Female-led 'Handmaid's Tale', 'Big Little Lies' lead Golden Globes TV wins

Dystopian saga “The Handmaid’s Tale” and drama “Big Little Lies” won the top television honours at Sunday’s Golden Globes awards, where stories about women led a ceremony dominated by the Time’s Up movement to fight workplace sexual harassment. 

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” from streaming platform Hulu and based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, won best TV drama and best actress for its lead star Elisabeth Moss, who dedicated her win to the veteran author.

“Margaret, this is for you and all women that came before you and after you that were brave enough to speak out against injustice and intolerance,” Moss said.

Much of Sunday’s Golden Globes awards ceremony was driven by conversation of the Time’s Up campaign that was launched last week by more than 300 Hollywood industry figures including actors, directors and writers.

On the red carpet, stars wore black in solidarity with the movement, and host Seth Meyers didn’t shy away from ripping into the sexual harassment scandal with barbed jokes.

Time Warner Inc-owned HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” about the lives of a group of women living in an affluent California coastal town, swept the best limited series/TV movie category and its stars Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern won for acting.

“This show is so much about the life we present to the world and that can be very different to the life we live behind closed doors. I want to thank everyone who broke their silence this year, and spoke up about abuse and harassment,” said Reese Witherspoon, star and co-producer of “Big Little Lies.”

“To the people out there who are feeling silenced ... we see you, we hear you and we will tell your stories,” she added.

Kidman, who plays a victim of domestic violence in the show and Dern -- both of whom helped spearhead the Time’s Up campaign along with Witherspoon -- made pointed speeches as they accepted their awards.

“This character that I play represents something that is the centre of our conversation right now, abuse. I do believe and hope we can elicit change through the stories that we tell,” Kidman said.

Amazon Studios’ freshman series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” about a housewife-turned-comedian in 1950s New York, was the surprise winner of best TV comedy and its star, newcomer Rachel Brosnahan, won best TV comedy actress.

“There are so many women’s stories out there that need to be told,” Brosnahan said. “So as we enter this new year, please let’s continue to hold each other accountable and invest in and make and champion these stories.”