HBO and its revolutionary John Adams miniseries were the big winners Sunday at the 2009 Golden Globe Awards, with the premium service walking off with more than a half dozen trophies.
But the critics' darling, AMC’s Emmy-winner Mad Men, won the Globe for best TV drama.
All in all, it was a good night for cable TV.
HBO dominated the Globes with multiple awards stemming from John Adams, including best miniseries, and surprise wins for best actor and actress in a TV-series drama, with Gabriel Byrne taking Globe honors for In Treatment and Anna Paquin for True Blood.
Paul Giamatti won a Globe for best performance by an actor in a miniseries or motion picture made for TV, for John Adams, while his co-star Laura Linney nabbed a Globe for best performance by an actress in that programming category.
To round out the John Adams wins, Tom Wilkinson took the award as best actor in a supporting role in a series, miniseries or made-for-TV movie.
Byrne—who was ill and a no-show at the Television Critics Association press tour on Friday—bested other best-TV drama nominees such as Jon Hamm for Mad Men, Hugh Laurie for Fox’s House and Michael C. Hall for Showtime’s Dexter
And Paquin was a winner in a field that included Kyra Sedgwick for TNT’s The Closer and January Jones for Mad Men.
Adding to HBO’s Globe dominance, Laura Dern won the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, miniseries or made for TV movie for HBO’s Recount.
But HBO lost out in the best dramatic series category. AMC’s Mad Men, produced by Lionsgate Television, was the winner of the best TV drama in a field that included Showtime’s Dexter, Fox’s House, and HBO’s In Treatment and True Blood.
Last year, Mad Men became the first basic-cable show to win an Emmy as best dramatic series.
NBC’s 30 Rock was honored with a Globe as best TV comedy, beating HBO’s Entourage, NBC’s The Office, and Showtime’s Weeds and Californication.
And 30 Rock’s Alec Baldwin won a Globe as best actor in a TV comedy or musical, coming out tops in a field that included Tony Shalhoub for USA Network’s Monk, Kevin Connelly for HBO’s Entourage and David Duchovny for Showtime’s Californication.
The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, with this year’s ceremony taking place at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. The ceremony was televised by NBC.
Last year’s Globe awards’ formal dinner ceremony was derailed, made into a truncated press conference, when actors said they would boycott a big event in support of the Writers Guild strike.
