By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British royal drama “The Crown,” small-town comedy “Schitt’s Creek” and crime thriller “Ozark” led the pack of Golden Globe television nominees on Wednesday as voters showcased hits that entertained streaming audiences during a global pandemic.
Newcomers “Ted Lasso,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Emily in Paris” also were nominated for television honors by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that hands out the Golden Globe trophies.
Netflix Inc landed 20 TV series nominations, more than any other network. HBO, owned by AT&T Inc, ranked second with seven and Walt Disney Co’s Hulu earned six.
Streaming TV emerged as a main source of entertainment in 2020 as movie theaters closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic and people spent more time at home. Netflix added more customers in a single year than ever before, reaching 203.7 million subscribers around the globe, and Disney+ leaped to 86 million.
“The Queen’s Gambit” on Netflix, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as a gifted chess player who fights drug and alcohol addiction, will compete in the limited series category against HBO’s “The Undoing,” Netflix’s “Unorthodox” and others.
In addition to Netflix’s “The Crown” and “Ozark,” the television drama contenders include Disney+ “Star Wars” spin-off “The Mandalorian,” featuring the popular Baby Yoda character, and HBO’s horror series “Lovecraft Country.”
Best TV comedy contenders include “Ted Lasso,” starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach hired to lead an English soccer team, which streams on Apple Inc’s Apple TV+. The show will compete with “Schitt’s Creek,” which swept last year’s Emmys, HBO Max murder comedy “The Flight Attendant” and others.
Winners of the Golden Globes will be announced during a televised ceremony on Feb. 28.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
