2016 Golden Globes: Should ‘Fargo,’ ‘True Detective,’ ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ receive limited series nods?

We have to admit now that there are some pitfalls to doing a pre-analysis of Golden Globe nominations in November. Namely, there are some potential nominees for TV Movie / Limited series that we cannot consider yet simply because we have not seen them yet. The one that is really sad to us is “Luther,” which is premiering next month and will more than likely be a contender. NBC also has “The Wiz Live,” but we’re not so optimistic about it. It “Sherlock” had come out in December, it could’ve at least stood a chance.

For now, take a look below at the five nominees that if voting happened today, would be on our ballot. One of them may speak to the weakness of this category as a whole right now. The official nominees will be announced December 10, but you can vote for your favorite now in the attached poll! We’ll announce the reader picks in all categories on December 9 at noon Pacific time.

“American Crime” (ABC) – Not the easiest show in the world to watch, but that was more about the severity of the subject matter than anything that the show itself was doing wrong. This was a well-acted, wonderfully-crafted piece of material from executive producer John Ridley, and is also something that we hope does get a little bit more in the way of attention for season 2.

“Fargo” (FX) – We do think in some ways it is hardly a Limited Series anymore thanks to it being connected to season 1, but in the absence of a clear-cut favorite right now, it would be wrong to leave the often-funny crime drama off on that basis. Jean Smart in particular is so fantastic she could compete against anyone in any category.

“True Detective” (HBO) – This is the one that we’d replace with “Luther” if the upcoming story lives up to our expectation. It was not perhaps as bad as many critics made it out to be, but it was also an over-complicated product in season 2 that blocked off some of its magic by trying a little too hard to be artistic. The performances of Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams are at least enough to lift it to a place where we consider it okay to include it on our ballot.

“Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” (Netflix) – Yes, Limited Series can be funny! We’re really surprised that this is not being discussed more as a contender in this category, since we found it roll-on-the-floor funny through its eight zany episodes. It was a wonderful tribute to the original film, but something that works on its own merit, as well.

“Wolf Hall” (PBS) – A well-acted, stunning period piece with Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance that we imagine few people, even in spite of past consideration at the Emmys, have seen. The only thing we can say in response to that is that it should be watched … pretty much right away, even though we know that some viewers may be tired at this point of seeing different interpretations of King Henry VIII.

For the record, we’re not going to be doing honorable mentions for this particular category, given that there are a smaller pool of nominees and we want it to still feel like being included is something special.

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