The nominations for the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced Wednesday, revealing a list of several expected movies, TV shows and actors and actresses who will be competing for statues at the ceremony on Feb. 28. But there were also a few twists in terms of who snuck into the bunch, and who didn’t get a nod from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Click through TheWrap’s gallery to see the list of snubs and surprises in the 2021 Golden Globe nominees.
Surprise: Jared Leto, “The Little Things” — No one had pegged this as an awards movie, let alone for Jared Leto over his co-stars Denzel Washington or Rami Malek. It was the only nomination for the film that just dropped on HBO Max over the weekend.
Snub: “Da 5 Bloods” — It’s just as relevant to our tumultuous times as “Trial of the Chicago 7” or “Nomadland” and came out at the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests, but Spike Lee’s latest joint wasn’t embraced like “BlacKkKlansman” and was shut out of the Globes; even for Delroy Lindo, who got Best Actor buzz for his performace as a MAGA Vietnam vet and for Chadwick Boseman, who will be honored posthumously through “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” instead. Spike Lee’s kids however will be present as the Golden Globe ambassadors this year.
Surprise: Writer-director Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” — Perhaps champions of this provocative thriller aren’t surprised it has now stepped forward in the awards race, but it wasn’t a guarantee that the HFPA would embrace a film so relentless in confronting a topic that Hollywood and society in general has swept under the rug for so long. But now that it has, Fennell, along with long-standing front-runners Chloé Zhao and Regina King, have made the Best Director category a female-majority field for the first time in Globes history.
Snub: “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” for Best Drama — Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman both earned expected nominations for their acclaimed performances in Netflix’s August Wilson adaptation, but the film found itself on the outside looking in for the top category as “The Father” and “Promising Young Woman” were picked instead.
Surprise: “Music” for Best Comedy/Musical — Sia’s musical about a recovered drug dealer and her autistic half-sister got tepid reviews from critics, but the HFPA has been known for embracing stories the critics don’t. “Music” is the beneficiary of this trend, beating out more acclaimed comedies like “On the Rocks.”
Snub: Sophia Loren, “The Life Ahead” — The actress has been mostly retired from film for years but is still a legend, and “The Life Ahead” was her best chance to get her back on the awards stage for one final hurrah. Her film though did land nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Song.
Surprise: Tahar Rahim, “The Mauritanian” — The actor has been a sleeper contender in the awards race for his complex and torturous turn as a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay in “The Mauritanian.” This is a much deserved surprise.
Snub: Zendaya, “Malcolm & Marie” — The actress will have her time again soon, but she got overlooked for her work in “Malcolm & Marie” in a crowded Lead Actress field despite shooting the film while under quarantine during the pandemic.
Surprise: Rosamund Pike, “I Care a Lot” — The actress scored a nomination for “I Care a Lot,” which earned her raves out of the Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up by Netflix. Fortunately, the film will drop on Netflix later this month, sneaking it in for awards eligibility.
Snub: “I May Destroy You” — Michaela Coel’s sexual assault drama “I May Destroy You” received rapturous reviews upon its release on HBO, but the series missed out on both the competitive limited series category and lead actress, where Coel was squeezed out by the likes of Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and “The Queen’s Gambit” star Anya Taylor-Joy.
Surprise: “Ratched” — Netflix dominated the drama series category, claiming three of the five slots with “The Crown,” “Ozark” and, most surprisingly, Ryan Murphy’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” prequel series “Ratched.” The stylish thriller also pulled in two other unexpected nominations, for lead actress Sarah Paulson and supporting actress Cynthia Nixon.
Snub: “Bridgerton” — Shonda Rhimes’ long-awaited first Netflix series, was an instant hit upon its release late last year, but the period drama received no love from the HFPA for its first season, getting squeezed out of the drama series categories by perennial favorites “The Crown” and “Ozark.”
Surprise: “Hamilton” — First off, no, the live-filming of “Hamilton” will not be eligible for any Oscars, but the Globes have no trouble throwing awards at it. Perhaps surprising is that Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated in the Best Actor category and Leslie Odom Jr. in the Supporting category, whereas for the Tony Awards when “Hamilton” was riding high, Odom won in the Lead Actor category over Miranda.
Snub: “The Boys” — Eric Kripke’s raunchy superhero series received rave reviews for its second season among critics and fans alike, which experts thought might lead to a nod for the Amazon show in the drama category and possibly one for Homelander actor Antony Starr, too. But the genre series was shutout of this year’s noms.
Surprise: “Emily in Paris” — This frothy Netflix comedy, which was one of the COVID-era’s most popular series, wasn’t expected to make much of a splash at the Golden Globes, but the series scored two nominations, one for comedy series and another for star Lily Collins.
Snub: “What We Do in the Shadows” — The vampire comedy was one of the biggest surprises from last year’s Emmy nominations, scoring a comedy series nod for its second season. The FX vampire mockumentary had no repeat luck with the HFPA, unfortunately, going without a single nomination.
Snub: “Insecure” — Issa Rae’s HBO comedy “Insecure” should have been a shoe-in for a nod from the HFPA for its fourth season, but for some reason it and its lead actress got no love.
Snub: Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors for “Lovecraft Country” — While HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” got a well-deserved nomination for best drama series, lead actors Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett, who dazzled audiences as Atticus and Leti in Season 1 of the sci-fi series, didn’t get their due.
Snub: “Mrs. America” — “Mrs. America” was praised by critics when it aired last year on FX on Hulu, but only star Cate Blanchett got a Golden Globes nomination for her work on the limited series, with the show and supporting actress Uzo Aduba being left empty handed.
Surprise: “Hillbilly Elegy” — This Netflix film got some of the worst reviews of either Ron Howard or Glenn Close’s careers, but Close still got a nomination for her salt-of-the-Earth performance in the Netflix film.