The Critics Choice Award nominations were announced today. Somehow I thought they were mid-week, but I’ll take them now. I wonder if they wanted to get a jump on the Golden Globes, which are getting announced tomorrow. BFCA is usually the first to announce winners and always sort of sets the pace for everything else, even if the others feel slightly more important, results-wise. Either way, I’m happy to see them.
This is our first step to Oscar season. After tomorrow, we’re gonna basically have half the puzzle. After tomorrow, we’re just waiting on each of the individual guilds (which includes SAG and PGA) and BAFTA. But, today we’ve got the critics, so let’s see what they nominated.
Here are your 2019 Critics Choice nominees:
Best Picture
1917
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Uncut Gems
Oh, wow. That’s… that look a lot like my list of favorite films from this year. Haven’t seen Little Women, Uncut Gems or 1917 (but have very high hopes for all of them), not as crazy about Joker as others are and was not a huge fan of Marriage Story. But the rest… shit. I’m very happy with this list. Here’s hoping most of this makes the actual Best Picture list. I’m curious to see what in the hell they go for in the end. It feels like a wide open year. Are they just gonna go with Marty all the way through? Can Sam Mendes sneak in? Little Women shouldn’t have enough to push through. Parasite’s got a huge uphill climb. Once Upon a Time could be a real interesting choice for them, so we’ll see how that starts doing. Ford v Ferrari feels like a 6-8 nominee film that walks away with a technical or two but that’s it. Jojo feels like 4-5 nominations at best and no wins. Marriage Story is too much of a film people won’t like to really go anywhere. And I doubt they’re gonna all get behind Joker past maybe a nomination or two. So yeah, I’m thinking Marty or Quentin. Which… wow. Can’t believe I’m saying that after my first glance at all this.
Best Director
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Josh & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
You think you guys nominated enough directors? That’s why it’s hard to take them so seriously as a precursor, given the wide fields in all these categories. You can make a case or or against anyone from all this. Though I know some of these people won’t hit the others, so it’ll be easier to whittle down.
This is most of the Best Picture list. They didn’t add other people, so I’m not overly surprised. Who’d they leave off? Todd Phillips. Makes sense. Taika Waititi, absolutely. And James Mangold. Which is interesting. They put Baumbach and Gerwig over him. The Globes are gonna be all over the both of them. Being able to have a couple there together and nominated? They’re salivating over that shit.
But yeah, it’s too big a category to really assume anything. Mendes has the big (from the looks of it) enough effort that could win in a split year, but I assume whatever’s gonna win Picture will win here. Again, Marty or Quentin looks like a good bet, unless they decide they’re going all in on Parasite, which is totally possible.
(And, unless they’ve changed the rules, I’m assuming it’ll be barely a presence at the Globes, like Roma last year.)
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Robert De Niro, The Irishman
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
This seems… empty. I like all the actors a lot, but it feels like there has to be more people that are in contention than this. But maybe not. Is this really gonna be a year with all the Marty/Quentin stuff everywhere?
I doubt Eddie gets anywhere in serious voting. He’ll get the Globe nomination in Musical/Comedy and that should be it. Banderas is that extra nominee that’ll only appear here and nowhere else. There’s always one of those. (Globes nominating him too would be a big step forward.)
Joaquin looks like the biggest sure thing so far. Not sure about De Niro just yet. Wanna see SAG and BAFTA first before I know about that. Sandler seems to have an inside track, but I also wanna see the performance land and see how the other groups go with it before I know for sure. Leo makes sense. I’m really curious to see how that entire movie lands with the Academy. Driver seems like a good bet based on the material and all that, but I’m not gonna proclaim him on when he gets nominated tomorrow. I wanna see more to know for sure.
But doesn’t it feel like there’s someone else that’s gonna show up on the other lists that just didn’t get on here (that’s not Bale and Damon, who could easily get on elsewhere)? Or is this just that insular a year?
There’s a lot that can change in the next month, but I’m assuming either Joaquin or Driver wins this. They could go out of left field, but I’m guessing that’s the most likely situation with them.
