Golden Globe TV Winners That Could Shock the $#@! Out of You

See who's most likely to win, and the dark-horse surprises!

By Kristin Dos Santos Jan 09, 2015 3:00 PMTags
Matthew McConaughey, Uzo Aduba, Kevin Spacey, Ruth Wilson, Gina RodriguezHBO, Netflix, Showtime, The CW

The Golden Globes are almost here!

And this year, that exclamation mark is earned in the TV categories, thankyouverymuch, given that there are so many exciting first-time nominees who could actually shock the pants off of everyone and....wait for it...WIN.

Why would this be so shocking? Because you have newcomers like Gina Rodriguez up against the likes of Edie Falco and Julia-Louis Dreyfus and, SPOILER ALERT, the CW star is totally going to win!

Oh, and how about the likes of The Affair blowing House of Cards out of the water? Could happen!

Here's a look at all the TV races, and who is most likely to take home a statue, plus the dark horses that could have everyone talking...

Steven Lippman/SHOWTIME

TV DRAMA

Last Year's Winner: Breaking Bad

This Year's Nominees: House of Cards, The Affair, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Downton Abbey

Most Likely Winner: House of Cards. The Kevin Spacey-led Netflix series still has unbeatable cool factor, as the reigning OMG drama of 2014.

Winner That Could the $#@! Out of You: The Affair. Two foreigners as the leads? And they are also both nominated individually? Done and done, right, Hollywood Foreign Press? The only down side to the genius premise of this just-out-of-the-gate Showtime series is that  finale left more than a few fans frustrated with the lack of answers. Also, a lot of  people don't really even know what The Affair is yet (FOR. SHAME.) Hence the reason it would be so shocking. And amazing.

Mark Schafer/SHOWTIME

ACTOR IN A TV DRAMA

Last Year's Winner: Bryan Cranston

This Year's Nominees: Clive Owen, Dominic West, Kevin Spacey, Liev Schreiber, James Spader

Most Likely Winner: Kevin Spacey. Was anyone more simultaneously terrifying and commanding than Frank Underwood, in his ruthless pursuit of the presidency? Chances are the HFPA voters will bow down.

Winner That Could Shock You: Dominic West. He's Irish, he's got cred having come from The Wire (considered by many the most underrated show of all time), and he plays TWO versions of his character on The Affair—one from his own memory, and one from his mistress's. As much as I could not stand the ever-awful, philandering, lying and cheating guts of Noah, I kinda hope West wins. The nuances in the character differences alone make him worthy.

Showtime

DRAMA ACTRESS

 Last year's Winner: Robin Wright

This Year's Nominees: Claire Danes, Robin Wright, Viola Davis, Julianna Margulies, Ruth Wilson

Most Likely Winner: Viola Davis. Can anyone deny that she owned the screen this year in her jaw-dropping role as Annalise Keating on How to Get Away With Murder? Nope, didn't think so.

Winner That Could Shock You: Ruth Wilson, The Affair. Flawless. There's no other way to describe her heartbreaking, gut-punching performance as Alison, the grieving mother-turned-philanderer. Affair fans know no one did it better this season. No one. And we are saying this about a woman who cheated on Pacey from Dawson's Creek. She's THAT good. Wilson was nominated once before in 2006 for Jane Eyre. I'll die a thousand happy deaths if she wins it this year.

Amazon Studios

COMEDY SERIES

Last Year's Winner: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (not in the running this year—sad trombone)

This Year's Nominees: Girls, Silicon Valley, Orange Is the New Black, Transparent, Jane the Virgin

Most Likely Winner: Orange Is the New Black. Season two just wasn't as good as season one (#Sorrynotsorry!), but Globes voters have to make up for the blaring omission in 2014, when they didn't even nominate the biggest buzz show of the year at all. So. Not. Cool.

Winner That Could Shock You: Transparent, which put Amazon on the map and which featured the best comedy actor performance of the year with Jeffrey Tambor. No disputing that.

