2016 Golden Globe nominations in comedy (and music)

Two things to keep in mind whenever we discuss the Golden Globes.

One: The Globes love to call first dibs on TV series and the performers in them, laying claim to star-making to the point of routinely snubbing those same series and performers in their second seasons (also see: the ceremony’s annual Miss Golden Globe tradition, now including Misters, to glorify nepotism and the children of movie stars). Two: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association loves who they love, or rather which stars love them back, sometimes elevating foreign-born actors and actresses or the biggest stars who partake in their film and TV junkets. Certainly all performing arts awards showcase a peculiar bias of one sort or the other, but the HFPA and their Globes remain the least subtle about it.

That said.

We’re in peak TV boom territory, so there were plenty of great performances to recognize, and wow, did the HFPA go out of its way to honor the streaming platforms of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu — bestowing them with nominations in all the key categories. Move over, broadcast. You too, cable?!

Oh, and that whole having separate categories for TV series comedy and drama and movie/miniseries and then jamming all of the supporting actors and actresses together into one batch of five? Still not cool, Globes.

What is cool? Seeing newcomer Rachel Bloom, who sings in every episode of her broadcast network comedy, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, finally giving the Globes a good reason for putting comedy and music together. Congrats!

Kudos to all of the comedy nominees.

You can go here for all of the 2016 Golden Globe nominees, and watch NBC on Jan. 10, 2016, to find out who wins, hosted by Ricky Gervais.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • THE BIG SHORT
    Paramount Pictures / Regency Enterprises; Paramount Pictures
  • JOY
    Fox 2000 Pictures; Twentieth Century Fox
  • THE MARTIAN
    Twentieth Century Fox; Twentieth Century Fox
  • SPY
    Twentieth Century Fox; Twentieth Century Fox
  • TRAINWRECK
    Universal Pictures / Apatow Productions; Universal Pictures

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • JENNIFER LAWRENCE, JOY
  • MELISSA MCCARTHY, SPY
  • AMY SCHUMER, TRAINWRECK
  • MAGGIE SMITH, THE LADY IN THE VAN
  • LILY TOMLIN, GRANDMA

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • CHRISTIAN BALE, THE BIG SHORT
  • STEVE CARELL, THE BIG SHORT
  • MATT DAMON, THE MARTIAN
  • AL PACINO, DANNY COLLINS
  • MARK RUFFALO, INFINITELY POLAR BEAR

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED

  • ANOMALISA
    Starburns Industries; Paramount Pictures
  • THE GOOD DINOSAUR
    Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
  • INSIDE OUT
    Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
  • THE PEANUTS MOVIE
    Blue Sky Studios; Twentieth Century Fox
  • SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE
    Aardman; Lionsgate / Studiocanal

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • CASUAL (HULU)
    Lionsgate TV/Right of Way
  • MOZART IN THE JUNGLE (AMAZON VIDEO)
    Amazon Studios
  • ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
    Lionsgate Television for Netflix
  • SILICON VALLEY (HBO)
    HBO Entertainment in association with Judgemental Films, Alec Berg, Altschuler Krinsky Works, and 3 Arts Entertainment
  • TRANSPARENT (AMAZON VIDEO)
    Amazon Studios
  • VEEP (HBO)
    HBO Entertainment in association with Dundee Productions

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • RACHEL BLOOM, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
  • JAMIE LEE CURTIS, SCREAM QUEENS
  • JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, VEEP
  • GINA RODRIGUEZ, JANE THE VIRGIN
  • LILY TOMLIN , GRACE AND FRANKIE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • AZIZ ANSARI, MASTER OF NONE
  • GAEL GARCÍA BERNAL, MOZART IN THE JUNGLE
  • ROB LOWE, THE GRINDER
  • PATRICK STEWART, BLUNT TALK
  • JEFFREY TAMBOR, TRANSPARENT

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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