Best Actress
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Lupita Nyong’o, Us
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Yeah, I was half expecting this one. I didn’t notice a lot of contenders so I wondered if they’d fall back on the ‘paper’ choices. I suspect Erivo won’t get on anywhere except here and maybe the Globes. And if somehow she gets on SAG, I’ll still say she probably won’t be nominated because that movie was not great.
Zellweger seems like that boring lock all the way through. Can’t see her winning, but I can see her coasting to a nomination in a weak year. People will nominate it because it makes sense.
Johansson seems like a lock too, just because in these type of two-handers (think Blue Valentine), the woman is always more likely to get on than the man. Mostly because there are always an abundance of male performances to pick from and there’s always a shortage of female ones (because they don’t fucking write them!).
Saiorse, I wanna see the film and how the other precursors do before I make any judgments there, but anytime Saoirse is in contention, I’m happy. Plus, Winona got nominated for the same role 25 years ago, so there’s precedent there.
Charlize makes total sense. She might get on all the precursors, but I’m not sure if a nomination is happening. But we’ll see. Gotta see that one first before I make any judgments.
I wanna see what happens with Lupita. I love her, and the year is weak enough where she could slip through. Or she could hit the more populist lists and get left off in the end. So we’ll see.
And Awkwafina — I’m actually really happy about that nomination. That’s a very welcome performance since it’s one I’d wholeheartedly support for a nomination. She might actually be my preference in this category at the moment, even though I know it’ll never happen.
My guess is that most, if not, all of these people will get on the Globes list tomorrow. Zellweger and Ronan will probably end up in Musical/Comedy, Scarlett for sure will go Drama (I wanna see what both these places do with her in Jojo, which we’ll find out in a minute), Lupita seems like she’ll end up in Drama, but could be left off. Awkwafina… will they put her in Comedy? Probably. And then Erivo will probably sneak into Drama too. That makes sense to me.
In terms of who wins here… Scarlett seems like the choice this far out, right? Unless Renée is gonna make a play for it. Saoirse, it would be weird after all her amazing work for them to finally vote for her in a role that’s been done a bunch before. Lupita was to overcome a lot to win this, so I really don’t see that happening. Erivo has no chance. Charlize… I highly doubt it. Right now, this looks like a walk for Scarlett. Unless they rally around a particular performance.
Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Oh, but here you don’t have seven nominees? This category has so much to choose from this year. And you only go six? Okay, sure.
Love seeing Dafoe. Can’t imagine they nominate him on too many lists past this one, but I’m here for it if they wanna go there. That would be three years in a row with him, since he had Florida Project in 2017 and At Eternity’s Gate last year.
Hanks… of course. He’s one of those who seems guaranteed to hit every precursor list (though maybe not BAFTA, since I’m not sure how much they care about Mr. Rogers) but still could be left off in the end (remember Captan Phillips?). So no surprise there, and honestly I’m cool with them even nominating him. He was wonderful in that movie, even if it was kinda like Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela (he started on third base, and while admittedly it was more difficult than you’d think to get it home, he still had a lot of the work cut out for him). Hopkins being on is cool. Haven’t seen the movie, but I’m not sure how much the film or the performances will land for people. So we’ll see if this his any precursors before we consider it as anything other than a veteran nomination in a not-as-important voting body.
Pitt — fuck yes. Honestly would be cool to see him win, though I’m not sure if that’ll happen in the end. Though I feel like he can and possibly will be nominated in the end, which would be amazing. I loved that performance.
And then Pesci and Pacino. I got worried when I saw Pacino and got worried they left off Pesci, who gives by far the best performance in that film. I wanna see Pesci get on the final list. Pacino I can take or leave. That’s basically career nominations for all of them, so I’ll be fine with whoever they choose to nominate even if, when all is said and done, I might not necessarily do so myself (but I’m a long ways away from making those determinations, as should any self-respecting film fan. There’s still almost an entire whole month to go).
But I like all the people on this list, so I’m happy. Skewing a bit older though, aren’t we, guys? But it’s early. I don’t even know where they’re gonna go here, if it’s not Hanks or Pitt. Pesci feels like a vote split victim in the end.
