Golden Globes 2021 Snubs Include Da 5 Bloods, Bridgerton, and Lovecraft Country

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has had its say, at least in of what it thinks is worthy of consideration for the best in film and television in 2020. Coming later in the year than normal due to COVID-19, it was after Groundhog Day when the full list of Golden Globes nominees was announced. And among them there were some happy surprises… and some significant snubs.

At a glance, the most surprising omission is the absence of Delroy Lindo’s name in the “Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” category. Lindo, who’s done sterling character work his whole career, enjoyed the performance of a lifetime in the latest Mank), and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian).

Indeed, Da 5 Bloods did not receive a single nomination, being excluded from Best Drama, Screenplay, or any other recognition. And within the “Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” category, it’s worth noting LaKeith Stanfield’s contagiously paranoid turn in Judas and the Black Messiah was also snubbed. While the film saw nominations for Daniel Kaluuya in Best ing Actor and for Best Original Song, Judas was similarly shut out of “Best Picture – Drama” and all other film categories.

Other notable snubs in the dramatic side of the movie nominees is the absence of Promising Young Woman).

However, a happy surprise is how the drama-heavy Best Director category has three women listed in its five nomination slots for the first time in Golden Globes history. Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), Regina King (One Night in Miami), and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) all received Best Director nominations, nearly doubling the total number of women who’ve been nominated in this category by the HFPA in its 78-year history. The other five previous women to get the rare recognition are Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty), Ava DuVernay (Selma), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), and Barbara Streisand (Yentl and The Prince of Tides).

The change comes after the HFPA came under heavy scrutiny in recent years for excluding women directors, including Greta Gerwig getting snubbed twice, first for Lady Bird and then Little Women, as well as Lulu Wang for The Farewell, Lorene Scafaria for Hustlers, and Olivia Wilde for Booksmart just last year.

The three nominees this year are also ed by familiar auteurs The Trial of the Chicago 7). Yet it’s interesting both of the male directors are nominated for Netflix films, which might give extra credence to Fennell or Zhao in that category for helming films that managed to have theatrical releases, and thereby exhibition, during the pandemic.

On the television side, perhaps one of the biggest snubs, at least for viewers at home, is the exclusion of 82 million households at least watched the first episode of the Netflix series in its first 28 days, Bridgerton was noticeably absent from a Best Drama nomination.

The exclusion of the Shonda Rhimes-executive produced series is especially intriguing since traditionally the HFPA is eager to nominate new popular fall series, getting a foothold on recognizing them before the Emmys can do so in September. Some might suggest Bridgerton’s omission could suggest an aversion for romantic period pieces, but The Queen’s Gambit). Speculation on whether the snubbing was a matter of quality will likely be ongoing.  

Also Lovecraft Country was surprisingly nominated for “Best Television Series – Drama” while not getting (arguably more deserved) nods for Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett in the acting categories.