When the 2023 Golden Globes nominations were announced on Monday, ABC’s Abbott Elementary, Searchlight’s Banshees of Inisherin, Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Indian musical-epic RRR were among the TV shows and films that stood out for their notable honors.
Network comedy Abbott Elementary took the crown of most-nominated TV series with six, including four performance nominations, all of which went to Black members of the show’s ensemble, while Banshees of Inisherin wrangled up the most nods for a film with 12 mentions, including a nod for best motion picture musical or comedy.
There was also quite a large class of first-timers in this year’s nominations pool, but only one actress, Ozark‘s Julia Garner is a double nominee this year. Only Murders in the Building‘s Steven Martin and Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega could set new records for age diversity in their categories, but women filmmakers were shut out of the best director category after two years of consecutive best director wins.
Indian musical-epic RRR is continuing its successful awards season push with two historic Golden Globe nominations for Tollywood, including one for best non-English language film. And just like its 2018 predecessor, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is helping to make history at the Golden Globes for superhero movies.
Read on for more about this year’s noteworthy nominations.
Specialty Studios and Streamers Lead the Pack
When it comes to film distributors at this year’s Golden Globes, it was indie and specialty studios that came out on top. Searchlight scored 12 nominations total, with eight of those going to The Banshees of Inisherin. It also scored two for The Menu stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes, one for Olivia Colman in Empire of Light and another for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande‘s Emma Thompson. Indie studio A24, behind Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Netflix came in second and third place with 10 and 9 nominations, respectively.
On the television side, the combined showing of HBO and HBO Max tied streaming pioneer Netflix with 14 nominations. Next in line with the second-most noms is streamer Hulu with 10 followed by Disney-owned cable network FX with nine nods. Streamers ultimately dominated in the TV category overall, with ABC becoming the only broadcaster to be nominated, leaving a few cablers and even more streaming platforms with the rest (and most) of the nominations.
Abbott Elementary Reigns in TV
Ahead of this year’s Globes, Abbott Elementary was the most nominated television series, with five nods including best TV series (musical/comedy) and best actress in a TV series (musical/comedy) for Quinta Brunson. Five series tied with four nods each including The Crown, Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Only Murders in the Building, Pam and Tommy and The White Lotus. Blackbird, Hacks, Ozark and Severance followed with three nods each.
The Banshees of Inisherin Reigns in Film
On the film side, Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin led the list of nominations with eight nods, including best picture (musical/comedy) and writing and directing noms for Martin McDonagh. A significant portion of the film’s main cast — Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan — was also nominated across the acting categories. Everything Everywhere All at Once followed with six noms, while Babylon and The Fabelmans earned five nods each.
First-Time Nominees
A new class of first-time nominees has been announced — 41 to be exact — and there are nearly as many fresh faces as over-due honorees. Among the stars scoring their first nods are Adam Scott (Severance), Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus), Austin Butler (Elvis), Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), Benjamin Rice (Top Gun: Maverick), BloodPop (Top Gun: Maverick), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Daniel Kwan (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Diego Calva (Babylon), Diego Luna (Andor), Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness), Domhnall Gleeson (The Patient), Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon), Evan Peters (Dahmer), Janelle James (Abbott Elementary), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), Jeremy Pope (The Inspection), Kala Bhairava (RRR), Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris), Lily James (Pam & Tommy), M.M. Keeravani (RRR), Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Niecy Nash (Dahmer), Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Rahul Sipligunj (RRR), Rihanna (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Roeban Katz (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy), Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Tems (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary) and Zendaya (Euphoria).
Double Nominees
Though 41 stars were nominated for the first time, a number of returning stars are up for two awards. Julia Garner is nominated for best performance by an actress in a limited or anthology series or motion picture made for television for her portrayal of socialite Anna Delvey in Shonda Rhimes’ Inventing Anna.
Garner also received a supporting actress in a musical-comedy or drama series nomination for her role as Ruth in Netflix’s Ozark, which aired its series finale in May. Garner was previously nominated for her Ozark role in 2021. If she wins both awards, she’ll be in a select group — as in literally just five women — who have secured two acting awards in the same year. Previous winners include Sigourney Weaver, Helen Mirren, Joan Plowright and Kate Winslet.
