The biggest Golden Globe TV nominee snubs have one thing in common

This year's Golden Globes TV snubs list had a rather concerning trend.

Wednesday morning's nominations were admittedly coming off a pretty unusual year, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association can always be relied upon to provide its own form of puppy-head-tilt strangeness in the form of nomination snubs.

With categories already shaken up by pandemic production shutdowns (not one of last year's Best Comedy nominees was even eligible this year), the Globes nominations were overall more predictable than usual given there was less competition. Yet the TV group still managed to throw some major curveballs — and most of them went in the same direction.

First, oddsmakers had HBO's acclaimed I May Destroy You as a practically sure thing for the Best TV Movie or Limited Series category, yet it was left out.

But at least I May Destroy You star Michaela Coel would get a nod for Best Actress in a Limited Series category, right? Especially given she also created, wrote, co-directed, and produced the show? Nope.

Another HBO title, Lovecraft Country, made it into the coveted Best Drama Series category. But stars Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett — both expected by prognosticators to get nominated — were snubbed.

Seeing a pattern yet?

There was also Uzo Aduba, snubbed for the Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series category for FX's Mrs. America. This was despite Aduba outright winning this category at the Emmys a few months back. Her costar Cate Blanchett got right in there though.

Pedro Pascal, likewise widely favored to get nominated for The Mandalorian, which was nominated for Best Drama, wasn't nominated.

And Netflix's Bridgerton, which has been praised for being a historical drama with color-blind casting, was shut out entirely.

While strong diversity gains were made on the film side of the nominations list, looking at the 40 acting nominations in the TV categories, only two Black actors made the cut: Don Cheadle for Black Monday and John Boyega for Small Axe. Two other people of color were also nominated: Egyptian actor Ramy Youssef for Hulu's Ramy and Anya Taylor-Joy (who is Argentine-British and identifies as Latina) was nominated for her star-making turn in Netflix's The Queen's Gambit.

So it wasn't just that the resulting nominees were overwhelmingly white during a year that had fewer shows on the air, but that they were overwhelmingly white in a year when there were obvious standout performances by non-white actors who critics and oddsmakers strongly believed gave award-worthy performances.

And yet: Netflix's Emily in Paris shocked by getting a Comedy Series nod, instead of, say, Netflix's Never Have I Ever or ABC's Black-ish (admittedly neither were favored, but then again, nor was Emily in Paris). Same with Starz' P-Valley getting dissed on the drama side.

The HFPA did far better in terms of representation among the film titles, which boosted the Globes' overall inclusion year over year. There were acting nods going to Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), the late Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield), and Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah), as well as Regina King (One Night in Miami) being nominated for Best Director, among others.

In other TV snubs news: Christina Applegate was left off for Netflix's Dead to Me in the Best Actress in a Comedy Series category. Tobias Menzies was snubbed for his turn in Netflix's The Crown in the Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series category. HBO's Perry Mason was heavily predicted (if not quite deservedly) to receive a Best Drama series nod, yet was left off. And FX's What We Do in the Shadows and actor Matthew Berry were left out in comedy categories.

Related content:

• The most shocking snubs and surprises of the 2021 Golden Globes film nominations
• Stars react to their 2021 Golden Globe nominations