Thrones nabs Critics’ Choice win and Golden Globes noms

cersei

Award season is in full swing. This morning the Golden Globes announced their nominations and it was no surprise to see Game of Thrones on the list.

The series was nominated for Best Television Series – Drama. It was joined in that category by the Netflix Originals The Crown and Stranger Things, NBC’s This is Us and fellow HBO show Westworld (check out our sister site for the full list of Westworld noms). In addition, Lena Headey was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series. This is Lena’s first Golden Globe nomination. The Golden Globe winners will be announced in a live ceremony on Jan. 8.

Speaking of live ceremonies, The Critics’ Choice Awards had theirs last night and Game of Thrones took home the award for Best Drama Series! Unfortunately, Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage lost to John Lithgow of The Crown in the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category while Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey lost out to Westworld’s Thandie Newton in the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category.

WinterPhil: The Golden Globes are always a fun watch and I’m really glad that some of the Thrones cast and crew will be there. Hopefully Lena Headey can finally take home a trophy for all her excellent work on this show!

82 Comments

  1. I really want for Lena to Win she is been amazing as Cersei but Thandie Newton did an awesome job…. btw I didn’t know so many people hate GOT, I was looking at twitter and I found so many tweets complaining about Got nominations…. I know Haters are going to Hate…. 🙂 Congrast to the Cast and Crew 🙂 for the nomination. and the winning last night

  2. Sophie Turner should be nominated. She’s so underrated. And Ramin Djawadi’s score is just about the best in television right now.

  3. Yay GoT!! I really wish Lena gets the GG, I guess it’s between her and Thandie.

    How Anthony Hopkins is not nominated is beyond me though.

  4. Congrats to the GOT team for the win! The other wins for Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and John Lithgow were well deserved as well.

    I think Westworld has a better chance than GOT to win best drama at the Golden Globes, because GGs seem to prefer to reward new shows over well established ones, if you look at their history.

  5. Congrats to everyone involved with GoT and their big win for Best Drama!!!?So well deserved!! I was very sad for Kit, really wanted him to win!?But very happy for the GoT nominations for the Golden Globes! Will be keeping fingers crossed for Lena Headey and for GoT for Best TV Drama!! And over the moon GoT took Best TV Drama over Westworld! ??

  6. Rhaenys Stark:
    Yay GoT!! I really wish Lena gets the GG, I guess it’s between her and Thandie.

    How Anthony Hopkins is not nominated is beyond me though.

    Lol I don’t know what is more laughable, Hopkins not getting nominated or John Travolta getting nominated in the supporting category! Travolta was the weakest link in the cast of that show. One more reason to not take awards very seriously.

  7. I haven’t seen “West World” or “The Crown” (I don’t particularly want to watch the latter) so can’t just how well those shows measure up against GoT. I might give “West World” a while when I have time. I’d like Lena Headey to win in the Golden Globes but her card seems to be marked where awards are concerned.

  8. I’m happy to see Lena get some GG recognition, although I’d be surprised if she won. With Thrones still filming, she doesn’t really have a lot of free time to court the HFPA. The two best ways to get a win out of them are to either be shiny and new, or straight up bribery.

  9. Lai: Sophie Turner should be nominated. She’s so underrated.

    I don’t agree that she’s underrated…

    Rhaenys Stark: every time Travolta appeared on screen he made me cringe.

    He was awful!!

    Dame of Mercia,

    Westworld was a tough watch for me – meaning I had to make myself keep watching. Several of the weeks I even waiting for later airings during the week because I wasn’t excited to watch it right away. I won’t say it’s a ‘bad’ show, just didn’t have IT for me.

  10. Cersei looking sad at these great Golden Globe news? Should be a photo of Cersei watching the destruction of the sept with pleasure. Lol Congrats Lena! Fingers crossed she will win, though she probably won’t with her luck at award shows.

  11. Clob: Westworld was a tough watch for me – meaning I had to make myself keep watching. Several of the weeks I even waiting for later airings during the week because I wasn’t excited to watch it right away. I won’t say it’s a ‘bad’ show, just didn’t have IT for me.

    I totally agree this is how I felt as well.

