The biggest snubs and surprises of the 2019 Golden Globe nominations

The Golden Globe Awards are always a bit of a grab bag of snubs and surprises, and Thursday's nominations proved the Hollywood Foreign Press Association shows no signs of making any more sense this year than in years past. Fan favorites like AMC's The Terror and HBO's Succession were left off the list, and there were more than a few surprise acknowledgments from the 88-person voting body, including Black Panther breaking the superhero barrier in the Best Motion Picture-Drama category.

But the snubs and shocks don't end there. Here are some of the biggest surprises ahead of the awards ceremony on Jan. 6.

The snubs

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Did the Hollywood Foreign Press Association forget to see Widows?

Director Steve McQueen's female-fronted heist film got completely shut out by the Hollywood Foreign Press, which previously awarded his film 12 Years a Slave the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture-Drama. Widows was expected to appear in that category as well, and McQueen for Best Director — neither of which happened. But perhaps most surprising of all is Viola Davis' absence in the Best Actress category, despite her incredible performance in the film.

Golden Globe-winner Atlanta gets left out

The first season of Atlanta stormed the 74th Golden Globes, taking the achievement of Best Musical or Comedy Television Series as well as giving actor Donald Glover an award for the best performance in the same category. While Glover was nominated again in 2018, Atlanta's "Robbin' Season" failed to earn a nomination for Best Musical or Comedy Television Series this time around. The category instead includes Barry, The Good Place, Kidding, The Kominsky Method, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Many people — myself included — found Atlanta's second season to be even stronger than the first season, with it featuring the best episode to date, "Teddy Perkins." The show's omission here is a head-scratcher.

Where oh where is Toni Collette?

The category for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama is stacked, and it's hard to pick a favorite. Still, Toni Collette's absence here for her nerve-racking performance in Hereditary is a mistake. As many problems as I might have with the movie overall, Collette gave one of the most convincing performances of the year, hands-down, and it's a pity she didn't get the nod for her turn in this witchy horror flick.

Female directors are overlooked entirely

2018 was an incredible year for women directors, who were behind works like The Rider (which took the top prize at the Gotham Awards), critical darling You Were Never Really Here, and one of my favorite movies of the year, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Unfortunately, this year's Best Director category is yet again a boy's club, with nominations going instead to Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born, Alfonso Cuaron for Roma, Peter Farrelly for Green Book, Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman, and Adam McKay for Vice.

The surprises

Vice comes out of nowhere to dominate

Vice might be getting mixed reviews from critics, but the biographical comedy about Dick Cheney sure got a lot of love on Thursday from the HFPA. The movie came out of nowhere to top the nominations with six hits, including for Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy. The film also charted across the acting categories, with acknowledgments for Christian Bale, who plays Cheney, as well as for Amy Adams, and Sam Rockwell; Vice additionally earned Best Director and Best Screenplay nods. Unfortunately you'll have to wait until Christmas Day for its release to determine its worthiness for yourself.

Hey wait, isn't A Star Is Born a musical?

Yes! A Star Is Born's inclusion in the Best Motion Picture-Drama category is a weird one. But awards season isn't just about nominating the most deserving films in the appropriate categories — it is also a knock-down drag-out fight by the studios to earn the most prestigious awards for their movies. That involves a lot of strategy: As The New York Times writes, A Star Is Born's odd placement "boils down to category shopping," with "consultants [asking] the press association to not consider it a musical, since the dramatic category is seen as having more heft."

Hooray for Elsie Fisher!

As competitive as the Golden Globes' acting categories are this year, everyone's favorite 15-year-old actress still managed to earn a (well-deserved) spot alongside other comedic and musical actresses like Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) and Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns). Elsie Fisher garnered her nomination for her cringey, relatable performance as 13-year-old Kayla in the A24 joint Eighth Grade. Fisher's reaction to the news on Thursday might just have been the best part.