Golden Globes 2018: Sizing up the Actress in a Drama Series field

With the Golden Globes 2018 airing on NBC Sunday night, it feels like now is the right time to start to look at the overall TV field. Who’s going to win?

Today, CarterMatt’s focus is on one of the biggest categories in Actress in a Drama Series. This is an interesting field this year — there’s someone most would consider to be a clear favorite, but there are two other contenders who we can easily envision coming in and taking the trophy out from under them. Much of the voting in this category could just depend on what the voters are thinking at a given moment and this could be one of the tightest races of the entire year.

The nominees

Caitriona Balfe, Outlander (Starz)

Claire Foy, The Crown (Netflix)

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce (HBO)

Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why (Netflix)

Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

Who will win – The three candidates who we think all have a reasonably good shot are Balfe, Foy, and Moss. While Langford was sensational in 13 Reasons Why, she’s at a huge disadvantage in that the series skews a little young for most Golden Globe voters. With Gyllenhaal, we just don’t think the momentum is there for The Deuce, a show that had a pretty quiet first season.

Conventional wisdom seems to suggest that Moss will get the award, given that she’s cleaned up much of awards season over the past year and The Handmaid’s Tale is favored to win the Drama Series category. Will she win? That’s the safe bet, but expect this vote to be closer than some would predict. Both Balfe and Foy are aided by their seasons airing recently and we could see either one of these ladies taking the trophy. Both gave exceptional performances and the Hollywood Foreign Press has been known to love period pieces and shows set for the most part outside of America.

Related – Sizing up the field of Actor in a Drama Series contenders

Who should win – It’s probably no secret that if we were a voter, we would be casting our vote for Balfe. Her performance as Claire Fraser is nuanced, emotional, and above all else extraordinary. We also think that this is the perfect season for her to win just because she had a chance to do so many different things and effectively played this character across several decades and in two different time periods.

Also, we don’t want to see Balfe become almost what Jon Hamm was at the Emmys for a long time, where she is routinely nominated but never takes home the prize. (Hamm didn’t end up getting the Emmy until his final year of eligibility for the role.)

What show do you want to see win the Golden Globes for Actress in a Drama Series? Be sure to share in the comments below! You can also vote for your own favorite in the poll we have for you below.

Meanwhile, be sure to head over to the link here in the event you want to get some more news on the Golden Globes, including the announced presenters and our take on some of the other categories! You can also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want to keep up with our Golden Globe coverage. (Photo: Golden Globes.)