Alexandre Desplat is also a double nominee this year, with nods in the best original score and best original song motion picture categories for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.
RRR Makes a Blockbuster Showing
One of the highest-grossing Tollywood films in history and one of the most streamed Indian films on Netflix, according to the company, epic RRR is leaving its mark on the U.S. awards season despite not being selected as India’s best international feature submission for the Oscars. The three-hour action-musical garnered two Golden Globe nominations, including best non-English language film and best original song.
Black Panther Makes MCU History Again
The Ryan Coogler-directed Black Panther made Golden Globes history at the 2019 awards, becoming the first film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to earn a best motion picture drama nomination. It also marked the first time any superhero film had been nominated in that category. Now with its 2022 sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has made history as well. Actress Angela Bassett, who plays Queen Ramonda in the movie, has garnered the MCU’s very first acting nomination at the Globes, and first-ever in the category of best actress. (Deadpool was nominated for best musical or comedy while Ryan Reynolds was nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy movie in 2017, but that was before Disney purchased 21st Century Fox.)
Brendan Fraser Is Nominated — But Likely Not Attending
Fraser’s turn in The Whale as Charlie, an overweight man who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter after his partner dies, has been almost universally lauded, even if director Darren Aronofsky and writer Samuel D. Hunter have faced criticism over their handling of the main character’s weight. Fraser’s performance is arguably the most celebrated aspect of the film and has earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama. But whether the actor will be in attendance to accept his award in person seems unlikely after Fraser said in an interview that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s handling of his sexual assault allegation against an expelled member means he will “not participate.”
Two Is the Luckiest Number for Henry Winkler and Guillermo del Toro
Henry Winkler won in the best actor category for two consecutive years (1977-1978) for his role as “The Fonz” in the TV comedy series Happy Days. This year, he’s nominated in the best supporting actor in a TV series/musical-comedy or drama category for Barry, previously earning a best supporting actor nod for the same role in 2020. Should Winkler win, he would be the first to be awarded for both lead and supporting performances in a comedy series. Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro was nominated in animated feature for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and would become the first animation director to have previously won a Golden Globe for live-action directing after winning in 2017 for The Shape of Water.
The Golden Globe’s Nominee Diversity Is a Mixed Bag
Despite the Golden Globes naming two female filmmakers in a row as best director winners, Chloé Zhao for Nomadland and Jane Campion for Power of the Dog, no woman was nominated this year in the best director category, nor did any female-helmed films garner honors in the best picture drama, best picture musical/comedy or best non-English language feature categories.
Only Turning Red‘s Domee Shi was nominated in the best animated feature category, a nom that marks her as the first woman of color to direct a best animated feature-nominated movie.
There were, however, notable performer nominations across gender, race and age. That includes Steve Martin, a seven-time Globe nominee, whose latest nod for best television actor in a musical or comedy series for Only Murders in the Building has made him the oldest man nominated in the category. Meanwhile, Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega has nabbed the number two spot as the second youngest competitor in the history of the best performance by an actress in a musical or comedy series category.
Among Black talent, Dahmer star Niecy Nash’s nomination could put her on the path to becoming the one of the first Black actresses to win a Globe for any limited series, while Viola Davis’ best actress in a drama nomination for The Woman King could give the two-time nominee her first win and third win ever in the category for a Black actress.
Everything Everywhere All at Once star Michelle Yeoh could also make history for Asians at this year’s ceremony thanks to her nomination for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy. That nom — and a potential win — makes her the first Malaysian Chinese actress to be honored in the category. Her co-star, Ke Huy Quan, could also make history as the next Asian man — of which there are less than 10 nominated and only three who have won — to take home the honor in the category.
Mexican actor and Babylon star Diego Calva could also become one of a handful of Latino nominated actors along with fellow Mexican actor Diego Luna in Globes’ history. Calva, who is nominated for best actor in a drama motion picture, follows in the footsteps of artists like fellow Mexican-born actor José Ferrer, who won in the same category in 1951 for Cyrano de Bergerac. Meanwhile, Luna’s nomination for best actor in a TV drama for Andor shares small-screen company with the likes of NYPD Blue‘s Jimmy Smits.
