A slew of cable-television shows in their first season on the air swept the board at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (15 January 2012). Only ABC's huge show 'Modern Family' retained its trophy from last year, with new television programmes leading the way.
Psychological thriller 'Homeland', which only premiered in October 2011, took home the prize for Best TV Drama Series - with its main star Claire Danes scooping the Best Actress award for her role as a bi-polar Cia agent. Speaking to Reuters backstage, the show's co-producer Howard Gordon was ecstatic, saying, "It feels completely unreal. The shows were so amazing this year and (given) the work done in TV these days, to have won the award is just beyond belief". The absence of Amc's hit show Mad Men (due to a contractual dispute) no doubt helped the cause of the new shows, though it takes little away from a selection of programmes that America has welcomed with open arms. They include Kelsey Grammer's 'Boss' - which landed the former Frasier man the prize for 'Best Actor in a Telvision Drama', and American Horror Story, whose star Jessica Lange took home Best Supporting Actress. Speaking after his surprise win, Grammer told reporters, "It's really, really flattering. We have taken note of the fact we got a lot of attention right out of the gate".
In a win that will have pleased many viewers, former Friends star Matt LeBlanc was honored for his role in the television industry satire 'Episodes'.