Glee and Boardwalk Empire ruled the Golden Globes nominations, but let's be real — that was expected. Both are commercial hits and critical darlings — and working in the HBO drama's favor, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association loves new blood (see also: The Walking Dead and The Big C). But as usual, the HFPA threw us a few curveballs — some very sweet surprises and some egregious omissions.
Glee, Boardwalk Empire dominate Golden Globe nominations
Check out our list of the best surprises and biggest snubs below, and then tell us yours.
Fun Surprises
Sons of Anarchy finally gets some love: At long last, the critically acclaimed FX motorcycle saga gets some award recognition as
Katey Sagal lands a lead actress in a drama nomination. Sagal (already a four-time Globe nominee for
Married... with Children) was far better in the show's second season, but her beautiful, nuanced performance opposite
Hal Holbrook in Season 3 is just as worthy. Too bad
Sons missed the series cut. Baby steps, people.
Globes hearts action procedurals: If you had money on either
Scott Caan (
Hawaii Five-0) or
Piper Perabo (
Covert Affairs) to score nominations, you need to go to Vegas ASAP. Both stars are easily the best parts of their respective, lightweight series. Caan regularly steals the spotlight from CBS fave
Alex O'Loughlin and the HFPA loves spy babes, as it demonstrated when
Jennifer Garner won eight years ago for
Alias.
The Big Bang Theory: The CBS sitcom and its Emmy-winning star
Jim Parsons finally break into the comedy series and comedy actor races — huge wins in and of themselves, as the HFPA, inexplicably, has some aversion to CBS comedies. The facts don't lie: The last time a CBS sitcom was nominated was 15 years ago, when
Cybil won the top award.
Everybody Loves Raymond — a two-time comedy series Emmy champ — was never even nominated at the Globes for comedy series.
Jennifer Love Hewitt: OK, hear us out.
The Client List — in which Love plays a mother-turned-hooker (inspired by a true story, of course) — may not be as deep as, say,
Temple Grandin or as masterful as
The Pillars of the Earth, but it's a fun, entertaining Lifetime flick that engrosses you on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And Hewitt, charming and engaging as ever in it, is what kept viewers (and voters), um, hooked. That being said, this is
Claire Danes' Golden Globe to lose.
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Cruel Snubs
Breaking Bad: The AMC drama — which, in our eyes, came
thisclose to dethroning
Mad Men at the Emmys — is again missing from the drama series shortlist. The silver lining: Three-time defending Emmy champ
Bryan Cranston finally received a nomination.
No laughing matter: There are six nominees in the comedy series category, but apparently that was not enough room for either super-hilarious
Community or
Parks and Recreation to make the cut. Two of the series slots and three of the comedy actress slots are filled by borderline dramas (
The Big C,
Nurse Jackie, and
United States of Tara), which begs the question: Is dark comedy taking over... comedy?
Ed O'Neill: Poor Ed. The
Modern Family patriarch, already the odd one out at the Emmys, remains the only adult cast member not to be singled out for any awards recognition.
True Blood: As we all know, the HFPA loves fresh faces — even at the expense of older contenders.
True Blood was overlooked entirely this year, coming off two straight nominations for drama series and a win for star
Anna Paquin two years ago. Not even
Denis O'Hare, so chilling as the vampire king, was able to squeak into the always unpredictable supporting actor race.
Love Lost: The ABC series, which won the top drama award five years ago, was shut out completely for its final season. Ironically, the HFPA was the first organization to reward
Matthew Fox and
Evangeline Lilly with nominations in 2005 and 2006, respectively.