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Real rollercoaster of a category, this one. Let me show you my thoughts as I went through each of these nominees:
Laura Dern: “Of course.” The minute I saw her in Marriage Story I went, “There’s a nomination.” They look for any reason to nominate Laura Dern (remember Wild? She’s barely in that movie and they nominated her), and immediately you knew she had enough to do and it was a showy enough role to get her on. Not gonna be surprised at all if she makes the final list. (Though I was a bigger fan of Alan Alda, personally, not that she was bad.) But that was one of those where you just kind of smile and go, “Of course.”
Scarlett Johansson: “Of course they went with both.” The Globes are gonna go both tomorrow too. Because that’s how this shit works. Populism. I think she’s good in both. Not sure I have a preference for performance as much as I have a preference for film. Either way. It’s a fine nomination.
Jennifer Lopez; “of fucking course.” That’s pure BFCA. And the Globes will do it too. Won’t get nominated by a long shot, but she’s gonna make these lists and get people talking about her chances over the next month.
Florence Pugh: “Oh, shit, really?” Because I love Florence Pugh. I’m happy they put her on and are figuring out how great she is. I haven’t seen the film, so I don’t know what kind of role or performance this is (besides having seen earlier versions of the film, of course), but seeing this here makes me happy.
Margot Robbie: “Sure.” It’s Margot Robbie. A reason to have her at the ceremony. Plus the film is gonna get these sorts of nominations and she’s sort of in that realm of recently nominated, very liked.” Makes total sense. Especially if you’re gonna have six nominees. Doubt this film gets very far in the end, but I haven’t seen it yet, so I have no clue. Gonna reserve judgment until I see it and see how it lands elsewhere.
Zhao Shuzhen: “Fuck yes!” I’m so goddamn happy she got nominated. This might be my favorite supporting performance of the year, and I hope she sweeps her way to an Oscar nomination.
Overall, nice category. This category tends to fluctuate the most in precursor lists, unless there’s a set categry, which there was in 2017. I can’t even remember what last year was at the moment. It doesn’t matter. I’m thinking that either they want to double down on Scarlett here, like Kate Winslet the year they forced the Academy into giving her something, or they go all in on Laura Dern or go off the board with J.Lo. Can’t see Florence winning this (currently), but I’d be thrilled, and I’m not naive enough to think Zhao Shuzhen has a chance (though I would go crazy for that).
Best Young Actor/Actress
Julia Butters, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit
Shahadi Wright Joseph, Us
Archie Yates, Jojo Rabbit
Wow. They tripled down on Jojo. I’d have expected the double down had I considered this category, but nominating the other kid… that’s cool too. The others did a great job. Loved Julia Butters in Once Upon a Time, and Noah Jupe was really good in Honey Boy. And Shahadi Wright Joseph was the daughter? She was good too. So cool. Good for them.
No idea what the criteria is for this category, but Thomasin McKenzie or Noah Jupe probably should win on pure performance.
Best Acting Ensemble
Bombshell
The Irishman
Knives Out
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Big, splashy casts.
And only now do I realize they straight up ignored Knives Out up at the top. Performances probably wouldn’t factor into nominations… though Plummer was really good. Ana de Armas would only be a possibility in a case of character fraud (putting her supporting even though she’s the lead of the film). They better at least nominate it for Screenplay.
But, Irishman, Bombshell, Knives Out, Little Women, Once Upon a Time… lotta famous people there. Makes total sense. Marriage Story is an actor type movie with famous people, though less splashy than the others. So that makes sense. And Parasite is just because they love it. Honestly, I’d have expected The Farewell, but I think they just ran out of room (and it didn’t have enough famous people in it).
I don’t know how they vote for this, so all I can talk about is what I wouldn’t want to see win versus what I would. So we’ll just leave it, since it doesn’t really matter in the end.
Best Original Screenplay
The Farewell
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Shit, I’d be happy with this being the Oscar category. I mean, I have to consider what else could make it and if there are other original scripts I loved that I’d like to see get on. But these are a fine five to have.
