Best Television Series – Drama
AMERICAN HORROR STORY (FX)
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
BOSS (Starz)
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
HOMELAND (Showtime)
Prediction: What do you get when you combine the excitement of a Broadcast Network series such as 24 with the acting chops and gratuitous amounts of nudity traditionally reserved for the likes of premium cable? A Golden Globe for HOMELAND, the season’s most buzzed about, and let’s face it, deserving new series.
Best Performance By An Actress – Drama
Claire Danes (HOMELAND)
Mireille Enos (THE KILLING)
Julianna Marguilies (THE GOOD WIFE)
Madeleine Stowe (REVENGE)
Callie Thorne (NECESSARY ROUGHNESS)
Prediction: If the Hollywood Foreign Press can restrain themselves from rewarding REVENGE’s Madeleine Stowe with an award for returning to relevance thanks to her admittedly delicious — albeit not-so-award-worthy — portrayal of Victoria Grayson, expect child star turned good Claire Danes to walk away a winner.
Best Performance By An Actor – Drama
Steve Buscemi (BOARDWALK EMPIRE)
Bryan Cranston (BREAKING BAD)
Kelsey Grammer (BOSS)
Jeremy Irons (THE BORGIAS)
Damian Lewis (HOMELAND)
Prediction: Despite what most pundits would agree is a no-brainer of a winner in BREAKING BAD’s Bryan Cranston, our money’s on former FRASIER star Kelsey Grammer for his career redefining turn in BOSS.
Best Television Series – Comedy
ENLIGHTENED (HBO)
EPISODES (Showtime)
GLEE (FOX)
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
NEW GIRL (FOX)
Prediction: The type of consistent laugh-out-loud moments MODERN FAMILY manages to deliver on a week-in-and-week out basis is why awards shows like this exist.
Best Performance By An Actress – Comedy
Laura Dern (ENLIGHTENED)
Zooey Deschanel (NEW GIRL)
Tina Fey (30 ROCK)
Laura Linney (THE BIG C)
Amy Poehler (PARKS AND RECREATION)
Prediction: If first season wins for the likes of ALIAS’ Jennifer Garner, FELICITY’s Keri Russell and UGLY BETTY’s America Ferrera has illustrated anything over the years, it’s that NEW GIRL’s Zooey Deschanel best me making room on her mantle.
Best Performance By An Actor – Comedy
Alec Baldwin (30 ROCK)
David Duchovny (CALIFORNICATION)
Johnny Galecki (THE BIG BANG THEORY)
Thomas Jane (HUNG)
Matt LeBlanc (EPISODES)
Prediction: Expect Matt LeBlanc to be thanked for being a FRIEND. Also not hurting his chances, the fact that his self-deprecating turn as a somewhat skewed version of himself was one of the funniest things to traipse across our small screen since Lisa Kudrow’s COMEBACK.
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
CINEMA VERITE (HBO)
DOWNTON ABBEY (MASTERPIECE, PBS)
THE HOUR (BBC AMERICA)
MILDRED PIERCE (HBO)
TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO)
Prediction: If you even for a moment think that anything outside of the smash PBS series is going to walk away with the award for “Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television” you clearly have yet to spend anytime in DOWNTON.
Best Performance By An Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Romola Garai (THE HOUR)
Diane Lane (CINEMA VERITE)
Elizabeth McGovern (DOWNTON ABBEY)
Emily Watson (APPROPRIATE ADULT)
Kate Winslet (MILDRED PIERCE)
Prediction: Simply put, Kate Winslet could have spent six hours reading a phone book and still walked away with an award for her work in HBO’s Mildred Pierce… which incidentally would have been almost as entertaining as the seemingly never-ending story for which she was nominated.
Best Performance By An Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hugh Bonneville (DOWNTON ABBEY)
Idris Elba (LUTHER)
William Hurt (TOO BIG TO FAIL)
Bill Nighy (PAGE EIGHT)
Dominic West (THE HOUR)
Prediction: THE HOUR’s Dominic West. If for no other reason than the only thing the Hollywood Foreign Press love more than poking fun at captains of industry (see: 30 ROCK’s Alec Baldwin) is poking fun at themselves (Note: For those who have yet to see the fantastic British series, West plays a newsman circa the television industry’s early days).
Best Performance By An Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jessica Lange (AMERICAN HORROR STORY)
Kelly Macdonald (BOARDWALK EMPIRE)
Maggie Smith (DOWNTON ABBEY)
Sofia Vergara (MODERN FAMILY)
Evan Rachel Wood (MILDRED PIERCE)
Prediction: Despite our slight bias for DOWNTON ABBEY’s Maggie Smith, who not only steals every scene she’s in — but in doing so — solidifies her status as Britain’s Betty White equivalent. Jessica Lange’s remarkable performance in AMERICAN HORROR STORY was just about the only thing both critics and fans could agree upon when it came to the remarkably divisive FX series.
Best Performance By An Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Peter Dinklage (GAME OF THRONES)
Paul Giamatti (TOO BIG TO FAIL)
Guy Pearce (MILDRED PIERCE)
Tim Robbins (CINEMA VERITE)
Eric Stonestreet (MODERN FAMILY)
Prediction: If the first rule of GAME OF THRONES is to “never trust a Lannister,” surely the second is always vote for them. 
The 69th Annual Golden Globes air Sunday January 15th at 8PM on NBC (CTV in Canada)