  12. The Globes’ jam-packed supporting categories are always kind of a mess on the TV side, but it feels weird that Winona Ryder got nominated for Stranger Things but not Millie Bobby Brown. Now, I’m not one of Ryder’s critics in relation to that show (I think her performance is exactly in accordance with what the writing calls for), but Brown is clearly the standout actor on that show.

  13. I didn’t think Anthony Hopkins was doing something amazing in Westworld. I mean, sure, he’s Anthony Hopkins, but the role wasn’t a stretch. And, looking at his portrayal, I have no idea how Ford from E1 got to the speech Ford gave in E10. The character motivations were muddy and that’s the writing yes, but Hopkins as well not propelling the character evolution. So no, Hopkins didn’t deserve a nomination for Westworld.

    Ed Harris, Jimmy Simpson, and James Marsden also failed to snag nominations as did Jeffrey Wright, who was the most deserving of the male cast.

    Thandie Newton though? She blows every else in that category away, including Lena.

  14. If I’m not mistaken GG hasn’t been overly kind to Game of Thrones, so I wouldn’t expect Lena to win. I’m kind of surprised they even nominated her to be honest. Westworld appears to be the new “it” show in pop culture. It will probably clean up at the Emmys next year due to GoT not being eligible. To be honest it probably would have beat GoT even if it was eligible. Not because it necessarily deserved to, but because much like the Game of Thrones bandwagon started filling up after season 1, seems the cool thing to do now is say you watch Westworld and these Hollywood cocktail party goers don’t want to miss out on that.

  15. Westworld and The Crown are both amazing shows. Their casts are totally deserving of the awards.

    However, I just want to say that this is hopefully Lena’s year. She was robbed way back in season two for that extraordinary performance during “Blackwater” where she went off on Sansa, and she’s been robbed every year. In a cast full of incredible actors, she’s the absolute pinnacle and totally deserving of awards for her performance.

    (I dread the day Cersei is killed off on this show, which I’m sure is coming, only because… let’s all face fact: do we really want any Game of Thrones without Lena Headey? Hardly bears thinking about.) 🙂

  16. orange,

    orange: To be honest it probably would have beat GoT even if it was eligible. Not because it necessarily deserved to, but because much like the Game of Thrones bandwagon started filling up after season 1

    orange,

    Hmm… game of thrones didn’t win the outstanding drama series until seasons 5 and 6 at the primetime Emmys..

  17. Cameryn,

    I agree with you 100%. I don’t know why she NEVER wins… its ridiculous.

    Thandie was amazing. But Lena trumps everyone. Including Thandie

  18. HotPinkLipstick,

    I agree. Of the male performers, Wright was definitely the best. That being said, I don’t particularly think the men deserve any nominations. I hope Thandie and ERW win tbh.

  19. Dee Stark,

    That’s like your opinion. Thandie has been getting great reviews for her work in Westworld and if she wins other awards it would be well-deserved.

    Lena doesn’t win because the people voting for awards think someone else should win. Or in some cases it could be a situation where her co-stars split the vote. Simple as that. You don’t need to discredit the other actresses in the category.

  20. Sean C.,

    I agree! The actors are some of the best I’ve seen in a very long time, especially Claire Foy, her dad (whose name I don’t remember now) and John Lithgow. And our Michelle Clapton is the costume designer!

    I would definitely recommend it to anyone here who likes historical dramas. It was recently renewed for a 2nd season.

  21. Flayed Potatoes,

    Do it please! It took me 2 days to watch all 10 episodes, even though I could have finished it earlier. But I had studying to do xD

    Right Sean, thanks. It was a pity he didn’t win for Best Guest actor last night.

  22. We’ll see if Westworld has any legs, or if it can manage to pull internationally like GoT has. I would think not airing season 2 until 2018 can’t help the buzz any.
    ————-
    Not that ratings have much to do with winning awards, but their first season did do quite a bit less for first airing ratings than GoTs first season; high of 2.24 (1.825 avg) compared to 2.52 avg for GoT (Episode 1×02 is the series low of 2.20). They did say WW set an HBO record for first season numbers across all platforms, but there are more ‘platform’ options all the time and the number was still half of GoTs S6. MY Point is that WW didn’t just pop on the scene a massive, widespread hit. It still needs to prove itself and continue to grow. Like GoT it’s an expensive program to make and won’t last if it were to plateau where it’s at right now. They can’t fail in their second season in other words, like True Detective did.

