Mozart in the Jungle: Amazons Low-Profile Series Shocks with High-Profile Wins at Gol

Posted by Jenniffer Sheldon on Thursday, February 1, 2024

Just last year, Amazon made Golden Globe history with its first win. This year, the streaming service did it again — and not in a way anyone expected.

“Mozart in the Jungle” walked away with the best comedy series statue, beating out HBO’s “Silicon Valley” and “Veep,” Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black,” Hulu’s “Casual” and yes, Amazon‘s own “Transparent,” which was considered the frontrunner. Gael García Bernal also took home a surprise Globe, beating out reigning champ Jeffrey Tambor whose win in the TV comedy actor category was seen as a sure thing.

With two seasons having launched, “Mozart” has not received much buzz through its run and not nearly as much critical acclaim or credit for widespread cultural impact as “Transparent” or other competitors “Orange” or award-season-favorite “Veep.”

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“Mozart’s” win is unusual, being such a low-profile series, emphasizing the longstanding unpredictability of the Globes. The award also further strengthens Amazon’s imprint in the industry and most certainly proves the power of streaming services in the Peak TV era — which was exemplified through the nominations sweep.

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After the big win, the “Mozart in the Jungle” team talked about their unexpected win backstage at the award show.

“I’m really immersed in a world of classical music and that loses me in a void where I don’t know much about anything,” Bernal said of earning a nomination, admitting he was “delighted” by his unexpected win.“It a world that interested us. It was a world with a fascinating dynamic between characters and artistic temperament. We thought it was intrinsically interesting,” co-creator Roman Coppola said about the series.

Coppola noted that he and exec producer/co-creator Jason Schwartzman “share a grandfather” and were exposed through their family “to a love of culture and the arts.” But, the two of them weren’t terribly knowledgable about classical music. Schwartzman said, “People ask us questions [about classical music] because of the show, like we’re experts. But this is why we love what we all do — getting to explore all the things that we do.”

Schwaratzman said the Globe win will hopefully enable more people see the show. “Hopefully, now people will see it and watch more of the show get into the different kinds of music in a roundabout way of getting them there.”

As for the low-profile show nabbing a huge win, exec producer/co-creator Paul Weitz attributed the victory to his cast and the voters. “The fix was in — we have an incredible cast.” He credited the HFPA with being willing to actually watch the screeners.

Cynthia Littleton contributed to this report.

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