I can’t say much for what will or won’t make it without precursors, which we won’t have for a month, but shit, this is a good category for them. Let’s see what happens with Adapted, which is always a tougher category just because of how many of them there usually are.
Best Adapted Screenplay
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes
They hit the relevant films. So sure. Can’t say I’m really surprised about this category. Though Two Popes is an interesting one that probably wouldn’t have been in the front of my mind. But that’s also because I haven’t seen it yet. So yeah, this all seems like standard fare.
Best Editing
1917
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Uncut Gems
Well, for the Oscars, an Editing nomination means it’s a serious contender. I don’t know what it means for them. But the Parasite inclusion is a big first step for that film making any kind of ground for the Oscars.
1917 and Ford v Ferrari should automatically be nominees in the end, war and race car, but I’ve seen them leave that kind of stuff off for major contenders. So we’ll see. Thelma should get a nomination automatically, and I assume Once Upon a time also gets on. So this might be a pretty easy Editing category this year, at first blush.
I doubt Uncut Gems gets the Oscar nomination, but you never know. It’s a good first step. And Parasite… that’s big. So we’ll see where it goes.
Best Cinematography
1917
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Does every category have six nominees now? What’s up with that? More is not always better, guys. Make the tough choices.
1917 is Deakins, of course. Lighthouse is black and white, of course. Once Upon a Time is Quentin and Bob Richardson, of course. Joker I expected. Surprised Rodrigo made it on for Irishman, but sure. And Ford v Ferrari… sweet.
Cool list. I feel like there are gonna be a lot of contenders for this one this year.
Best Score
1917
The Irishman
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Us
I haven’t really gotten into listening to scores yet, so all I’m gonna say is — Randy Newman composed the score for Marriage Story. Which means he scored both a marriage story and a toy story in the same year.
That’s range, kids.
Best Song
“Glasgow (No Place Like Home),” from Wild Rose
“I’m Standing with You,” from Breakthrough
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” from Rocketman
“Into the Unknown,” from Frozen
“Speechless,” from Aladdin
“Spirit,” from The Lion King
“Stand Up,” from Harriet
K. Haven’t really thought about the songs, and since they seem determined to not release the full list of eligibles before giving us that shortlist, I really have no desire to parse through this category. The Wild Rose song has gotten a lot of press and Frozen is Frozen. So either of those should win unless they play the starfucker game that the Globes play.
Best Production Design
1917
Downton Abbey
The Irishman
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
That’s funny. They threw in Downton Abbey to try to spice things up. Otherwise this is all the same stuff that’s nominated everywhere else. That’s another thing people need to realize — a lot will jump to conclusions about the Oscars based on this. But realize… in recent years, they’ve spread the wealth around in terms of nominations. Sure, some films have gotten like 14 or 13, but they tend to be pretty good in terms of not having the same three films nominated in every category. So this list should be an anomaly, but it’s early, I’ve got no idea. I’m barely considering any of this stuff because it’s so early.
Personally, I’d go with either Parasite or Once Upon a Time, but I’ve yet to see Little Women or 1917, so maybe one of those will strike my fancy. But for now, sure. This list is fine.
Best Costume Design
Dolemite Is My Name
Downton Abbey
The Irishman
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman
Sure. Dolemite is an interesting inclusion, since they left it off everywhere else. Otherwise Rocketman and Little Women and Downton make total sense. Irishman, sure. This is all guild-dependent stuff, so nothing here really strikes me as out of left field at the moment.
Best Hair and Makeup
Bombshell
Dolemite Is My Name
The Irishman
Joker
Judy
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Rocketman
This is all gonna be shortlist dependent. So none of this means anything at the moment. They basically just threw everything on there.
Best Visual Effects
1917
Ad Astra
The Aeronauts
Avengers: Endgame
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
The Lion King
Oh wow. That’s like, every preferred choice I’d have had. I’m very happy with this list. The only sad part is that two of them can’t be nominated at the Oscars. I suspect Ad Astra and Aeronauts are the two likely eventual castoffs, but I’m also sure that at least one of the others won’t even get close. If anything it makes me happy about all of these films possibly making a shortlist. This might be my favorite category so far. Which is something I’ve never said about the Visual Effects category at any awards show.
