The Golden Globe Awards is the first entertainment recognition event happening this year. Last week, we analyzed and made picks for movie and film awards. This week, it’s all about the small screen. Check out our Golden Globe Awards odds and picks for best TV movie or limited series, best comedy show, and best TV drama.
2021 Golden Globe Awards for Television
- When: Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021
- Where: Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles, CA
- TV: NBC
- Streaming: NBC App
Best TV Movie / Limited Series – To Win
- The Queen’s Gambit +120
- Small Axe +500
- Normal People +550
- Unorthodox +550
- The Undoing +650
- I May Destroy You +800
- Mrs. America +850
- The Good Lord Bird +1100
- Little Fires Everywhere +2200
Like most television awards, the Globe for best television movie or limited series is chockful of excellent small screen contenders. Small Axe, Normal People, and Unorthodox are all deserving.
Although all are serious contenders, it’s impossible to look past the chalk, The Queen’s Gambit. One of the few uplifting pieces of media in 2020, The Queen’s Gambit follows a woman chess player who beats the very best Russia has to offer. It’s great storytelling from beginning to end. No wonder it offers +120 odds.
The underdog choice is I May Destroy You. From Chewing Gum creator Michaela Cole, the story centers around a young woman who doesn’t exactly remember what happened the night before. It’s a really good mini-series that everyone, if they’re able to, should watch.
Golden Globe Free Pick: The Queen’s Gambit
Golden Globe Underdog Free Pick: I May Destroy You
Best TV Comedy Series – To Win
- Schitt’s Creek +175
- Ted Lasso +225
- Ramy +450
- The Great +500
- The Flight Attendant +650
- What We Do In The Shadows +650
- Pen15 +1400
- Insecure +1600
Schitt’s Creek will probably win. Maybe, it should. The show had six great seasons. Anybody at the Globes who wants to award Eugene and Dan Levy and the great Catherine O’Hara for more than a half-decade of laughs should do so.
Ramy, though, had one of the best seasons of comedy in history. The show is deep and hilarious on so many levels. Creator Ramy Youssef nails the disconnect males of his generation seem to have with the rest of the world. The disconnect extends beyond religion, culture, even gender, and Ramy showcases that to great effect.
Ramy is our pick to win the award. Again, Schitt’s creek should take it, but who knows? Maybe, Globe voters go opposite the Emmy Awards.
Our underdog choice is the weird, heartfelt, and hilarious Pen15. Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle not only created the show but play themselves as 7th graders in the 1990’s. If it sounds hilarious, it is! Erskine and Konkle pull the gag off. So much so that after a few episodes, we forget that these are thirty-three year old women playing junior high schoolers. Genius comedy.
Golden Globe Free Pick: Ramy
Golden Globe Underdog Free Pick: Pen15
Best TV Drama Series – To Win
- The Crown +135
- Lovecraft Country +450
- The Mandalorian +475
- Ozark +550
- Perry Mason +800
- The Boys +900
- Better Call Saul +1800
- Bridgerton +1800
- Killing Eve +1800
- Ratched +1800
- Hunters +2000
It’s tough to beat The Crown. The show about Elizabeth II is well done and has that air of prestige that award voters still believe means something. But if we look past The Crown, Lovecraft Country and The Mandalorian are both shows, believe it or not, about minority cultures existing in a world where many feel they don’t belong.
We know. Sounds nuts. But Mandalorians, that’s Boba Fett’s race and culture, are sworn enemies of the Jedis, Yoda, Luke Skywalker, etc. Both Mandalorians and Jedis, who are supposed to hate each other, are minorities in a world even without the Empire. How they react and deal with each other, and ultimately help each other, is what anchors the show. We hope Globe voters recognized that the show is more than just a science fiction story.
Our longshot pick is Bridgerton. Why? It’s okay to be positive, even sex-positive. Also, don’t we all deserve to smile once in a while?
Golden Globe Free Pick: The Mandalorian
Golden Globe Underdog Free Pick: Bridgerton
