Miranda Penn Turin/FOXWould Glee suffer a sophomore slump? Would Walking Dead crash the party? Would awards season be big enough for Jane Lynch and Sofia Vergara?
A roundup of today's Golden Globe TV nominations:
• Nope, Glee didn't suffer anything. Last year's Comedy Series champ led the TV field with five nods, including one each for stars Lynch, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele.
• If you were wondering if Morrison and Michele are still nominally the stars of Glee, the answer is yes. Despite not driving much of the action this fall at McKinley High, both were nominated as lead actors.
• Lynch is up for Supporting Actress, where her competition includes Modern Family's Vergara. Ed O'Neill, who did not say Lynch did not deserve the Emmy, is presumably pleased for both.
• Glee will defend its Comedy Series crown against 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Nurse Jackie and lone newbie, The Big C.
• Overall, it was a tough Globes for new shows, probably because it's been a tough fall for new shows. Besides The Big C, which also picked up a nod for star Laura Linney, HBO's Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead were about the only freshman series to make an impact.
• The Walking Dead and Boardwalk Empire are both up for Drama Series opposite Dexter, The Good Wife and reigning champ Mad Men.
• Scott Caan represented in the Supporting Actor category for Hawaii Five-O, another rare first-season contender.
• It may be another potentially uncomfortable red-carpet walk for Michael C. Hall, nominated for Drama Series Actor for Dexter. Last time out, he did the Globes after announcing he had cancer. This time out, he'll do the Globes after announcing his split from wife/costar Jennifer Carpenter.
• Best category? Mini-Series or TV-Movie Actress, where Dame Judi Dench, up for PBS' Return to Cranford, faces off against Jennifer Love Hewitt, up for the housewife-turned-hooker Lifetime flick, The Client List.
If the Globes didn't exist, then for sheer entertainment purposes, you'd just have to invent them.
(Originally published Dec. 14, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT)