January 13, 2008

360 Update: Cable Is Golden At Unusual Globes

AMC, HBO Snare Multiple Globes During Glitz-Free Ceremony

By Cable 360 Staff

NE Patriots QB Tom Brady had a great weekend, missing on just 2 of 28 throws Saturday and setting a record for passes completed at 92.9 %. Cable’s weekend was nearly as great as it dropped just one of 11 Golden Globes to broadcast Sunday, with AMC (2 awards), FX (1), Showtime (1) and HBO (6) the winners during a night when the Globes were awarded during a glorified press conference.

The Globes, voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have long been more progressive than the Emmys in celebrating cable programming quality. Still, even cable's biggest supporters were stunned by tonight's near-complete shutout of broadcast fare.

Beyond cable's near total domination, a big enough surprise itself, there were some unexpected winners, including David Duchovny’s nod for best actor in a comedy for his role as unshaven writer Hank Moody in the new Showtime series Californication. Jeremy Piven's Best Actor Globe for his work as obnoxious agent Ari Gold in HBO's Entourage was somewhat of a surprise, too. Piven was nominated thrice for a Globe, but failed to win before tonight.

British content was a popular draw at the Globes,perhaps because voters wanted to award non-American productions as a protest against the writers strike. Extras, the UK import that recently ended its run on HBO and is usually predicted not to win an award, won yet again, gaining a Globe for Best Comedy series. Longford, a powerful Channel 4-HBO film about a British Lord who defends a woman accused of helping her boyfriend kill young children near Manchester, England, took 3 Globes, including Best Actor (Original Film) for Jim Broadbent, Best Supporting Actress (Original Film) for Samantha Morton and Best TV Original Film.

Another surprise of sorts was the win for Best Actress in a Series, Drama, for Glenn Close of Damages. Kyra Sedgewick of TNT’s The Closer was the odds-on favorite to repeat in a category dominated by cable actresses, including Edie Falco (The Sopranos, HBO), Minne Driver (The Riches, FX) and Holly Hunter (Saving Grace, TNT). Despite being first timers to scripted drama, AMC's 1960 advertising agency drama Mad Men and its lead actor, Jon Hamm, generated enough pre-Globe buzz that their 2 Globe wins were not considered major surprises.

The lone television Globe that cable failed to grab was Actress in a Comedy Series, which went to Tina Fey for her performance in NBC's 30 Rock, a series she also created.

On a night that was perhaps cable's finest hour, these Globes will be best remembered for the fact that the awards show was cancelled by the writer’s strike. Instead a string of TV entertainment show reporters read the nominees and winners during a news conference. Only a few times were clips of nominated shows, actors or films shown. No actors or execs were present to accept Globes or make the dreaded acceptance speeches. The entertainment journalists, including CNN’s Jim Moret and Entertainment Tonight’s Mary Hart, made short statements before presenting the Globes. Most said they supported the writers. With some 200 publicists applauding winners in The Beveryl Hilton hotel ballroom, the entire event was done in 31 minutes.  

The Results

Best Actor in a TV Series: Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama: Glenn Close, Damages (FX) 

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama: Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)

Best TV Movie: Longford (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie: Samantha Morton, Longford (HBO)

Best Actor in a TV Movie: Jim Broadbent, Longford (HBO)

Best Actress in a TV Movie: Queen Latifah, Afflication (HBO)

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy: David Duchovny, Californication (Showtime)

Best TV Series, Comedy: Extras (HBO)

Best TV Series, Drama: Mad Men (AMC)

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)