2021 Golden Globes: All the Jewish nominees

By Emily Burack

(JTA) – “Schitt’s Creek” is trying to pick up in the Golden Globes where it left off in the fall with its historic Emmys sweep.

The show about a wealthy interfaith Jewish family was nominated Wednesday for five awards, including four for the main actors and one for best series.

There are plenty of other Jewish nominations, too, notably “Mank,” the acclaimed film on the story of Jewish screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, with six.

The Golden Globes, taking place virtually in the new pandemic normal, will be held Feb. 28 and hosted for the fourth time by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. This time they’ll be on different coasts.

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes divide their film categories into musical or comedy and drama, allowing for a wider range of actors and actresses to be nominated. The television categories are divided, too, similar to the Emmys.

Check out all the Jewish nominees below.

TELEVISION

“Schitt’s Creek” is up for best series and Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy are all nominated in the best television series, musical or comedy categories. The show follows the well-to-do family that loses its money and is forced to live in a small town they once bought as a joke.

“Unorthodox,” the hit Netflix drama based on Deborah Feldman’s memoir of the same name about a young woman leaving the haredi Orthodox world, is nominated for best limited series. The Israeli star of the show, Shira Haas, is also nominated for best actress in a limited series.

Up against “Unorthodox” in that category is “The Undoing,” a not-very-Jewish HBO miniseries adapted from Jewish author Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel “You Should Have Known.”

Jane Levy is nominated for her role in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” a musical NBC comedy.

Last but not least: Al Pacino is nominated for his role as Meyer Offerman, a Jewish Nazi hunter with a Yiddish accent in the Amazon Prime show “Hunters.”

MOVIES

“Mank,” starring Gary Oldman (in a controversial casting decision), leads the pack with its six nominations: for best motion picture, drama, best screenplay, best supporting actress, best actor (drama), best original score and best director.

“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” starring Jewish actor Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, a fictional journalist from Kazakhstan, was filled with Jewish moments and timely commentary on anti-Semitism. It received three nods from the Globes: for best motion picture, musical or comedy, for best actor in the musical or comedy category (Cohen) and best actress in the same category. Maria Bakalova, the Bulgarian actress who plays Borat’s daughter in the film, delighted viewers with a wacky breakout performance (and a memorable scene with Rudy Giuliani).

“Palm Springs,” the “Groundhog Day”-style time-loop comedy from Hulu starring Jewish actor Andy Samberg, is up for best motion picture, musical or comedy. Samberg also notched a best actor nomination in the comedy category.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” also starring Sacha Baron Cohen, is the story of Jewish anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman from Jewish writer-director Aaron Sorkin. The film is up for five awards: for best motion picture, drama; supporting actor for Cohen; best director and best screenplay for Sorkin; and best original song for “Here My Voice.”

Sophia Loren‘s Holocaust film “The Life Ahead,” which tells the tale of survivor and former sex worker Madame Rosa, is up for two awards – best motion picture and best original song.

Jewish actress Kate Hudson was nominated for her role in “Music,” the musical drama film from singer-songwriter Sia.

2021 NAACP Image Awards: The Jewish nominees

By Emily Burack

(JTA) – Several Jewish stars are among the nominees for the 2021 NAACP Image Awards, which celebrate Black achievement in movies, television, music and literature.

The list announced Tuesday features a mix of familiar Jewish names, such as the often-awarded rapper Drake and TV star Tracee Ellis Ross, along with rising artists like actress Jurnee Smollett and rapper Doja Cat.

The ceremony will air virtually on March 27. Here are the Jews to know.

THE STARS

Jurnee Smollett received a nomination for her breakout role as Leti in “Lovecraft Country,” the HBO horror drama that received eight nominations, including for outstanding drama series. Smollett last won a NAACP Image Award for her role in the 2008 film “The Great Debaters.”

“Blackish,” which stars Tracee Ellis Ross, leads the TV categories with 11 nominations, including for outstanding series. Ross was tapped for the sixth consecutive year as outstanding actress in a comedy series – she’s won four times. Ross tacked on another nomination, as outstanding actress in a motion picture for “The High Note,” and now has 16, bringing her career total to 16.

Multi-hyphenate star Daveed Diggs, whose 2020 included an instantly iconic Hanukkah song and a viral dig at Donald Trump, was nominated for his portrayal of Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in the filmed recording of the musical “Hamilton,” the Broadway sensation that was released on Disney+ last summer. The musical film received a total of four nominations. Diggs is up against his fellow “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr.

THE SHOWS

The Netflix sitcom “#blackAF,” starring Jewish actress Rashida Jones alongside creator Kenya Barris, was nominated for outstanding comedy series, as was “The Last O.G.,” which stars Jewish actress Tiffany Haddish alongside Tracy Morgan.

“Bridgerton,” the hit Netflix series based on the series of the same name by Jewish romance author Julia Quinn (nee Julie Cotler), received three nominations: for outstanding drama series, for Rege-Jean Page’s star turn as the Duke of Hastings, and for Adjoa Andoh’s portrayal of Lady Danbury.

“Big Mouth,” the very Jewish animated Netflix show about puberty in suburban Westchester, received a nod for outstanding animated series. The series made waves after it recast the voice of the character Missy, a Black Jewish tween, after Jewish actress Jenny Slate stepped away in June.

“At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play ‘Missy’ because her mom is Jewish and White – as am I. But ‘Missy’ is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people,” Slate wrote in a statement posted by Instagram.

Toward the end of last season, Missy’s voice changed to from Slate to Ayo Edebiri, a writer on the show.

MUSIC

Breakout rapper Doja Cat, real name Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini, was nominated for best new artist for her record “Say So.” Doja Cat also garnered many nods at the 2021 Grammys.

Drake, real name Aubrey Drake Graham, received three nominations: for outstanding male artist, and two for outstanding hip hop/rap song, for the tracks “Laugh Now, Cry Later” and “Life Is Good.”

Jhené Aiko, a singer-songwriter with Jewish heritage, received two nominations for her song “B.S.” feat. H.E.R., and a nomination for her album “Chilombo.”

LITERATURE

Author Walter Mosley, who recently was honored with the National Book Foundation’s lifetime achievement award, was nominated in the outstanding literary work, fiction category for his novel The Awkward Black Man.

Laura Freeman, a children’s book illustrator, received a nomination alongside author Nikki Grimes for their children’s book Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice.

Main Photo: Ibrahima Gueye and Sophia Loren in ‘The Life Ahead’ (Regine de Lazzaris aka Greta)