2023 Golden Globes predictions – TELEVISION: Expect ‘The Crown,’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ and ‘Severance’ to shine

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With the change in year comes the promise of a new, revamped Golden Globes (or, at least, the membership of the HFPA has changed slightly). While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association still gave out their awards last year, they had no network for the show to be broadcast on, so they settled for a live stream on their Youtube page. This year is a back-to-form ceremony as the organization has found a relevant, funny host in Jerrod Carmichael and presumably seeks to reestablish the HFPA’s connection with the industry. With new membership and a year off (from being on television), will the Golden Globes find their footing again?

2022 was another year of excellent television across genres and runtimes. Audiences were enraptured with television in the past year, social media abuzz weekly as new episodes or entire seasons dropped on different platforms. In some cases, audiences branched away from the streaming model of binge releases and went back to appointment television (such as Abbott Elementary or House of the Dragon). With so much diversity in the way television can be consumed, wll the Globes spread the love or pick a few shows and give them most of the awards?

The top two categories everyone will be looking towards will be Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical and Best Television Series – Drama. Comedy or Musical is packed with buzzy shows that received much attention in the past year, but could easily go to Abbott Elementary in the end. Abbott has already earned more attention in a season and a half than most streaming shows ever do and, with such a passionate following, could take home more than this award during the ceremony. In the Drama category, Severance could be leading the pack. The HFPA has always loved new series and being amongst the first awards bodies to award said new series. Behind Severance is House of the Dragon, HBO’s popular prequel series to Game of Thrones. Both received much attention and acclaim for their premiere seasons, so it will be an interesting race to the finish line.

The performance categories are full of interesting nominations this year that reflect some of the best performances television had to offer in 2022. A couple of categories are tough to call because of the sheer talent involved, such as Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama. Zendaya gave one of the most discussed performances of the year in season two of Euphoria (yes, I’m talking about that episode), while Imelda Staunton took over the role of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown. The two actresses are giving two completely different performances – the only reason Staunton might have the edge is because both previous Elizabeths (Claire Foy, then Olivia Colman) in The Crown have won Globes for their performances. 

The comedy leading categories will be fun to watch, too, because there is a good chance the world might see Quinta Brunson win her first Golden Globe for acting in Abbott Elementary. Brunson is not only currently in the middle of season two of the hit series, but she recently won her first Emmy for writing the pilot of the series. While the Globes gave Jean Smart the award last year for her performance in Hacks, they do like to give others a chance. Could a rising star defeat a legend? It also seems destined that Bill Hader will win for Barry since Jason Sudeikis doesn’t stand in his way, but will voters be too attached to Jeremy Allen White’s controlled performance in The Bear? 

The supporting acting categories for television are separated this year with Comedy/Drama supporting performances in one category and Limited Series/Motion Pictures Made for Television performances in another. While this gives way to more talent being recognized, it can still be confusing how the HFPA can put Janelle James from Abbott Elementary against Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown. In these showdowns, the performers from Dramas do better against the comedic actors (that being said, one of the few comedic supporting performances in the last twenty years to win Supporting Actress was Jane Lynch in Glee, who James has been compared to…but James just lost the Emmy in September to co-star, and nominee here, Sheryl Lee Ralph). Supporting Actor in Drama/Comedy should go to John Turturro, who gave one of the great performances of last year in Severance. 

The ceremony will return next week, but will the HFPA bring their usual drama? The Globes have always been an interesting awards show with (sometimes) unpredictable winners, which can be part of the fun for some viewers. It will be a treat to see how they handle the spotlight being back on them again. 

Jerrod Carmichael will host the ceremony airing live coast-to-coast on Jan. 10 from 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Five-time Golden Globe Award winner and sixteen-time nominee Ryan Murphy will receive the Carol Burnett Award.

Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Predicted Winner: Abbott Elementary
Could Win: The Bear

Other nominees: Wednesday; Only Murders in the Building; Hacks

Best Television Series – Drama
Predicted Winner: Severance 
Could Win: House of the Dragon

Other nominees: The Crown; Better Call Saul; Ozark

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Predicted Winner: Adam Scott – Severance
Could Win: Diego Luna – Andor

Other nominees: Jeff Bridges – The Old Man; Kevin Costner – Yellowstone; Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Predicted Winner: Imelda Staunton – The Crown
Could Win: Zendaya – Euphoria 

Other nominees: Emma D’Arcy – House of the Dragon; Laura Linney – Ozark; Hilary Swank – Alaska Daily

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Predicted Winner: Bill Hader – Barry
Could Win: Jeremy Allen White – The Bear

Other nominees: Donald Glover – Atlanta; Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building; Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Predicted Winner: Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary 
Could Win: Jean Smart – Hacks

Other nominees: Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant; Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building; Jenna Ortega – Wednesday

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Television
Predicted Winner: John Turturro – Severance
Could Win: Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary 

Other nominees: John Lithgow – The Old Man; Jonathan Pryce – The Crown; Henry Winkler – Barry

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Television
Predicted Winner: Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown
Could Win: Janelle James – Abbott Elementary 

Other nominees: Hannah Einbinder – Hacks; Julia Garner – Ozark; Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Predicted Winner: The White Lotus 
Could Win: The Dropout

Other nominees: Black Bird; Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story; Pam & Tommy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Predicted Winner: Andrew Garfield – Under the Banner of Heaven
Could Win: Taron Egerton – Black Bird

Other nominees: Colin Firth – The Staircase; Evan Peters – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story; Sebastian Stan – Pam & Tommy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Predicted Winner: Amanda Seyfried – The Dropout
Could Win: Lily James – Pam & Tommy

Other nominees: Jessica Chastain – George & Tammy; Julia Garner – Inventing Anna; Julia Roberts – Gaslit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Predicted Winner: Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird
Could Win: F. Murray Abraham – The White Lotus

Other nominees: Domhnall Gleeson – The Patient; Richard Jenkins – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story; Seth Rogen – Pam & Tommy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Motion Picture 
Predicted Winner: Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus
Could Win: Aubrey Plaza – The White Lotus

Other nominees: Claire Danes – Fleishman is in Trouble; Daisy Edgar-Jones – Under the Banner of Heaven; Niecy Nash – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story