  23. Clob,

    There being more platform options now than in 2011 doesn’t mean that it’s not meaningful to compare WW’s numbers in its first season to GOT’s numbers in its first season. HBO makes it easier and easier to watch its shows in a variety of ways. It’s not especially significant that WW in Season 1 doesn’t match GOT in Season 6.

  24. Sean C.:
    The Globes’ jam-packed supporting categories are always kind of a mess on the TV side, but it feels weird that Winona Ryder got nominated for Stranger Things but not Millie Bobby Brown.Now, I’m not one of Ryder’s critics in relation to that show (I think her performance is exactly in accordance with what the writing calls for), but Brown is clearly the standout actor on that show.

    The same reason why Maisie Williams never got nominated maybe? Kids find it hard to get nominated unfortunately.

  25. Sean C.,
    I know, but the comment being made is that there are more and more options to watch it so setting that record isn’t a direct comparison to GoT S1, Sopranos, True Blood, etc. Comparing to GoT S6 was just saying that with the exact same availability it pulled considerably less.

    I’m not ripping WW here. I’m just saying that as of now it’s not a runaway steam train that some fanatics might think. It needs to continue to grow and it certainly can. Having 1.5-2 years between seasons sure is a hype killer though.

  26. ghost of winterfell,

    I was focused more on the number of nominees. It’s not surprising that Ryder got a nomination when there are five slots for dramatic actresses alone, and that Brown didn’t since there are five slots for comedic, dramatic and miniseries supporting actresses together. It just feels odd.

  27. “The Crown” is pretty remarkable. Claire Foy literally *is* Queen Elizabeth, it’s uncanny. You’ll forget it’s John Lithgow when you see him… he IS Winston Churchill. Everything about the show is amazing.

    And I agree about Thandie Newton in “Westworld”. What a performance – wow. Another cast full of amazing actors where she’s literally the finest of the lot. Very deserving of the nomination (so is Evan Rachel Wood, frankly).

    I just think Lena Headey’s body of work throughout six years of “Game of Thrones” outshines them all. There is literally not a single weak link in the entire GoT cast, so to say that Lena’s performances are a cut above that is less hyperbole and more a statement that she is – and has been – one of the finest actresses on television. I really hope this is the year she gets the nod, since she has six incredible years under her belt, whereas the others are new to their respective brand new series.

  28. Lai,

    On the contrary, I think she’s quite overrated. But I totally agree about Djawadi’s music. Season after season it’s top notch, though I think the first season, where he established the themes and leitmotifs we all recognise now, was especially brilliant. I certainly think Djawadi should have won an Emmy that year. And last season’s score, mainly because of “Light of the Seven”, was also quite inventive.

  29. Clob,

    Your comment about 2018 reminded me that WW will compete for next year’s Emmy w/o GoT competition. And the following year, GoT Season 7 will compete w/o WW competition. I don’t think HBO has done this to give both shows a better chance, but it does work out that way. However, WW will compete against the final season of GoT.

  30. Cameryn,

    When people vote for awards they vote based on either the season the actor is nominated for or the episode the actor submitted. They’re not all going to give Lena pity votes because she had six seasons under her belt whereas others only stared in one. She’s not the only actress who starred in an acclaimed show for years and only got nominations for it.

    Lena is a great actress don’t get me wrong, and I’d like for her to get awarded, but that’s how award show rules go and they’re not going to stop voting for someone who did a fantastic job just because their show is newer than GoT.

  31. Flayed Potatoes,

    Well, some awards shows do give awards with career recognition as a motivator, but the HFPA’s thing is willingness to embrace new stuff (whereas the Emmys tend to repeat a lot), so I wouldn’t count on that here.

  32. Rhaenys Stark,

    I am going to watch it. It looks awesome

    _____

    Side question, the thread before this one there is a pic of Emilia and David Benioff. Who are in the pic with them? I dont wanna click the link cause of spoilers.

  33. Sean C.,

    Yeah HFPA love awarding new shows before everyone else. They also nominate shows that don’t typically get Emmy love (Mozart in the Jungle, Jane the Virgin). However, they’re also known to swing in the complete opposite direction and award older, established actors (Kevin Spacey, Jessica Lange, and Ed Harris come to mind). There’s no middle ground with them.