Best Animated Feature
Abominable
Frozen II
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Yeah, that about makes sense. Surprised to see I Lost My Body over Weathering with You. Wonder if that’s a Netflix making it available thing, but who knows. It’s early. We’ve got the four we expect, plus two extras. Abominable was always gonna be in that top seven and it was always gonna get on here, especially given six choices. Throw on Weathering with You and there’s your field for Animated Feature. We know what the game is. We’ll see what the Globes and then BAFTA do with it. If you keep seeing I Lost My Body, that might be your final nominee, which will be real interesting. Not considering this a big strike against Weathering with You, though if it doesn’t start making precursors, I’m not gonna magically start saying it’s gonna be nominated. It’s not bad yet, but it will be if we’re talking multiples.
Best Foreign Language Film
Atlantics
Les Misérables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
They’re the most mainstream group, so I’m not at all surprised to see the five most well-known choices here. Atlantics is the one that I knew I’d heard a lot about, but to see it here basically tells me that it’s gonna get shortlisted and probably nominated. There’s always one that no one ever watches that never has a chance at winning (because we all know, if Parasite gets on, it’s winning) that makes every list and gets nominated. That seems like this year’s version of that film.
All in all, probably the best possible version of this category, though I’ve only seen one of the films at the moment (and will see two more in the next few weeks, though I’m not sure if I’m gonna get Les Mis or Portrait in before January starts). But they’re not as hindered as the Academy is in terms of one film per country (which I like as a fairness rule, but also excludes Portrait, since Les Mis was France’s submission), so of course this is gonna seem better at first glance.
Though I’m all for the keeping of the Foreign Language Film name. Why play bullshit semantics? We know what it is. It’s like when a team fires all the assistant coaches and pretends like things are gonna be different. Motherfucker, we know what the problem is. You’re just buying a bit more time before you deal with it.
Best Action Movie
1917
Avengers: Endgame
Ford v Ferrari
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Spider-Man: Far From Home
I thought they got rid of these categories because they were redundant.
Oh, I see, they kept the films one but eliminated the performance ones. That makes sense. Still, having categories like this both allows them to get stuff like Spider-Man and Avengers in but also allows them to leave stuff out of the bigger categories and put them here, while also allows some of the ‘bigger’ stuff to take spots away from other fun stuff that would never get in those categories. It’s a weird issue. They should allow some flexibility here. Like, say, 1917 got the most votes. BUT, there’s a trigger that kicks in when it makes the Best Picture list that takes it off here. So that way whatever was #6 in votes in this category gets on instead. I feel like it would just make things more entertaining for everyone.
Also, isn’t it interesting that there’s no Star Wars whatsoever in any of this? Guessing they wouldn’t show it to them, which is probably for the best. They’re not in it for bullshit awards. They want the money.
Best Comedy
Booksmart
Dolemite Is My Name
The Farewell
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Knives Out is not a comedy. It’s funny, but it’s not a comedy. The Farewell is barely a comedy, but I guess I can live with it since at least it got on somewhere. Jojo is both, but it’s a comedy at heart with drama in it. Booksmart is a straight comedy and Dolemite is a comedy too. But man, Knives Out a comedy? Really, guys?
Best Sci-Fi or Horror Movie
Ad Astra
Avengers: Endgame
Midsommar
Us
You mean to tell me there wasn’t a fifth sci-fi or horror movie this entire year?
– – – – – – – – – –
Okay, so those are the categories I care about. Let’s see what TV has to offer, because I’m feeling jaunty.
Best Drama Series
The Crown
David Makes Man
Game of Thrones
The Good Fight
Pose
Succession
Watchmen
So what’s interesting about this category is, had they just given me the names, I’d have said, “What the fuck is David Makes Man”? Which I imagine most of you are also doing. However, I saw these nominees on Deadline, and what Deadline did (which I’m suspecting the press release also did) is say what network all the nominees were on.
