When the 71st Golden Globe Award nominations were announced on December 12, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made a game-changing decision to honor streaming service Netflix for the first time, with the subscriber service landing an impressive six nominations for its shows House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange is the New Black combined. The organization known for spreading the wealth in its nominations also honored a diverse group of returning nominees in TV, including Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), Lena Dunham (Girls), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Don Cheadle (House of Lies) and Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), with Brooklyn 99 star Andy Samberg as the only first-time nominee in both comedy categories. Two other actors in comedy returned after long absences: Michael J. Fox in The Michael J. Fox Show and Jason Bateman for his return to the role in the reboot of Arrested Development that previously won him a Golden Globe in 2005. There were many more first-time nominees in TV drama, including Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black), Kerry Washington (Scandal) and Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex). HBO topped the TV nominations with nine nods, including four for the TV Movie Behind the Candelabra, two for the TV movie Phil Spector, two for the comedy series Girls and one for the TV comedy Veep. Starz, Netflix and Showtime all tied for second place with six nominations each, with Starz’ mini-series Dancing on the Edge and White Queen garnering all of their nominations and Showtime scoring a Best Drama nod for Masters of Sex and acting nominations for Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan), Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex), Don Cheadle (House of Lies), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) and Jon Voight (Ray Donovan). Three television nominees will be getting double the excitement on the night of the event. Chiwetel Ejiofor has been nominated for both Best Actor in a Mini-Series for his performance in Dancing on the Edge and Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for 12 Years a Slave. Fellow British actor Idris Elba is sharing a nod in both categories with Ejiofor, nominated for Best TV Actor in a Mini-series for Luther and Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Mandela: A Long Walk To Freedom. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus was nominated as Best TV Actress, Comedy for Veep as well as Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy for her role in Enough Said, which also marked the final film of former Sopranos star, the late James Gandolfini. For a complete look at the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards nominees, click here!

Jenny Cooney