Succession or The Crown could tie Golden Globe record

“Succession” and “The Crown” are both eligible at the upcoming Golden Globes, which means the drama series category could soon have a new co-CEO.

Both shows have won drama series twice so far — “Succession” for its second and third seasons in 2020 and 2022, respectively; “The Crown,” for its first and fourth in 2017 and 2021 — and if either prevails a third time in January, it will join “The X-Files” (1995, 1997-98) and “Mad Men” (2008-10) as the all-time leaders in the category.

At the moment, both series are expected to at least be shortlisted for the top prize, according to our early odds, which have “Succession” in first and “The Crown” in third place — and there is arguably no reason to believe otherwise. “Succession” won the last two times it was eligible and is contending for what is not just its most acclaimed season but its final one. And while “The Crown’s” sixth installment, which is set to be released sometime later this fall, has not yet been seen, the Netflix drama should be a safe bet on account of having never missed and also being in its last year of eligibility.

SEE Emmy nominations: ‘Succession,’ ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Ted Lasso’ dominate

But which of the two shows has a better shot at going all the way? If you asked anyone right now, they would most likely tell you it’s “Succession” — and understandably so. After leading this year’s Emmy nominations with a whopping 27 — the most it ever received throughout its four-season run — the HBO series is the odds-on favorite to take home the Emmy for Best Drama Series (over “The Crown,” which is nominated for its fifth season). Whether it ultimately wins is not something we’ll know until after the Globes as the 2023 Emmy ceremony has been postponed to Jan. 15. But the show’s frontrunner status could be enough of a reason for members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to vote for it, especially now that they have to chance to be the first awards group to officially, uh, crown it for its monumental fourth season. Plus, they already awarded it over “The Crown” in 2020, which is heretofore the only time the two shows have gone up against each other at the Globes.

That said, it would be foolish to write off “The Crown” completely. The HFPA is clearly in the tank for the historical drama, which has collected 19 bids — including four for its most recent installment — and seven victories so far, and is tied with seven other programs as the third most nominated in the drama series category. The show’s biggest hurdle, you could argue, is that it has to reclaim the prize after losing last year — to “House of the Dragon,” which is ineligible this year — but it’s already proven that it can overcome this exact challenge. With its 2021 Best Drama Series win, it became the first show in Globe history to reclaim the award after suffering a defeat. So, if its sixth season sticks the landing, what’s to say it can’t pull off that feat a second time?

Of course, it’s not implausible that neither “Succession” nor “The Crown” walks away with the top honor. It’s no secret that HFPA members are suckers for all things new, so they might instead opt for one of the many freshman series in contention — a list that includes two shows currently in our top five, No. 2 “The Last of Us” and No. 5 “The Diplomat” (third-season contender “The Morning Show” is in fourth place). But only in five of the last 10 years did the award actually go to a first-season show, and in the ones when it didn’t, either a series in its final year of eligibility or — you guessed it — one of “Succession” and “The Crown” (for a season other than its first) came out on top instead. So don’t think for a second that “Succession” and “The Crown” don’t also have history on their side.

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