Golden Globes Nominations: 10 Biggest Snubs and Surprises

Unveiled at an ungodly hour Monday by Marlon Wayans and Skye P. Marshall, the nominations for next month’s 83rd Golden Globes didn’t come without some pain and some answered prayers.

via: Rolling Stone

Stay weird, Golden Globes. To be fair to the voting body that once nominated Burlesque for best picture, the artist formerly known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has improved greatly over the past few years, and most of their nominations for the 2026 ceremony don’t seem quite as WTF as they used to be. Several categories went more or less as predicted by those who predict such things: One Battle After Another racked up the most nominations with nine, including Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. Sinners, a movie with a touch of humor and quite a bit of music, was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Drama, going up against Hamnet, a movie that has neither of those things. Vince Gilligan’s return, the often darkly funny Pluribus, was nominated for best TV drama, where it will face off against the definitively unfunny The Pitt, which taught us all about horrific medical terms like degloving. Regardless of what category these films and shows landed in, their stars and creatives will all be major red-carpet presences at an awards show that prides itself on being the fun one.

Of course, despite the recent overhaul of the Golden Globes, they can’t avoid making a few big blunders. Here’s where this year’s noms had us scratching our heads.

Snub: Wunmi Mosaku in ‘Sinners’

Yes, Sinners did well with seven nominations, but perhaps the biggest acting snub of the morning came when Wunmi Mosaku’s name was left of the list for Best Supporting Female Actor in Any Motion Picture. Coming off a Gotham Awards win for her performance and riding the overall wave of love for Ryan Coogler’s provocative blockbuster, Mosaku seemed like a lock, and her omission here feels like it supports the arguments over the years that the Globes have difficulty recognizing great Black performances. (Although Odessa A’zion’s phenomenal turn in Marty Supreme could be a close second in this weird category.) And it’s not like Mosaku missed for a widely-recognized stunner of a performance. Sorry, Emily Blunt fans, but choosing that turn over Mosaku is one of today’s sillier choices.

Snub: ‘Andor’ for Best TV Drama

Is it because it was a “Star Wars show”? That’s the only possible explanation for what many consider the absolute best drama of this year missing out on even a nomination here. Sure, nominating Apple TV’s critical giants Pluribus and Severance makes sense, but these were probably the weakest seasons of Slow Horses and The White Lotus. Diego Luna did get a deserved best actor nomination for his performance as Cassian Andor, but a voting group that has often made unexpected choices, especially in its TV categories, played it shockingly safe this year in Best Television Series, Drama, which meant Disney+ doesn’t get an invite to the party. The Empire wins again.

Surprise: Eva Victor for ‘Sorry, Baby’

Over the years, the Golden Globes have clearly prioritized having famous faces to walk the red carpet. And so choosing the relatively unknown star of the incredible Sorry, Baby over people like Laura Dern (Is This Thing On?) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) is a refreshing change of pace. Victor is vulnerable and brilliant in this film, which she also wrote and directed, but it’s not the kind of work the Globes often recognizes. Our only quibble: They could’ve gone one step further. Victor’s script was a true gem — she probably should have been a double nominee.

Surprise: Richard Linklater vs. Richard Linklater

Double the Richard Linklater! One of the biggest surprises of this Golden Globes morning was the naming of both of the director’s films about artists — his love letter to Jean-Luc Godard in Nouvelle Vague and his profile of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon — in the Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy category. (The latter film also saw a nomination for Ethan Hawke’s wonderful performance.) Both of these films are relatively low-profile compared to snubbed A-list productions like Wicked: For Good or even Jay Kelly, making their inclusion here even more notable. Did Globes voters see themselves in the creatives profiled? Neither title made many pundits’ lists, so seeing both get a nom in the same category is pretty wild.

Snub: ‘Task’ Only Gets One Nomination

HBO’s acclaimed new thriller notched a nomination for the excellent Mark Ruffalo, but missed everywhere else, including Best Television Series, Drama and for supporting actors like Tom Pelphrey and Emilia Jones, both of whom turned in true breakthrough performances. What the hell? Again, it feels like the Globes went with the familiar instead of the best in the drama series category, when subpar seasons of Slow Horses and The White Lotus could’ve taken a year off. And all due respect to the great Walton Goggins and Jason Issacs, but one of them deserved a back seat here to let Pelphrey in.

Snub: Katherine LaNasa in ‘The Pitt’

How does one voting body name a performance the best of the year in its category while another doesn’t even nominate it? It’s one of the annual mysteries of awards season as one tries to match up Emmy winners and Golden Globe nominees. And this year, there’s no stranger case than Katherine LaNasa, who joined the entire female cast of best drama nominee The Pitt in being left out of the acting categories. Yes, this show belongs to Noah Wyle, and we love his comeback as much as anyone, but The Pitt is an ensemble affair, and every single one of the women being ignored feels wrong. Part of the reason is the Globes crams mini-series, comedy, and drama together into one supporting-actor category, making real estate harder to find — but then they went and nominated three of the women of The White Lotus! Spread the wealth next year!

