‘Succession,’ ‘Fleabag’ top TV winners at Golden Globes

LOS ANGELES: The television awards at the Golden Globes are often somewhat overlooked – after all, the industry handed out the Emmys just a few months ago.

But at the boozy Globes gala, the winners in the small screen categories – including the stars behind breakout British comedy ‘Fleabag’ and the darkly humorous drama ‘Succession’ – got some laughs and got political.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepted the trophy for best musical or comedy series for ‘Fleabag’ – which follows the antics, sex life and tribulations of a dry-witted 30-something woman in London – with a line of thanks for none other than Barack Obama for putting the show on his Best Of 2019 list.

“Personally, I would like to also thank Obama for putting us on his list – as some of you may know, he’s always been on mine,” she said, drawing peals of laughter for her reference to a scene in season one in which her character masturbates to the former US president giving a speech. Waller-Bridge also snagged a Globe for best comedy actress, adding it to her collection of Emmys for the critically acclaimed BBC series, which has grown into a phenomenon in the US after being acquired by Amazon.

HBO’s ‘Succession’ – centered on a powerful media family’s wrangling for control of its company – scored the award for best drama series.

It fended off Netflix’s flagship ‘The Crown,’ whose new cast is led by Oscar winner Olivia Colman. She won the night’s Globe for best drama actress.

‘Succession’ star Brian Cox took home the best drama actor prize for his role as the family’s husky, growling patriarch.

‘Chernobyl’ – about the catastrophic 1986 nuclear accident – went home with the award for best limited series or TV movie, and Stellan Skarsgard won for best supporting actor.

Netflix had secured 17 nods in the television categories, where it led the pack, ahead of HBO which had 15. But HBO won four awards to Netflix’s one.