And I gotta tell you — really gave the game away, guys. This is like when you see a ‘friend group’ in a movie or commercial that has one of every race, color, gender, orientation, etc. Sometimes they just make it really obvious. And it’s not that I’m against them putting all the different services and networks on here… just maybe don’t make it so obvious that you rigged this vote, guys. There is no fucking way that some of these would ever get on a normal list. They clearly made sure something from everything made it on.
The Crown is Netflix. So sure. The Crown always gets on, it’s the… crown jewel of the Netflix shows at the moment. It makes total sense to me. But, that’s a Netflix spot. It’s like what people are saying (sorry for the sports metaphors, guys, but I’m currently watching sports as I type this and it’s on the brain) about the College Football playoffs. To get more conferences in, put all the conference champions in, even if they’re not better than some other teams that weren’t in the conference championships. Feels like a way to increase diversity. Like they said, “Okay, put a streamer in there, put a basic cable in there, put a network show on there, put a pay cable on there, and then we have three open spots for at-large bids.” Seriously guys, it’s fucking obvious.
David Makes Man is OWN. That’s what tipped me to it. Ain’t nobody know what shows are on Oprah’s channel. I know some people have seen this show and love this show. There is no way in hell you are telling me that enough voters en masse took that show over: Euphoria, Big Little Lies, Killing Eve, The Kingdom — and these are all off the top of my head. And I don’t even WATCH TV. I don’t mind if this got on naturally. But there’s no chance in hell this got on naturally, especially when you consider the usual bullshit I see on these lists, like…
The Good Fight. Nobody watches CBS All Access. Nobody watches that damn show. So either people are voting for this blindly or they’re doing it to fit some sort of quota. It’s the only way to explain how This Is Us keeps getting on. Because it’s the one network show they’d nominate. So they just keep doing it. Otherwise, if it were truly an open vote, there’d be no network shows on, because network shows aren’t good anymore in the day of cable and streaming.
And this isn’t meant to get people shouting at me that THEY watch this show and that it’s great. It’s not about these shows and you know it’s not about these shows. We all know what the game is and all I’m saying is — come on, guys. If you’re gonna do it, don’t be so obvious about it.
Game of Thrones… makes sense. Succession… totally makes sense. Watchmen… makes sense. Pose… less sense, but I get it. They love these Ryan Murphy shows, so I can see that being a thing for them.
But man, you guys really gave up the game on this one.
Best Comedy Series
Barry
Fleabag
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Mom
One Day at a Time
PEN15
Schitt’s Creek
See what I’m saying… what’s Mom doing here? Come on, buddy. We see what’s going on.
Otherwise, Barry, Fleabag, Maisel, get it. PEN15 I hear is funny. Schitt’s Creek I’ve been hearing about for years. No idea what One Day at a Time is, but wasn’t that cancelled? Or did someone else pick it up?
Doesn’t really matter, does it. I’m never gonna watch it.
This is why I have no interest in these TV categories. Shit’s rigged to get more stuff on.
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Mike Colter, Evil
Paul Giamatti, Billions
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor
Tobias Menzies, The Crown
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
K.
All this did was remind me that Waves got shut out by this group.
They’re gonna shut that one out entirely at every show, aren’t they?
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Christine Baranski, The Good Fight
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Regina King, Watchmen
MJ Rodriguez, Pose
Sarah Snook, Succession
Zendaya, Euphoria
I’ve at least heard of these shows. Interesting that Kidman only gets on here and that this is the only Big Little Lies nomination so far. I suspect they’re gonna go with Colman or Kidman, right? Maybe Comer, but that feels like a longshot, and maybe King, if they wanna go trendy. I’ve got no fucking clue, let’s be honest.
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Asante Blackk, This Is Us
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Asia Kate Dillon, Billions
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Justin Hartley, This Is Us
Delroy Lindo, The Good Fight
Tim Blake Nelson, Watchmen
Wow, that’s historical. Asia Kate Dillon is the first non-binary actor I’ve seen get nominated in one of these things. Oh, apparently they got nominated last year, too. Which is cool. But I’m not sure how BFCA made that designation between Supporting Astor or Actress in the determination since Dillon is non-binary. I’m sure they had their methods. But the nomination is what matters here more than the designation.
