A "Star Wars" saga featuring a Mandalorian who tasks himself with saving the one and only Baby Yoda (a.k.a. The Child, a.k.a. Grogu).
    STARRING: Pedro Pascal

  4. "Lovecraft Country" Season 1 (HBO)

    Lovecraft Country
    Lovecraft Country

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Misha Green, J.J. Abrams, Jordan Peele, Yann Demange, Bill Carraro, Ben Stephenson, Daniel Sackheim
    SYNOPSIS: Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) journeys with his childhood friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) on a road trip from Chicago across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). Their search-and-rescue turns into a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and monstrous creatures that could be ripped from an H.P. Lovecraft paperback.
    STARRING: Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, Aunjanue Ellis, Courtney B. Vance, Wunmi Mosaku, Abbey Lee, Jamie Chung, Jada Harris, Michael K. Williams

  5. "The Boys" Season 2 (Amazon Prime Video)

    The Boys Season 2
    The Boys Season 2

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Ori Marmur, Dan Trachtenberg, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Craig Rosenberg, Phil Sgriccia, Rebecca Sonnenshine
    SYNOPSIS: What happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good.
    STARRING: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Elisabeth Shue, Colby Minifie, Aya Cash

NEXT IN LINE:

  1. "Killing Eve" Season 3 (BBC America)

    Killing Eve
    Killing Eve

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emerald Fennell, Gina Mingacci, Damon Thomas, Punit Kulkarni, Sandra Oh
    SYNOPSIS: The cat-and-mouse game between intelligence investigator Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) continues.
    STARRING: Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw, Kim Bodnia, Sean Delaney, Harriet Walter

  2. "Better Call Saul" Season 5 (AMC)

    Bob Odenkirk BETTER CALL SAUL
    Bob Odenkirk BETTER CALL SAUL

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Melissa Bernstein, Thomas Schnauz, Gennifer Hutchison
    SYNOPSIS: Jimmy McGill continues his descent into Saul Goodman, while Gus Fring builds his empire as a drug kingpin.
    STARRING: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mando, Tony Dalton, Giancarlo Esposito

  3. "Perry Mason" Season 1 (HBO)

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Rolin Jones, Ron Fitzgerald, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, Joe Horaceck, Tim Van Patten
    SYNOPSIS: A new take on the iconic TV lawyer Perry Mason (played by Matthew Rhys), focused on his origins story and set in 1932 Los Angeles.
    STARRING: Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Shea Whigham, Tatiana Maslany, John Lithgow

  4. "Bridgerton" Season 1 (Netflix)

    BRIDGERTON (L to R) REGƒ-JEAN PAGE as SIMON BASSET and PHOEBE DYNEVOR as DAPHNE BRIDGERTON in episode 102 of BRIDGERTON Cr. LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX © 2020
    BRIDGERTON (L to R) REGƒ-JEAN PAGE as SIMON BASSET and PHOEBE DYNEVOR as DAPHNE BRIDGERTON in episode 102 of BRIDGERTON Cr. LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX © 2020

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Chris Van Dusen
    SYNOPSIS: Based on Julia Quinn's novels about debutantes in 1800s London, centering on the Bridgerton family.
    STARRING: Adjoa Andoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ruby Barker, Sabrina Bartlett, Nicola Coughlan, Phoebe Dynevor, Ruth Gemmell, Claudia Jessie, Luke Newton, Regé-Jean Page, Golda Rosheuvel, Luke Thompson, Polly Walker, Julie Andrews.

  5. "Ratched" Season 1 (Netflix)

    Ratched
    Ratched

    –
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Aleen Keshishian, Margaret Riley, Jacob Epstein, Michael Douglas, Robert Mitas, Jennifer Salt, Sarah Paulson, Ian Brennan, Tim Minear, Alexis Martin Woodall, Ryan Murphy
    SYNOPSIS: Sarah Paulson is Nurse Mildred Ratched, in an origin story of the asylum nurse from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
    STARRING: Sarah Paulson, Finn Wittrock, Cynthia Nixon, Jon Jon Briones, Charlie Carver, Judy Davis, Sharon Stone

ALSO IN CONTENTION:

    • "Billions" (Showtime)

    • "The Good Fight" (CBS All Access)

    • "Homeland" (Showtime)

    • "Hunters" (Amazon Prime Video)

    • "Outlander" (Starz)

    • "The Outsider" (HBO)

    • "P-Valley" (Starz)

    • "Raised by Wolves" (HBO Max)

    • "Snowpiercer" (TNT)

    • "This Is Us" (NBC)

    • "We Are Who We Are" (HBO)

    • "Westworld" (HBO)

2021 Golden Globes Predictions (Film)

2020-2021 Golden Globes Awards Timeline

  • Deadline for submission of Golden Globe Motion Picture and Television entry forms – Nov. 30, 2020

  • Deadline for Television nomination ballots to be mailed to all HFPA members by Ernst & Young – Dec. 30, 2020

  • Deadline for receipt of Television nomination ballots by Ernst & Young at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT – Jan. 12, 2021

  • Deadline for Motion Picture nomination ballots to be mailed to all HFPA members by Ernst & Young at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT – Jan. 13, 2021

  • The final screening date for Motion Pictures – Jan. 26, 2021

  • The final date for Motion Picture press conferences – Jan. 27, 2021

  • Deadline for receipt of Motion Picture nomination ballots by Ernst & Young at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT – Jan. 30, 2021

  • Nominations for the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards announced at 8:00 a.m. ET / 5:00 a.m. PT – Feb. 3, 2021

  • Final ballots mailed to all HFPA members by Ernst & Young – Feb. 23, 2021

  • 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air live coast to coast at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT on NBC from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California – Feb. 28, 2021

2021 Academy Awards Predictions

About the Golden Globes

The Golden Globes Awards, hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is held annually with 93 members since 1944. The group recognizes excellence in film and television, across drama and comedy or musical categories. “Mad Men” and “The X-Files” hold the record for most wins as best drama, at three each, while “All in the Family” has won the most awards for best comedy/musical, with four wins. Carol Burnett has the record for most TV nominations, at 13 (she won five), while Alan Alda has the most TV wins, with 6 (out of 12 nominations).

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