Netflix

COMEDY ACTOR

Last Year's Winner: Andy Samberg

This Year's Nominees: Ricky Gervais, Louis C.K., Jeffrey Tambor, William H. Macy

Most Likely Winner: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent. He just plain nailed it as TV's first transgender, divorced, Jewish father-turned-mother of three. Fun fact: Tambor has been nominated six times for an Emmy but never won—something they made fun of on Arrested Development by calling him a "regular Brad Garrett" (Brad beat Jeffrey in his last attempt in 2005). Surprisingly, this is Tambor's first Globe nomination, he was never nominated before for Arrested Development.

Winner That Could Shock You: Ricky Gervais for Derek.

Netfllix

COMEDY ACTRESS

Last Year's Winner: Amy Poehler

This Year's Nominees: Gina Rodriguez, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Taylor Schilling, Lena Dunham, Edie Falco

The Most Likely Winner: Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin. Not only did she score the CW network's first-ever Golden Globe nominations (two of ‘em!) she has worked some serious hoodoo-voodoo magic over the press, stunning reporters with her smart, inspirational and grounded take on Hollywood, Latinas in Hollywood, and how sincerely blessed—and powerful—she feels to be experiencing the success of this role. This could be the Globes' most tear-jerking moment, if she truly wins. I cannot wait to hear her acceptance speech!

Winner That Could Shock You: Taylor Schilling. She's the dark horse here, and it would be shocking because she has never won a Golden Globe or Emmy for her work on Orange Is the New Black.

Chris Large/FX, Lacey Terrell/HBO

TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

This Year's Nominees: Fargo, True Detective, Olive Kitteridge, The Missing, The Normal Heart

Most Likely Winner: Dead heat between Fargo and True Detective. Hold a gun to my head and….uggggggggghhhhhh, it hurts, but I'll have to go with True Detective, since we are talking Hollywood Foreign Press here and some international types might find Fargo too inside-baseball American. Still, I'm pulling for Fargo!

Winner That Could Shock You: Dead heat between Fargo and True Detective. Dead. Heat. Dead.

PHOTOS: 15 shows that are way up or way down in the ratings

HBO

ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

 This Year' Nominees: Matthew MccConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Mark Ruffalo

Matthew McConaughey. The McConaissance is not over! Brace yourself for the "Alright, alright, alright" references all over again.

Winner That Could Shock You: Mark Ruffalo who was incredible in The Normal Heart. 

Chris Large/FX

ACTRESS IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

This Year's Nominees: Frances McDormand, Francess O'Connor, Allison Tolman, Jessica Lange, Maggie Gyllenhall

Most Likely Winner: Frances McDormand. I want it so badly to be Allison Tolman, who beat out hundreds of actresses and some huge A-listers for her breakout role on Fargo, but ironically it will probably go to the original female star of the Fargo movie--Frances McDormand, who slayed everyone with her performance in the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge

Winner That Could Shock You: Maybe Allison Tolman will somehow pull it off? She's beat worse odds before!

MORE: Details on Fargo's second season

Showtime

SUPPORTING ACTOR

This year's nominees: Bill Murray, Matt Bomer, Colin Hanks, Jon Voight, Alan Cumming

Most Likely Winner: Matt Bomer, who lost 40 pounds for his role in The Normal Heart, playing a closeted gay man with AIDS in the 80's. It was considered one of the biggest shocks of the 2014 Emmys that he didn't win. Time to rectify!

Winner That Could Shock You: Jon Voight. Though, let's be honest. Not really a shock but more of a dark horse this time around.  He won last year.

Michele K. Short/FX

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

This Year's Nominees: Kathy Bates, Uzo Aduba, Joanne Froggat, Allison Janney, Michelle Monaghan

Most Likely Winner: Uzo "Crazy Eyes" Aduba from Orange Is the New Black is a LOCK.

Winner That Could Shock You:  Kathy Bates was phenomenal on American Horror Story: Coven. Maybe she's still got some voodoo magic in her?

E!'s Golden Globes coverage starts on Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT with Countdown to the Red Carpet, followed by Live From the Red Carpet at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT. E! Online's Livestream of the Red Carpet—hosted by Will Marfuggi and Kristin Dos Santos (that's me!) starts at 5:55 p.m. ET / 2:55 p.m. PT.