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Gwendoline Christie, Game of Thrones
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Audra McDonald, The Good Fight
Jean Smart, Watchmen
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Susan Kelechi Watson, This Is Us
Do they just rotate which Game of Thrones people get the supporting nominations in the female category?
There’s Laura Dern again. Because any excuse to nominate her, they will take. And Meryl. Same for Meryl.
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Walton Goggins, The Unicorn
Bill Hader, Barry
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Paul Rudd, Living with Yourself
Bashir Salahuddin, Sherman’s Showcase
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Legit haven’t heard of at least two of these shows. I’m vaguely aware of a Paul Rudd twins show and I happened to see an ad for The Unicorn, which is the only reason I know what that is. But those bottom two — no fucking clue what they are, and no real desire to ever find out. Keep it, TV people. Enjoy it all.
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Alison Brie, GLOW
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kirsten Dunst, On Becoming a God in Central Florida
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Solid category. No idea what Dead to Me is, but TV people love Applegate. Brosnahan, Louis-Dreyfus and Waller-Bridge are staples on this go-round of shows and O’Hara’s supposed to be great on that show. So cool. Dunst I love and that show sounded like it was a good showcase for her. And Brie… sure.
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Anthony Carrigan, Barry
William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Nico Santos, Superstore
Andrew Scott, Fleabag
Henry Winkler, Barry
I’m basically running out of things to say. This isn’t as bad as the Grammy’s are for me. At least I’m aware of the people and generally aware of the shows they’re on. The Grammy’s is just like, “What the fuck is this shit? Am I on Mars?”
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Sian Clifford, Fleabag
Betty Gilpin, GLOW
Rita Moreno, One Day at a Time
Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek
Molly Shannon, The Other Two
Yup. More of that stuff. I think we’re almost done here, right? I feel like now I’m just vamping for time and hoping to run out of categories.
Best Limited Series
Catch-22
Chernobyl
Fosse/Verdon
The Loudest Voice
Unbelievable
When They See Us
Years and Years
Saw Fosse/Verdon. Rooting for that. Chernobyl’s supposed to be good. Catch-22 sounds up my alley, given the people involved. No idea what the rest of it is, though I am aware of When They See Us.
Best TV Movie
Brexit
Deadwood: The Movie
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Guava Island
Native Son
Patsy & Loretta
So where’s the line of demarcation on what’s a Netflix feature and what’s a TV movie? If it’s based on a TV show? Because El Camino is a Netflix movie the same as The Irishman is, as far as I can tell.
I did like that, though, and I liked Native Son, though less so. Deadwood, I’d need to have watched the show before I bothered with the movie (since that actually is a TV movie, unlike El Camino, which felt like self-designation to me). Guava Island I didn’t particularly like. Patsy & Loretta I can gauge what it’s about, though no clue who put it out or who’s even in it. Though my guess is I will soon find out. And Brexit… I think that’s Cumberbatch? Don’t really care. Never gonna watch it.
Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Christopher Abbott, Catch-22
Mahershala Ali, True Detective
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Jared Harris, Chernobyl
Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us
Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
Noah Wyle, The Red Line
Noah Wyle. What?
Oh, but also, Crowe as Ailes, Ali in True Detective, Rockwell as Fosse, Abbott in Catch-22 and Jared Harris in Chernobyl. That’s a stacked category. And Jerome I know won I think the Emmy or something for that series. So yeah. Big hitters here.
Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
Anne Hathaway, Modern Love
Megan Hilty, Patsy & Loretta
Joey King, The Act
Jessie Mueller, Patsy & Loretta
Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
Michelle Williams was so fucking good as Gwen Verdon.