  34. ghost of winterfell,

    The Globes are usually kind of off-beat and random about their choices, which often opens the door for younger actors and actresses to get the recognition from them that they’re unlikely to get from the Television Academy. In Maisie’s case, it’s not just about the catch-all supporting category being hard to break into, it’s also about getting noticed over Lena and Emilia, who on average receive more screen time and are better known within the industry. Lightening struck for her with the Emmys, but the Globes have been pretty fickle with respect to Thrones by comparison. Peter won for the first season because at the time he was the breakout actor of the shiniest new show on the block, and they’ve completely ignored him ever since. Lena’s nod this year is a pleasant surprise.

    With Thrones filming during January, I have to wonder how many cast or crew members will even be able to attend the Globes this time around. I normally look forward to the red carpet interview slip-ups, so I’m hoping at least some of the “talkers” can make it.

  35. elybe,

    If the show had to choose in terms of scheduling, they’d definitely angle things to get as many people able to attend the SAG Awards toward the end of January, seeing as the cast will actually all be nominated there. But I guess we don’t even have a sense of what’s left to film in January. People like Sophie and Maisie have been basically absent from filming since the end of September. Did they do the bulk of the Winterfell filming already, or is the rest being saved for the New Year?

    Speaking of SAG, those nominations are due on Wednesday. The castmembers making the nomination cut this year are:

    1. Emilia Clarke (8)
    2. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (8)
    3. Liam Cunningham (8)
    4. Peter Dinklage (8)
    5. Kit Harington (8)
    6. Lena Headey (8)
    7. Maisie Williams (8)
    8. Alfie Allen (7)
    9. Jacob Anderson (7)
    10. Nathalie Emmanuel (7)
    11. Conleth Hill (7)
    12. Kristofer Hivju (7)
    13. Carice van Houten (7)
    14. Faye Marsay (7)
    15. Jonathan Pryce (7)
    16. Sophie Turner (7)
    17. Dean-Charles Chapman (6)
    18. Michiel Huisman (6)
    19. Hafþór Björnsson (6)
    20. Gemma Whelan (6)

    Series regulars missing the cut:

    1. Gwendoline Christie (5)
    2. Natalie Dormer (5)
    3. Isaac Hempstead-Wright (5)
    4. Iwan Rheon (5)
    5. Tom Wlaschiha (5)
    6. Aiden Gillen (4)
    7. John Bradley (3)
    8. Jerome Flynn (3)
    9. Iain Glen (3)
    10. Hannah Murray (3)
    11. Rory McCann (2)
    12. Michael McElhatton (2)
    13. Indira Varma (2)

  36. Sean C.,

    I agree, I also think they’ll prioritize the SAG awards. I think part of the reason why Maisie and Sophie have so much time off is that interior filming moves pretty quickly, and what little location filming they are doing isn’t particularly time-consuming compared to the sequences currently dominating Taylor’s and Shakman’s schedules. I don’t know how much Winterfell filming is left, but Sophie mentioned at some point that she finishes filming in January, and the midway wrap party occurred at a time that also suggests that they expect to finish in late January rather than moving into February. I don’t think they’re going to need that much time in Iceland based on the amount of location work they’re doing in Belfast for Alan Taylor’s episode, so scheduling around the SAG awards is probably doable. Getting the voters to pull their heads out of their asses long enough to vote for an ensemble other than Downton Abbey’s would be the real hurdle.

  37. elybe,

    As far as beating Downton goes, their best hope (assuming the voters aren’t ready to move on of their own accord, seeing as it’s been a year since the last episodes aired) would be that The Crown also gets nominated and splits the prestige Brit vote.

  38. Rhaenys Stark: How Anthony Hopkins is not nominated is beyond me though.

    Sadly, he ate the brains of one of the nominating judges who was going to vote for him, and wound up one vote short as a result…..

  39. Apollo,

    Why can’t people, who take those under construction set photos, ever ask any crew member what project the sets are for? They’re preparing to film a new Robin Hood movie in Dubrovnik atm. But who knows, maybe Dubrovnik will handle both film crews.

  40. Wimsey: Sadly, he ate the brains of one of the nominating judges who was going to vote for him, and wound up one vote short as a result…..

    Hahaha quite possibly.

