Takeaways From the 2022 Golden Globe Nominations

Netflix's 'Squid Game'
Netflix's 'Squid Game' (Image credit: Netflix)

The beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its 2022 Golden Globe Awards nominations Monday (December 13) as the organization continues to operate with no TV home for its January 9 awards ceremony and under a cloud of controversy that threatens to undermine its relevance

With Snoop Dogg reading the names of the nominees — often incorrectly, to humorous effect — the Golden Globes will forge ahead even as the HFPA continues to face criticism over the lack of diversity among its board members. In a release, the HFPA said it had admitted “their largest and most diverse class to date of 21 new members, all of whom are first-time Golden Globe voters.” Still, it’s unclear if the January 9 show will air on traditional television after longtime distributor NBC announced earlier in the year that it will not televise the Globes ceremony due to the controversy.  

This year’s Golden Globes nominations in the television categories featured more diversity than last year’s nomination class. Nods for Uzo Abdula (HBO’s In Treatment) and Michaela Jae Rodriguez (FX’s Pose) in the best actress drama category, as well as Issa Rae (HBO’s Insecure) and Tracee Ellis Ross (ABC’s Black-ish) for best comedy/movie actress, and Cynthia Erivo (National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha) for best actress in a television motion picture come one year after no actresses of color were nominated in any major TV category for 2021. That was despite industry recognized performances from Emmy-nominated actress Jurnee Smollett in HBO’s Lovecraft Country and Critics Choice Awards-nominated Michaela Coel in HBO’s drama series I May Destroy You.

Also, the HFPA recognized shows featuring people of color in lead roles such as Netflix’s Squid Game and Lupin as well as FX’s Pose (best drama series), Amazon’s The Underground Railroad (best television motion picture) and FX’s Reservation Dogs (best musical/comedy series). 

The HFPA gravitated to streaming services in a big way in its nomination choices. Hulu and Netflix were the big standouts with 10 nominations each — behind only the 15 nods from the combined HBO/HBO Plus — with Apple TV Plus coming in with eight nods. 

In addition, seven of the top 10 most-nominated shows were from streaming services, led by Apple TV Plus'sThe Morning Show and Ted Lasso with four nominations each, followed by three nominations each for Hulu’s Dopesick, The Great and Only Murders in the Building, HBO Max’s Hacks, and Netflix’s Maid and Squid Game.

Also, the HFPA has often been lauded — and at times criticized — for its penchant for nominating shows that are considered outside of Hollywood’s mainstream, but this year’s list of nominations seemed to have fewer surprise nominations than in previous years. With the exceptions of Netflix’s Lupin and Squid Game along with FX’s Reservation Dogs, many of its nominations were given to the industry’s most high-profile and most talked-about shows, from top-nominated series, HBO’s Succession, to Apple TV Plus's Ted Lasso.  ■  

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.