Kaitlyn Dever has been great for years (I remember her back in Short Term 12), so I’m sure she’s good in whatever that show is. Anne Hathway… didn’t even know she was in TV. Megan Hilty is, I’m guessing, either Patsy or Loretta. Joey King has been making the rounds for that shaved head show she did. Mueller… oh, there’s the other one. So now I’ve got my answer. Merritt Weaver I’m guessing is playing Dever’s mother in that show. Okay, sure.
Michelle Williams wins this, I hope.
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Asante Blackk, When They See Us
George Clooney, Catch-22
John Leguizamo, When They See Us
Dev Patel, Modern Love
Jesse Plemons, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl
Russell Tovey, Years and Years
John Leguizamo, baby. I root for him blindly in any category. Didn’t really know Skarsgard was in Chernobyl, so that’s cool. Plemons didn’t particularly blow me away in that Breaking Bad movie. Personally, I’d have gone Robert Forster there, but then, I’d go Robert Forster in anything. Clooney… cool. And Patel is in the show with Hathaway. That’s an interesting pairing. Kinda like that one.
Rooting for Johnny Legs, always.
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Patricia Arquette, The Act
Marsha Stephanie Blake, When They See Us
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Niecy Nash, When They See Us
Margaret Qualley, Fosse/Verdon
Emma Thompson, Years and Years
Emily Watson, Chernobyl
Qualley I wish had more of a role in Fosse/Verdon. The rest I can’t possibly speak on except to say, won’t they just blindly vote for either Arquette or Thompson in this on name recognition alone?
Best Animated Series
Big Mouth
BoJack Horseman
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
The Simpsons
Undone
Have they always had an animated series on here? Also, what the hell? Were there always this many categories, or did they figure if they eliminated those other bullshit acting movie categories they should add a few others, just in case the show lasted fewer than twelve hours?
I didn’t even know there was a She-Ra show. I don’t know what Undone is. I’m vaguely aware of something called Big Mouth, but honestly unless it’s about a literal mouth I couldn’t tell you anything about it. The other three I know. Though… Dark Crystal… is that animated? I thought they were puppets? Isn’t that a bit of a liberal interpretation of the category?
Best Talk Show
Desus & Mero
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Talk show? What?
Also, Kelly Clarkson has talk show?
I also like that Fallon was left off. Good for them.
Also, John Oliver should win every single one of these awards, since that is going to be the best talk show on television until they decide to stop making it.
Best Comedy Special
Amy Schumer: Growing
Jenny Slate: Stage Fright
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons
Ramy Youssef: Feelings
Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby
Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia
Wanda Sykes: Not Normal
I’m actually kind of okay with a comedy special award. That’s cool.
I saw the Norman Lear thing. I liked that. And apparently so did most people because I heard they’re about to do it again.
I know people hated Schumer’s last special. So hopefully this one’s better? Did she go back to writing her own material? Jenny Slate is good, so I hope her special is good. No idea why Ramy Youssef is, so good for him. Never saw Seth Meyers do standup, so I’m not sure how I’d feel about that. Trevor Noah, same. And Wanda Sykes I know is good, so I’m sure her special is great.
Can’t say I have any particular feelings for this one past being happy it’s on here. This is so much better than most of the bullshit I just had to sift through.
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So these are your BFCA nominations. Globe nominations are in the morning. All goes well I’ll get something posted sooner rather than later. I’ll warn you now that I’m probably not gonna be drawing too many conclusions from today and tomorrow, unless it’s from memory. I’ve already said I’m not even gonna start thinking about this stuff for real real until I personally finish with the year. I don’t know anyone can really prognosticate anything until they’ve had the chance to see everything involved. So that’s what I’m gonna do. I want to make sure I get to see it all before I figure anything out. So I’ll talk about the Globe nominations, talk about whatever guilds announce in the next week, go over all those shortlists they’re gonna give us soon, and then we’re gonna let it all sit as we wrap up the year and then I’ll start thinking about this stuff for real top of next year. PGA nominations are January 7th, so I suspect by then we’ll be able to have a real conversation about this stuff. For now, this is all a vacuum and the only opinions you can really have are based on where your rooting interests lie. It’s December guys. Don’t overthink it.
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