Golden Globes welcome ‘Nashville,’ ‘Smash,’ ‘Girls’ and ‘The Newsroom,’ among rookie series

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Golden Globes have an ear for musical drama, handing two nominations to ABC’s new “Nashville” and a nod to NBC’s freshman series, “Smash.”

But the broadcast networks were largely overlooked, as usual. They were snubbed entirely in categories such as best actor in a drama series and best actress in a TV film, while the Globes mostly recognized familiar cable fare like “Homeland” and “Downton Abbey.”

Raw numbers told the tale: pay-cable channel HBO led among all outlets with 17 nominations, far ahead of cable network runner-up Showtime (seven nominations), followed by broadcast networks ABC (five), and CBS, NBC and PBS (four each). Fox had two.

The Globes will be handed out Jan. 13 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and airing live on NBC.

Leading the pack among all shows was HBO’s “Game Change,” which told the story of the 2008 presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. It picked up five nods, including best TV film, best actress (Julianne Moore, who wowed viewers as GOP vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin), best actor (Woody Harrelson), best supporting actor (Ed Harris) and best supporting actress (Sarah Paulson).

Right behind was Showtime spy drama “Homeland,” the winner of two Globes trophies last year. It picked up four nominations: for best series, best actress (Claire Danes), best actor (Damian Lewis) and best supporting actor (Mandy Patinkin).

PBS’ wildly popular period piece “Downtown Abbey” (which won last year as best miniseries) claimed three nominations, as did “The Girl,” HBO’s film about celebrated director Alfred Hitchcock, and ABC’s hit comedy “Modern Family,” which won as best comedy series last year.

CBS’ “The Good Wife” continues to reign as the Globes’ most-honoured broadcast drama, receiving two nominations this year: for best actress (Julianna Margulies) and best supporting actress (Archie Panjabi).

Along with country-music melodrama “Nashville” (which landed nominations for Connie Britton as best actress and Hayden Panettiere as best supporting actress) and Broadway-set “Smash” (for best comedy/musical series), the Globes extended a warm welcome to several other rookie series.

HBO’s “Girls” scored two nods, for best comedy series and best actress (Lena Dunham, who also created the show about twenty-something gal pals). HBO’s “The Newsroom,” Aaron Sorkin’s drama set in the world of cable news, snagged nominations for best drama and best actor, Jeff Daniels.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was cited as best actress in her HBO comedy about a frazzled U.S. vice-president, “Veep.” She’ll compete against the Globes’ co-hosts, Fey of “30 Rock” and Poehler of “Parks and Recreation,” along with Dunham and Zooey Deschanel of “New Girl.”

BBC America’s “The Hour,” a period drama about a 1950s British TV news program, was nominated as best miniseries.

Don Cheadle took a nomination as best actor for his Showtime comedy series about management consultants, “House of Lies.”

And Danny Huston was nominated as best supporting actor for his first-year Starz drama, “Magic City,” set in Miami in the early 1960s.

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