Kathy Bates (left) and Anna Sawai. Photo:
Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty; CBS
Kathy Bates was expecting a win at the 2025 Golden Globes, but she got an on-stage shoutout from winner Anna Sawai instead.
The Shōgun actress, 32, took home the prize for best performance by a female actor in a television series — drama on Sunday, Jan. 5, and when Sawai’s name was called, Bates, 76, jokingly ripped up a piece of paper, seemingly a planned acceptance speech, as she stared down the camera.
Fellow nominee Keri Russell also had a noteworthy reaction to Sawai’s win, as she couldn’t seem to hold in her excitement at not being the winner herself.
“Thank you, oh thank you,” the star of The Diplomat could be seen saying.
Anna Sawai at the 2025 Golden Globes. CBS
Ironically, Sawai herself seemed to be pulling for Bates to win. “I have so much people to thank but I’m gonna keep it short, thank you to the voters for voting for me even though I would vote for Kathy Bates any day,” she admitted in her acceptance speech, which elicited laughs from the crowd.
She continued, “Thank you to our incredible writers, without a good script, it’s impossible to give a performance to our fullest, full potential. Thank you. Everyone else – I’m gonna thank you later.”
Sawai’s win comes after her first-ever nomination in the category. Shōgun, which tells the story of 1600s feudal Japan, earned several nominations across the board, including best television series — drama and a nod for Sawai’s costars Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada.
Asano was nominated for best performance by a male actor in a supporting role on television and Sanada earned a nod for best performance by an actor in a television series — drama, and they both took home the prize.
Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko in ‘Shogun’. Katie Yu/FX
Sawai’s nomination follows her history-making win at the 2024 Emmy Awards — where the show itself made a splash with a whopping 25 nominations.
The actress was the first woman of Asian descent to win outstanding lead actress in a drama series, and her emotional win was then followed by another history-making moment by her costar as Sanada became the first Japanese actor in history to win outstanding actor in a drama series.
Along with Bates’ nomination for Matlock and Russell’s for The Diplomat, House of the Dragon,‘s Emma D’Arcy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘s Maya Erskine and Black Doves’ Keira Knightley were also nominated in the category.
Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock in ‘Matlock’. Sonja Flemming/CBS via Gett
Bates’ nomination for Matlock marks her ninth overall Golden Globe nom, and came 27 years after she won a Globe for best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television for her role in The Late Shift. She also took home a win in 1991 following her first-ever nomination for Misery.
Bates’ only other nomination for a TV role was for American Horror Story: Freak Show in 2015. The remaining four nominations were for Fried Green Tomatoes, Primary Colors, Annie and About Schmidt.
With her latest role as the titular character in the Matlock reboot, Bates has been feeling “emotional” as she told PEOPLE this period of her life “is just so exciting.”
“How can it get any better? I would love for this to keep going,” she said of the wave she’s riding.
Considering she admitted she “had one foot out the door” regarding her acting career until she read the reboot’s script, things for Bates are certainly looking up.
Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2. Theo Whiteman/HBO
D’Arcy was once again nominated for their role as the true heir to the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra Targaryen, in the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon.
In the show’s second season, which aired from June to August, D’Arcy’s character, Rhaenyra Targaryen, was put to the test after suffering a heartbreaking death in the season 1 finale. Rhaenyra continued to face challenges from both her husband Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and her best friend turned enemy, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
Following their nomination for the show in 2023, D’Arcy — who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns — said it was a “beautifully ironic” moment to be recognized at the awards show as they reflected on their gender identity.
“It’s kind of a surreal thing because when I was starting out, I really felt that I had to pretend, to present as a woman in order to find success in this industry,” they told E! News on the red carpet. “Anyway, it wasn’t sustainable, and I stopped pretending, and weirdly, it’s at that point that I got nominated for best actress at the Golden Globes.”
“I think the most important thing is that it implies that the space for trans people and gender-nonconforming people is getting bigger all the time,” D’Arcy, 32, continued. “So I feel very privileged.”
While they didn’t take home the prize that year, the show did beat out Severance, Ozark, The Crown and Better Call Saul to win best television drama series.
Donald Glover as John Smith and Maya Erskine as Jane Smith in Amazon Studios’ series ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ (2024). Amazon Studios
Erskine, 37, is one of two first-time nominees in the category. The PEN15 co-creator starred alongside Donald Glover in the Hulu series remake of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where, instead of playing a couple who both are unaware that their other half is a spy as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt did in the 2005 film, Glover and Erskine’s Jane and John Smith are in a relationship purely for their espionage work.
Along with Erskine’s nomination, the Hulu series, which was renewed for a season 2, earned two other nominations. Her partner in crime, Glover, was nominated for best performance by a male actor in a television series — drama, and the show itself was nominated for best television series — drama.
Keira Knightley in ‘Black Doves’. Ludovic Robert/Netflix
Black Doves secured Knightley’s fourth-ever Golden Globe nomination, but marked her first time being recognized for a TV role. She was previously nominated in 2006 for Pride & Prejudice, in 2008 for Atonement and in 2015 for The Imitation Game, but did not win for any of those films.
In the Netflix series, the actress, 39, plays a British spy whose carefully curated personal life switches into high gear when her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated. Knightley, along with Ben Whishaw, embarks on a high-stakes journey to identify her lover’s killer, all while continuing to keep her double life a secret from her politician husband.
The role is one that Knightley said her “teenage self is thrilled” by. “Sometimes you have to listen to your teenage self and go, ‘This one’s for you,’ you know,” she told the L.A. Times of the role. “I think she would have found this very cool.”
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in ‘The Diplomat’. Netflix
Season 2 of The Diplomat earned Russell her fifth Golden Globe nomination, and followed up her nomination in the same category for season 1 in 2024. The Netflix series returned for season 2 in October, and Russell and Rufus Sewell were back as politics’ most complicated couple, Kate (Russell) and Hal Wyler (Sewell).
The six-episode season saw them continue navigating a treacherous global power balance from the U.K. amid their ongoing relationship troubles — and this time, Allison Janney joined in on the fun, a move that Russell told PEOPLE “really complicates the mix of it all.”
It also meant some added nerves for her, as she told PEOPLE she was “nervous” to work with Janney, but it thankfully all went smoothly. “She’s everything you want her to be,” Russell, 48, said. “She’s gracious and funny and smart and cool.”
Janney, 65, earned a nomination for her role, too, at the Globes, and the show itself was nominated for best television series — drama.
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See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 82nd annual Golden Globes as they’re broadcasting live from the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on CBS and Paramount+.
