Golden Globes 2018: Why Caitriona Balfe, Jenna Coleman, Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, Katherine Langford deserve Drama Actress nomination

Welcome to the 2018 Golden Globes CarterMatt preview series! With the popular awards show coming to NBC in January, what better time is there then now to start to look at possible nominees and favorites? This is the third straight year in which CarterMatt has had our own dedicated preview series, and our goal here is to highlight the best of the best as voters within the Hollywood Foreign Press start to make their decisions.

On October 31, all official submissions were made to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and on November 24 ballots will begin going out for official nomination voting. The focus of this CarterMatt series is to help identify great shows and performers for the HFPA to consider. We’ll be sharing some of our personal picks in every TV-related category daily throughout the month of November at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time (4:00 p.m. Eastern), and from there, we’ll leave the voting for you to share some of your own favorites!

Voting Rules – Note that this is just for fun and for campaign purposes; you aren’t voting for the actual Golden Globes! Vote however often you want from now until November 30 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time, when the polls close and will no longer be available. We will announce all of the poll winners at 1:00 p.m. Pacific on November 30, during the heart of campaign season, as a way to help get the word out on some shows and performers worthy of a nomination.

With all of that laid out, let’s get to the first order of business today: Discussing the CarterMatt picks for Actress in a Drama Series.

Caitriona Balfe, Outlander (Starz) – Balfe brings everything that you could possibly want to the character of Claire — there is tremendous heart, incredible range, and the ability to feel both hopeful and hopeless. Watching her wrestle with the grief of moving forward and saying goodbye to Brianna in “Freedom & Whisky” is some of the best work we’ve seen her do through out the three seasons of the show — and that is saying an awful lot when you consider the strength of her overall body of work. She makes Claire into the ultimate leading lady, the character you want to root for and also the person relatable enough to exist within our own life. Somehow, Balfe continues to get better with each passing year.

Jenna Coleman, Victoria (PBS) – Coleman may very well be a longshot to get a nomination, but it’s through no fault of her own. The excellent British series debuted on PBS early in the year and may not be immediately remembered by voters. Nonetheless, she brought a tremendous amount of grace and also conflict to Queen Victoria, and far more depth than we ever imagined going into the series. She allowed us to see the development and maturation of this character and was tender when she needed to be and powerful at others. While The Crown may be a subject of great praise and acclaim, we absolutely consider Victoria to be a crown jewel in its own right.

Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC) – Just when you think that Hargitay cannot get any better as the Olivia Benson character along comes the story of her character and Noah this season. We all know by now that Hargitay can play Benson as tough, strong, and formidable; what makes this season stand out are all of the smaller, more vulnerable moments. You see Olivia afraid in a way that you’re not altogether accustomed to — it’s intentionally jarring and it makes you care for her all the more. It also breaks down some of the barriers. Benson is elevated so much of the time by the nature of her job and her success in it. This story and Mariska’s performance allows her to be seen even more as a person with many different facets to her.

Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why (Netflix) – We cannot even imagine what goes into playing a character like Hannah Baker who is so haunted and tortured. Langford delivered one of the most gripping performances of the year, tackling incredible source material and doing it with determination and respect. Her portrayal showed you multiple dimensions of Hannah’s mind, giving you access to her decline and showing you precisely what led to the terrible decision at the center of the show: Her suicide. Langford avoided the temptation to overact and gave us instead a performance that will live and stay with us for years to come.

Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – There is not enough respect for some of these performers who take on these long-term roles. You have so much history to play in all of your scenes while also considering the moment that you’re in. 2017 is ultimately one of Pompeo’s best years in quite some time. The arc with Nathan Riggs showed Meredith’s capacity for love, but also her ability to let go. There was a lightness to her character at times, a determination at others, and we saw her wear a wide array of different hats whether it be doctor, mother, friend, or girlfriend. Pompeo dived into all aspects of Meredith’s life this year — she always excels in the serious moments, but this year we’d argue that there was more light and shade to Meredith than potentially ever before. Unfortunately, she, like Hargitay, fails to get the attention deserved due to it being a network show.

Now, it’s your turn!

Which one of these performers is worthy of getting a Golden Globe nomination? Vote now in the poll below! If there is a performer not on this list you want to see with a nod, also let us know that in the comments section below. If you are on mobile and cannot see the poll, scroll to the bottom and click to view the non-AMP version of the page.

Meanwhile, visit the link here to read more Golden Globes coverage or like us on Facebook to get even more news on these shows and many others we cover. (Photo: HFPA.)