The Golden Globes 2020: A London look

Awards season has well and truly begun with the Golden Globes (GG) kicking off in the early hours of last week. As winter blues try to wrestle their way in, what better way to spend the long evenings than drinking alcohol-free wine and eating a meat-free takeaway, all while watching the best that this season’s film and TV has to offer?

In a bid to stay on-brand, we thought we'd encourage your binge to begin in London, not least because all three of this year's 'best actresses' won their awards for stories told in our favourite city.

The Crown

No stranger to an accolade, Olivia Colman scooped up the 'Best Actress in a Drama Series' award at the GGs for her slick performance as Queen Elizabeth II in the popular Netflix series 'The Crown.' A must-watch for history-geeks and cinematography-lovers alike, the show puts the lives of the Royal Family under a glossy, sometimes gritty and always gripping microscope.

Seasons one and two travelled through Her Majesty's early years, beginning with her marriage to Prince Phillip (played dashingly by Matt Smith in the first seasons) through to the tumultuous ending of the Macmillan era by the Profumo Affair (for more on that, 'The Trial of Christine Keeler' currently showing on Sunday nights on BBC Once is superb…review pending). Season three picks up in '64 with an entirely revamped cast. Colman leads with Tobias Menzies taking over as Prince Phillip. We follow the Windsor family through poignant snapshots of British history - the first moon landing, the start of the miners' strike and Charles' creation as the Prince of Wales. Helena Bonham-Carter doesn't hold back, adding layer upon layer to the erratic (but oh, so well-dressed) Princess Margaret whilst Erin Doherty's Princess Anne unquestionably takes home gold for the sassiest royal on TV. 

Whether you hosted your neighbourhood's jubilee street party, or you'd rather convert Buckingham Palace into a refuge centre, the eye for detail and clever critique woven through the tailcoats of this series simply cannot be missed.

All seasons are available on Netflix now. Caution: episode three requires tissues…

Fleabag                                                                  

Yes, the central set is a bankrupt guinea-pig themed café and yes, this show is total brilliance. With only six episodes in each of its two seasons, Fleabag leaves us gasping for more of its crude one-liners and applaudable put-downs. The series focusses on the life of the eponymous, anonymous Fleabag - a young woman teetering through London life and all that it throws at her, her singledom and her quite frankly ludicrous family of oddballs.

Written, directed and produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, it would almost be superfluous to comment on her impeccable talent in creating a character that elicits repulse, relatability and adoration all within twenty-five minutes. Fortunately, the Golden Globes has helpfully done that for me, regaling PWB as this year’s best ‘Actress in a Musical or a Comedy TV Series’. 

Now streaming on both BBC iPlayer and Amazon Video. Be sure to leave three hours clear when you press play on season 2, as once you’ve started cackling through the first episode, you won’t stop until the finish line. 

(NB: this review would have entirely focussed on Andrew Scott’s wrong-but-right sexy priest perfection if memeland hadn’t already beaten me to it.)

Judy

Renee Zellweger's spellbinding encapsulation of Judy Garland in the 2019 biopic was, as masterful as it was heart-breaking. Based on the icon's final years, a melancholy underpins every moment of the film. We are let into scenes from Judy's childhood, throughout which adults strangled her every move with cameras and narcotics. The relationship with her children is painted through tears spilled in a London telephone box, whilst her final marriage is fraught with dependency. As sympathetic as director Rupert Goold insists that we feel for Judy, he also portrays the hypnotic charm she cast over her audiences. Told through the star-struck eyes of two of Judy's fondest fans, we realise that the bond she had with her fans was as much the making of her as it was her sparkling red Achilles heel.

This precious tribute to one of Hollywood's forever-greats is a fitting finale to your Golden Globe round-robin, with Renee Zellwegger rightfully receiving the title of best 'Actress in a Drama Motion Picture.'

#FLODown: Oscar nominations are due to be revealed any moment so expect more juice for your watchlist very soon. 

Words by Lucy Firestone