On Those Wacky TV Globe Wins
Monday, January 11, 2016 at 5:46PM
Manuel here. While there’s plenty to talk about in terms of the Globes, I figured I’d put my TV math cap on and talk about the most obvious takeaway from the Globes TV wins from last night: the HFPA loves its shiny new toys.
Freshman shows Mr Robot, Crazy Ex-girlfriend and Mozart in the Jungle all took home prizes. (That's especially significant in the case of Mr Robot since it was produced by "Anonymous Content" who were also behind The Revenant - it marks the first time in history an independent production company has won both the top movie and the top tv prize at the Globes)
But I was curious: how prevalent is this shiny new toy notion? We know the Emmys loves their repeat winners but could it really be that the Globes love freshman shows that they then immediately forget thereafter?
I crunched some numbers on their top categories to find out.
Best Comedy Series
In the past 10 years, six of the eventual winners for Best Comedy Series went to shows in their very first season. That they’ve also rewarded 9 different shows in the same timespan shows you how little the Golden Globes like to give out the same prizes to the same shows. For comparison’s sake, the Emmys have honored four comedy shows in the past decade. (Bold denotes first season.)
2015 Mozart in the Jungle – Amazon Video
2014 Transparent – Amazon Video
2013 Brooklyn Nine-Nine – FOX
2012 Girls – HBO
2011 Modern Family – ABC
2010 Glee – FOX
2009 Glee – FOX
2008 30 Rock – NBC
2007 Extras – HBO
2006 Ugly Betty – ABC
This is more egregious in the Comedy Lead acting categories where a whopping 8 winners from each category took a trophy for their series’s first season, with only Jim Parsons (season 4 win), Tina Fey & Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation) earned awards for their shows in their later runs.
2015 Gael García Bernal – Mozart in the Jungle
2014 Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent
2013 Andy Samberg – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2012 Don Cheadle – House of Lies
2011 Matt LeBlanc – Episodes
2010 Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
2009 Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
2008 Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
2007 David Duchovny – Californication
2006 Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
(Aren't these Instagram portraits gorgeous?)
As for variety, the Best Actor Comedy category has gone to a different actor for the past seven years, while Best Actress stretches back an extra year when Tina won back to back awards. If you need some perspective, in the same decade, Jim Parsons and Julia Louis Dreyfus have won four and five Emmys respectively in this category.
2015 Rachel Bloom — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
2014 Gina Rodriguez — Jane the Virgin
2013 Amy Poehler — Parks and Recreation
2012 Lena Dunham — Girls
2011 Laura Dern — Enlightened
2010 Laura Linney — The Big C
2009 Toni Collette — United States of Tara
2008 Tina Fey — 30 Rock
2007 Tina Fey — 30 Rock
2006 America Ferrera — Ugly Betty
Best Drama Series
In the Drama Categories, five of the winners won for their very first seasons and unlike the Comedy Series category, we’ve seen two shows triumph more than once in the past ten years: Homeland (winning twice) and Mad Men (winning three times in a row).
2015 Mr. Robot – USA Network
2014 The Affair – Showtime
2013 Breaking Bad – AMC
2012 Homeland – Showtime
2011 Homeland – Showtime
2010 Boardwalk Empire – HBO
2009 Mad Men – AMC
2008 Mad Men – AMC
2007 Mad Men – AMC
2006 Grey's Anatomy – ABC
Jon Hamm’s win for Mad Men’s final season broke a string of wins by different actors since his very first win back in 2007, and became the only repeat winner since Hugh Laurie’s back to back wins a decade ago.
2015 Jon Hamm – Mad Men
2014 Kevin Spacey – House of Cards
2013 Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
2012 Damian Lewis – Homeland
2011 Kelsey Grammer – Boss
2010 Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
2009 Michael C. Hall – Dexter
2008 Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment
2007 Jon Hamm – Mad Men
2006 Hugh Laurie – House
Taraji won for her bonkers role as Cookie (and celebrated appropriately while heading to accept her award) becoming the seventh woman in the past ten years to win for her work on a series freshman season — only Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy) and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) have triumphed in their series later runs, with Claire Danes winning back to back awards for Homeland’s first and second season.
2015 Taraji P. Henson - Empire (and arguably season 2 which aired this Fall)
2014 Ruth Wilson - The Affair
2013 Robin Wright - House of Cards
2012 Claire Danes - Homeland
2011 Claire Danes - Homeland
2010 Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy
2009 Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
2008 Anna Paquin - True Blood
2007 Glenn Close - Damages
2006 Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer
Stats and numbers telling you little by themselves but it’s clear the HFPA loves freshman series: four out of the five Best Drama Series nominees and two of the Best Comedy Series nominees had their premiere just last year. It’s a great antidote to the Emmys though it can sometimes feel they’re stretching too far into the “next big thing.” That means shows like Orange is the New Black, Veep, Masters of Sex and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will have a harder time with each subsequent outing to win gold.
Reader Comments (11)
i'm all about the globes recognizing the new shows:) it is cool to look back at their list of winners and see how eclectic they are in comparison to the emmy winners. even if it is a gimmick, at least they dare to be different, and they certainly give a boost to those shows.
it's so much more interesting than the Emmys, so I appreciate it
Karim -- agreed. I'm not sure it's even a gimmick so much as they're excitable and probably watch a LOT... whereas it seems like a lot of Emmy voters probably just vote for whatever show is on their DVR and are more like viewers at home. their favorites are their favorites are their favorites and they don't really notice what's new unless it's kind of unavoidable or it really captures the zeitgeist immediately.
Phlip H -- same.
Everything Karim said.
Does anyone watch Mozart in the Jungle? Is it any good?
BD - i've heard things ranging from mediocre to really good. but mostly i've been hearing that it found its footing in the 2nd season (the current one)
I really love the globes for it - escpecially as they manage to honor every year a freshman show / actor or actress in one I love.
It makes it more interesting, that's for sure. I guess it just feels like they do it way more hysterically these days (a show or somebody winning and then never showing up again, like, say, Brooklyn Nine Nine) and the era of Sarah Jessica Parker and Sex and the City and then Mad Men in drama series made it appear like they didn't do it as often and that it's just been going and going this way ever since.
I appreciate the trend too—it gives credibility to the freshman winners that the HFPA also awarded Jon Hamm, just to prove there's a little bit of accounting for taste.
BD -- Second season is much better than the first one. Light, uneven... the female lead reminds me Frances Ha. Bernadette Peters and Debra Monk are delicious (Gael too).
Thanks for the news didnt expect to get all of the story from one place. Good jib keep it going and will back to see more from this site in the future.