Golden Globe Musings: Best Comedy Series

Golden Globe nominations for this year will be announced soon, so here’s a survey of the contenders and the most likely predictions at this time. Weigh in with your thoughts, and let me know if I’ve left off anyone important. A reminder that last year’s nominees mean zilch at the Globes and that the race is almost entirely unpredictable.

Last year’s nominees:
Atlanta
Black-ish
Mozart in the Jungle
Transparent
Veep

New contenders:
GLOW
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
SMILF

Potential first-time nominees:
The Good Place
Insecure
Master of None

Returning series:
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Episodes
Will and Grace

Past nominees:
Orange is the New Black
Silicon Valley

Count out last year’s winner “Atlanta” since it hasn’t yet aired its second season. I’d be surprised if “Transparent” made the cut thanks to the recent news about Jeffrey Tambor, and I don’t think it had much of a shot before that. I’m shocked that “Mozart in the Jungle” earned a repeat nomination last year, and I think that’s unlikely to happen this year. “Black-ish” is still going strong, and this is only the second-ever nomination for “Veep,” so I expect it to return. There are three series that were previously nominated that are back from long hiatuses, and though I’d love to see “Episodes” back, I’d be happy with the other two also. “Master of None” should earn a bid even though only star Ansari was nominated for season one. I’m pulling for “The Good Place” but I’m not optimistic. I think that Amazon’s hot new show, released very recently, is probably going to show up here given that the network’s programs have been honored a lot recently.

Current predictions:
Black-ish
Master of None
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Veep
Will and Grace