Handicapping the Golden Globes :: Television

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association honor both films and television with the Golden Globes, which take place this Sunday. This makes the event, which will be televised on Sunday with Amy Poehler and Tina Faye returning as hosts, about as star-studded a Hollywood event that you'll likely find.

EDGE editors Jason St. Amand and Robert Nesti have already weighed in on their picks for movies; now they make them for television. Of course, they are both pissed that the Globes ignored "Broad City," "Looking" and "Bates Motel." Perhaps the producers of those shows didn't wine and dine the members of the HFPA.

But here are their choices. Next week we'll tabulate their choices to see who came the closest to picking the winners.

Best Drama Series

JSA:: The Good Wife
This show seems to win all the time in this category. Plus this past season was strong, so it's not surprising that it takes the Globe.

RN:: Game of Thrones
Is this the year that this hugely popular HBO fantasy series gets its due? I think so.

Best Comedy Series

JSA:: Orange is the New Black
A weird category that made it hard to decide. "Jane the Virgin" a dark horse; "Silicon Valley" a bit too special; "Girls" a competitor but not a winner. The closest competition is with "Transparent," but I think the prison bitches win.

RN:: Transparent
Amazon's first foray into the series television follows what happens when he tells his family he's transsexual. In a close race, it trumps last year's favorite "Orange is the New Black."

Best Actor in a Drama Series

JSA:: Clive Owen "The Knick"
This one is between Kevin Spacey and Owen; but in the end the Brit this award for a show he carries with his acting.

RN:: Clive Owen "The Knick"
What holds "The Knick" together is the commanding presence of Clive Owen as a drug-addled doctor making medical breakthroughs in early 20th century New York.

Best Actress in a Drama Series

JSA:: Julianna Margulies "The Good Wife"
She always wins, though Viola Davis may give her a run for her money and Claire Danes had her best season in years.

RN:: Viola Davis "How to Get Away With Murder"
How do you win a Golden Globe? Take charge as a high profile defense attorney and law professor in an addictive Shonda Rhimes' series.

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

JSA:: Jeffrey Tambor "Transparent"
Another hard one, but since "Transparent" isn't going to win Best Comedy, Tambor will get the award. But I'm rooting Louis C.K.

RN:: Jeffrey Tambor "Transparent"
A terrific comic actor gets his due as a man transitioning late in his life.

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

JSA:: Julia Louis-Dreyfus "Veep"
She's great as the ambitious, if clueless vice president. She's won and before and she'll win again. She's the surrogate winner for NOT NOMINATED Lisa Kudrow (aka Valerie Cherish).

RN:: Julia Louis-Dreyfus "Veep"
A no-brainer. Dreyfus is genius in this cynical political satire about an ambitious vice president with a higher goal in mind.

Best Miniseries or TV Movie

JSA:: Fargo
Another hard category. It was really difficult to pick, but went with the established (i.e. Emmy Award-winning) FX series that didn't copy the original movie, but complemented it.

RN:: The Normal Heart
In a crowded and highly competitive category, Ryan Murphy's superb adaptation of Larry Kramer's angry play about the early days of the AIDS epidemic stands out.

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

JSA:: Matthew McConaughey "True Detective"
Hard to choose - all good choices, but McConaughey inches above every one else as the philosophical detective Rust Cohle on this HBO series.

RN:: Matthew McConaughey "True Detective"
Another tough category, but McConaughey will rule.

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

JSA:: Jessica Lange "American Horror Story: Freak Show"
Had to choose between Lange and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who shines in "xxx." But think it will go to previous winner Lange for her "All About Eve"-ish portrayal of a fading freak show owner on "American Horror Story: Freak Show."

RN:: Frances McDormand "Olive Kitteridge"
As much as I love Jessica Lange, Frances McDormand will win for her probing portrayal of a middle-aged school teacher in a small Maine town,

Best Supporting Actor

JSA:: Matt Bomer "The Normal Heart"
I think they want to recognize "The Normal Heart" in some category and Bomer was heartwrenching as the AIDS victim in this HBO film.

RN:: Matt Bomer "The Normal Heart"
No contest. He was denied an Emmy, but should win the Globe for his superb performance of a man succumbing to AIDS in the early days of the epidemic.

Best Supporting Actress

JSA:: Uzo Aduba "Orange Is the New Black"
She's the best thing in "Orange Is the New Black." It would be stupid not to honor her; but Kathy Bates places a close second for the doomed bearded lady on "American Horror Story: Freak Show."

RN:: Kathy Bates "American Horror Story: Freak Show"
Was there a more compelling scene in any show this year than Kathy Bates confrontation with a spectral deathly spirit in an early episode of "American Horror Story: Freak Show?" That scene alone should win her the award. And who doesn't love a bearded lady?