Golden Globe Musings: Best Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical

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:
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kirsten Dunst (On Becoming a God in Central Florida)
Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)

New contenders:
Awkwafina (Awkwafina is Nora from Queens)
Lily Collins (Emily in Paris)
Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)
Elle Fanning (The Great)
Jane Levy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever)

Potential first-time nominees:
Pamela Adlon (Better Things)
Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me)
Natasia Demetriou (What We Do in the Shadows)
Maya Erskine (Pen15)
Anna Konkle (Pen15)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)

Past nominees:
Debra Messing (Will and Grace)
Issa Rae (Insecure)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)

Last year, four out of five of the past year’s nominees were eligible and just one returned, and this year, only one is. Waller-Bridge’s show ended, Dunst’s had its renewal reversed, and Lyonne’s is slated to return at some point. Brosnahan’s will probably be back soon, but it hasn’t arrived yet. That leaves Applegate as the lone possibility to repeat, and I’m certainly hoping that she’ll be joined by her equally deserving costar Cardellini. Though she’s never been nominated, Emmy winner O’Hara seems like a sure thing, and Demetriou, who didn’t earn an Emmy nomination but her show performed well enough to show that it’s clearly well-regarded, is another possibility. I’m rooting for another Emmy snubee, Fanning, who will hopefully join Cuoco, the likeliest of a handful of new series contenders. Though it’s a competitive field with potential inclusions like Rae or Adlon, I suspect that the rare musical series star – Levy – will round out this category.

Current predictions:
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)
Elle Fanning (The Great)
Jane Levy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)