Surprise: ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Benoit Blanked

The first two Knives Out movies were both nominated for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, and Daniel Craig was nominated for best actor twice. Despite getting universally great reviews — better than the last one, by and large — the third film in the series missed out entirely, not showing up in any categories. We suspect a welcome push to honor more international films (and basically the whole awards-season slate from Neon) led to the demise of Benoit Blanc’s Globe prospects. Someone should start an investigation.

Surprise: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Is a ‘Cinematic Achievement’

Stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were recognized in the acting categories, but the movie they headlined did not show up in Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, a category for which it seemed engineered in a lab. The 2024 Wicked was not only nominated for best picture but won the truly goofy Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award. It shows up again in the latter category this year but missed the more prestigious category for some surprising options like No Other Choice and Nouvelle Vague. Guess this one just isn’t quite as pop-u-lar.

FX had a pretty weak Golden Globes morning, but what else is new? The Globes basically ignored Reservation Dogs through its entire run, and they’re apparently keeping the trend going with Sterlin Harjo’s latest, the critical smash The Lowdown. (For the FX record, Alien: Earth could have dislodged a few of the boring TV choices this year too, but we’re thankful that the phenomenal Dying for Sex couldn’t be ignored.) The Ethan Hawke dramedy has earned nothing but raves and yet doesn’t appear anywhere on the very long nominations list. At least its star got a well-deserved nomination for Blue Moon.

Snub: ‘Death By Lightning’

Strange that a voting body that’s been accused of recency bias many a time missed one of the bigger critical darlings that debuted under the wire this year. The Globes love to be first, and they were this year with shows like Pluribus and The Beast in Me, but why dismiss Netflix’s engrossing historical drama? Was the topic of political violence too third rail for a group that also ignored all conservative podcasts in that inaugural category? How could they look at the truly dramatic beards of Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, and Shea Whigham and simply turn away?

Snub: Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow's big screen return in Marty Supreme failed to land the Oscar winner a nomination in the competitive Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture category. The role of an unhappy actress who romances Timothée Chalamet's titular character marked Paltrow's first major role since 2019's Avengers: Endgame.

Surprise: Glen Powell

A surprise of the morning's nominations was actor Glen Powell, who snagged a nomination for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for his Hulu comedy, Chad Powers. He plays Russ Holliday, a former college quarterback who disguises himself in full prosthetics to score a spot on a struggling team.

Snub: Sydney Sweeney

Despite receiving some of the best reviews of her career for her lead performance in the bruising sports biopic Christy, Sydney Sweeney didn't land a nomination for her work as Christy Martin, the real-life trailblazing female boxer.

Snub: Wicked: For Good

Despite Wicked: For Good landing noms for its two leads, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the second installment of the Broadway musical adaptation failed to repeat the feat pulled off by 2024's Wicked: Part One and net a Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination.

Surprise: Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts is an awards darling, but her film After the Hunt wasn't very well received by critics upon its Venice International Film Festival debut. The Oscar winner, however, was recognized in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama category for her stellar performance as a philosophy professor at Yale who becomes entangled in a scandal.

Snub: Avatar: Fire and Ash

James Cameron's third entry in the blockbuster Avatar franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is the first to not land a nomination in the Best Motion Picture - Drama category. The 2010 original won the award in 2011.

Snub: Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez's first major role in a movie-musical didn't land her a nomination in the competitive Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture category. The Golden Globe nominee did acclaimed work in Kiss of the Spider Woman, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, but it wasn't enough to put her in the mix.

Snub: Quinta Brunson

After one win and two other Golden Globe nominations, Abbott Elementary star and creator Quinta Brunson did not score an acting nomination at this year's Golden Globes. The show itself was nominated for Best Musical or Comedy Series for the third year in a row.

Surprise: Emily Blunt

Claiming a spot in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture category was Emily Blunt for her performance opposite Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine. The film's muted box office performance had many wondering how that would affect her awards chances, but both Blunt and Johnson came out on top, snagging nods for their strong performances in the real-life wrestling drama.

Snub: Hugh Jackman

Four-time Golden Globe nominee Hugh Jackman is a favorite of the award show, however he didn't land a nomination for Song Sung Blue, a musical biopic drama that follows the story of Mike and Claire Sardina, who formed a Neil Diamond tribute band called Lightning & Thunder. His costar, Kate Hudson, did factor into the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy race.

Snub: Taylor Sheridan Universe

Taylor Sheridan failed to snag nominations for his buzzy westerns at this year's awards, neither for his Yellowstone prequel 1923 starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, nor for Landman, airing now, with Billy Bob Thornton. Mirren did snag a nomination for her work in a different Paramount+ show though, Mobland. Harrison was not eligible this year for his role in Apple TV's Shrinking.

Snub: Stranger Things

Stranger Things is finishing its fifth and final season with zero 2026 Golden Globes nominations. It scored two nominations for Best Television Series - Drama (in 2017 and 2018) and two acting nods for Winona Ryder (2017) and David Harbour (2018) but failed to ever win big at the show.

The 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards will take place in The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. ET, airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.