‘Hamilton,’ ‘Borat’ + Netflix Dominate Nominations for 78th Golden Globe Awards

With the announcement of the 2021 Golden Globe Award nominations, Hollywood’s historically unusual awards season is officially in full swing.

Presented virtually Feb. 3 by previous Globe winners, including Taraji P. Henson and Sarah Jessica Parker, the film and television nominees for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 78th annual show reflected an industry undergoing a sea change; Netflix claimed more recognition than ever before with a whopping 42 nods, while other distributors of streaming content edged out traditional networks and studios. 

The motion picture drama category includes Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Father,” Netflix’s “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Searchlight Pictures’ “Nomadland,” and Focus Features’ “Promising Young Woman.” In the musical or comedy film race, Amazon Studios’ “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” Disney+’s “Hamilton,” Hulu’s “Palm Springs,” Vertical Entertainment’s “Music,” and Netflix’s “The Prom” are in the running.

The film director category includes a majority of female nominees, a historic first for the Globes: Regina King for “One Night in Miami,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman,” and Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland” join David Fincher for “Mank” and Aaron Sorkin for “Chicago 7” in contention. Barbra Streisand, for 1983’s “Yentl,” is the only woman who has ever taken home the prize.

Following controversy in the wake of the HFPA’s foreign language category designation of A24’s American drama “Minari,” from writer-director Lee Isaac Chung, the film was nominated alongside Denmark’s “Another Round” (Samuel Goldwyn Films), Guatemala’s “La Llorona” (Shudder), and Italy’s “The Life Ahead” (Netflix) and “Two of Us” (Magnolia Pictures). “The Croods: A New Age” (Universal Pictures), “Onward” and “Soul” (Walt Disney Pictures), “Over the Moon” (Netflix), and “Wolfwalkers” (Cartoon Saloon) will compete for animated motion picture.

In the TV categories, a mix of well-known contenders and up-and-coming talent alike earned the HFPA’s attention. Netflix’s “Emily in Paris,” HBOMax’s “The Flight Attendant,” Hulu’s “The Great,” PopTV’s “Schitt’s Creek,” and AppleTV+’s “Ted Lasso” will compete for best comedy series, while Netflix’s “The Crown,” “Ozark,” and “Ratched,” HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” and Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” are in contention for best drama. Hulu’s “Normal People,” Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Unorthodox” HBO’s “The Undoing,” and Amazon Prime Video’s anthology of films “Small Axe” are nominated for this year’s outstanding limited series.

Among the actors honored were 2020 Emmy Award winners Mark Ruffalo for “I Know This Much Is True,” Julia Garner of “Ozark,” and Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy, and Eugene and Dan Levy of “Schitt’s Creek.” Achieving recognition in more than one category were rising star Anya Taylor-Joy of Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” and Focus Features’ “Emma,” Olivia Colman for “The Father” and “The Crown” (the latter of which earned her a Globe trophy just last year), and Sacha Baron Cohen, as supporting actor in “Chicago 7” and as producer-star of “Borat” (he has claimed the lead actor in a comedy or musical film prize once before, for the first “Borat” movie).

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s glamorous Globes ceremony, hosted by returning pair Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will be held Feb. 28, 2021, broadcast live from The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles and airing live on NBC. Previously announced were this year’s recipients of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for film career achievement, Jane Fonda, and the Carol Burnett Award for TV career achievement, Norman Lear.

For a full list of Golden Globe nominees, click here.