“The Mandalorian” scored Disney+ a massive viewership and a whopping seven Emmy wins. Yet the first season was entirely snubbed by the Golden Globes. The recent Season 2 proved that the series’ zeitgeist-dominating popularity was no fluke. So there is every indication that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will finally pay attention to the most talked about streaming series of the year.
The Golden Globes infamously love to shake up their TV categories by nominating the newest, hottest shows for their top awards. So the exclusion of “The Mandalorian” from last year’s ceremony was quite surprising considering the buzz surrounding the “Star Wars” show. Season 2 has only increased the popularity of “The Mandalorian” thanks to the live action debuts of animated characters like Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), as well as backstory about Grogu (aka: The Artist Formerly Known as Baby Yoda). If the Globes are looking to reward red hot watercooler series, no show got people talking this year more than “The Mandalorian.” They put Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on TV for goodness sake!
The Emmys made up for the Globes’ rejection with seven wins from 15 nominations, including Drama Series. It’s highly unlikely the HFPA will want to embarrass themselves by omitting Mando and Grogu a second time.
Gold Derby’s combined odds reflect confidence in the Disney Plus series. It is currently ranked second in our Drama Series predictions. Netflix’s “The Crown” is the only series standing in its way. Even more impressively, 16 of our 17 Experts believe it will finally land a nomination, along with 9 of our 10 editors.
An acting nomination may be a bit more difficult to pull off, as there may well be bias against a performer who wears a helmet for the majority of his screen time. Yet, Pedro Pascal sits in fifth place in our combined odds. He also has the backing of eight Experts and three Editors. Pascal wasn’t among the series’ Emmy nominees for Season 1, but his character Din Djarin spends much more time without his signature helmet in Season 2. This increased face time, especially his touching final moment with Grogu, is a major boost to his chances.
Even if Pascal somehow slips out of the race, it shouldn’t stop “The Mandalorian” from storming the Drama Series category. Remember that the Globes do not recognize any below the line artists in their TV awards. So “The Mandalorian” won’t be able to pad its nomination tally with directors, designers or guest actors. But other genre series have shown up in Drama Series without any acting bids. “The Walking Dead” was nominated for this top category in 2011, but the actors were snubbed. “Game of Thrones” was nominated for Drama Series in 2015, 2016 and 2018 without any corresponding acting bids. Those two series were fodder for buzzy watercooler talk just like “The Mandalorian.” So after a year on the bench, Mando will have the HFPA chanting “this is the way.”
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