Golden Globe Television Nominees Offer Few Surprises

The 66th annual Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Although the televised ceremony (AKA the drinky Oscars) is generally a rip-roaring good time due to the mingling of film and television stars and the copious amounts of alcohol consumed by attendees, the awards themselves are invariably somewhat dubious, given as they are by a small group of irrelevant journalists known for being easily swayed by studio marketing campaigns. Still, they’re awards, so we’re gonna talk about ‘em.

For the most part the nominees this year are exactly who think they are: 30 Rock, The Office, Mad Men, Dexter, House, etc. Once again we are bored to tears by been-there-done-that nominations for Tony Shaloub, Mariska Hargitay and anyone connected with Entourage. There is some pleasure to be gained by the nods for Cranford, January Jones and Neil Patrick Harris. On the other hand, multiple nominations for Californication and True Blood just go to show that absolutely anything can get nominated for an award if it airs on premium cable, and the total exclusion of Pushing Daisies suggests the HFPA doesn’t even watch TV.

A complete list of television nominees is under the cut…

2007 Golden Globes Television Winners

It just doesn’t get lamer than NBC’s Golden Globes “Winners Special” tonight, folks. Instead of the festival of drunken celebrities we’ve all come to know and love, we got Nancy O’Dell and a constipated-looking Billy Bush standing awkwardly behind a podium. The real highlight, though, was after each category was announced when Nancy would try unsuccessfully to banter with Billy’s hair, which has begun to resemble the ‘do sported by Loverboy’s Mike Reno in the 1980s. It’s okay, Billy, we’re all just working for the weekend, too.

For those of you lucky enough to miss it, here’s the complete list of television winners…

No WGA Wavers for Golden Globes or Oscars

The ongoing writers strike will cast a pall over both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards this year.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association had requested a waiver to allow writers to work on the Jan. 13 Golden Globes ceremony, but that request was rejected by the WGA. In a letter released today, the organization said that granting a waiver “would not advance” the guild’s ongoing battle with studios to negotiate a new contract. The HFPA responded that it “will attempt to reach some type of agreement with them on behalf of the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will recognize and honor outstanding achievements in both movies and television programming made before the strike.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had made its annual request for the use of clips during the Feb. 24 Oscar telecast to the writers guild and other relevant industry guilds that must grant approval, but this request also was rejected by the WGA. It’s unknown whether WGA member Jon Stewart will still host the Oscars as planned.

2007 Golden Globes Television Nominees

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominations for the 65th annual Golden Globes this morning and the biggest surprise among the television nominees was the head-scratching exclusion of The Office from the comedy series category.

The awards will be presented Jan. 13 and televised on NBC, although the ongoing writers strike could impact the telecast. If the WGA refuses to grant a waiver allowing guild writers to work on the ceremony’s script, it’s unknown how many presenters and nominees would be willing to cross the picket line in order to attend.

Look behind the cut for the complete list of television nominees…