  41. Sean C.,

    I agree that SAG is critical for GoT. We may argue here at WOTW about the relative contributions of various actors, but we support them as a group against rival show casts. And the respect of their fellow actors means a great deal to our beloved cast members, which is part of why it’s so frustrating that they haven’t won best ensemble yet. But what do the numbers in parentheses represent? Do they represent votes of the producers, SAG nominators, or…???? FWIW, I’m astounded Natalie and Iwan did not make the cut, as they had spectacular seasons and will be sorely missed.

    As a side note, I just checked the GoT awards and nominations over the six seasons, and the cast won best ensemble for some other awards, but nothing remotely as prestigious as SAG.

  42. Flayed Potatoes:
    Cameryn,

    When people vote for awards they vote based on either the season the actor is nominated for or the episode the actor submitted. They’re not all going to give Lena pity votes because she had six seasons under her belt whereas others only stared in one. She’s not the only actress who starred in an acclaimed show for years and only got nominations for it.

    Lena is a great actress don’t get me wrong, and I’d like for her to get awarded, but that’s how award show rules go and they’re not going to stop voting for someone who did a fantastic job just because their show is newer than GoT.

    Yes, and being someone who works in the entertainment industry, I’m more than aware of how this works. I’m not asking anyone for a pity vote and I’m not sure why you’re taking any of this in such a manner as to assume we’re campaigning for the HFPA to change the way they vote. We’re just lauding a great actress, is all. I think you’re reading things into this that aren’t there. 😉

    The advantage Lena has this year with her first Globe nomination is that she’s not facing other members of her cast, like how the Emmy vote has been split time and time again. The disadvantage is that the HFPA hasn’t shown a willingness to award GoT like the Academy has at the Emmys. Time will tell.

  43. The Critics Choice was a nice win. I think they get the awards right more often than the Emmys and by far more than the Globes. So to be recognized by the people who actually pay attention and watch all of the top shows is a big honor for GOT.

  44. MiaMoon: I totally agree this is how I felt as well.

    Me also…. It was an effort to watch Westworld. No problem with the quality of acting or the SFX – Anthony Hopkins was brilliant, but I just couldn’t get into it. Too complicated for me! I much preferred the 1970’s version with Yul Brynner 🙂

  45. Wimsey: Sadly, he ate the brains of one of the nominating judges who was going to vote for him, and wound up one vote short as a result…..

    Hannibal Lector to Agent Clarice Starling – “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” 😉

  46. Dame of Mercia,

    FWIW, I gave up on Westworld halfway through because I didn’t care for any of the characters and they just seemed to be an excuse for them to pile on mysteries and twists. However, I really liked ‘The Crown”, kind like Downton Abbey crossed with House of Games. Anglophiles will really dig it.

  47. As for the OJ Simpson series
    I remember clearly the trial/ other news about it being on what felt like 24/7 and then the frustration with the verdict etc. For some reason I have no desire to watch a rehash dramatized account of the story.

  48. Ah award season!My fave.I am so happy they won the critics choice award.It must be nice having recognition from all kinds of sources.I am happy Lena got that Globe nomination.I’m not holding my breath for her to win though cause the Globes love the new blood and haven’t really been keen on Thrones.It’s the only show in the drama category who it’s not in its first season.I bet they nominate it only cause it won the Emmy lol.I watched The Crown and Stranger Things,loved them both but in my biased opinion Game of Thrones still takes the cake.Not even close.Haven’t watched WW yet cause it’s not my cup of tea but considering the hype I will cave lol.I have heard very good words about This is Us but I doubt a network show is going to get it.I don’t know why they didn’t nominate The Americans but at least Matthew and Kerry got a best actor nod.The one thing I really want the cast to win is the SAG award.They deserve it so much.Come on SAG voters let Downton Abbey go.

  49. Cameryn: Yes, and being someone who works in the entertainment industry, I’m more than aware of how this works. I’m not asking anyone for a pity vote and I’m not sure why you’re taking any of this in such a manner as to assume we’re campaigning for the HFPA to change the way they vote. We’re just lauding a great actress, is all. I think you’re reading things into this that aren’t there.

    hahah exactly!!

  50. Black Raven: I much preferred the 1970’s version with Yul Brynner ?

    The movie version had comic relief. The HBO version had none. For me at least, that made the show more of a slog.

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