What Golden Globe wins for 'Mr. Robot,' 'Mozart' say about TV industry

Comparatively new shows “Mr. Robot” and “Mozart in the Jungle” surprised many at the Golden Globes by taking the prestigious best TV drama series prize and best TV comedy series award, respectively.

“Robot,” which aired its first season on USA this past summer, beat out fellow contenders such as HBO’s “Game of Thrones” to take the best drama prize. 

Meanwhile, “Mozart,” which aired its first season at the end of 2014 and just recently released a second season, triumphed over such heavyweights as Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” and HBO’s “Veep” to take the comedy award.

“Robot” was well-received by TV critics, making some reviewers’ end-of-the-year lists for the best TV of 2015.

“Mozart,” by contrast, seemed to be a new name to many when it was nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, so it getting a nomination was a surprise, let alone it winning over such competition as “Orange” and fellow Amazon program “Transparent.” 

In the past, it’s been interesting to see whether wins at the Golden Globes mean increased attention for the recipients. But the case of “Robot” and “Mozart” may demonstrate that these traditional metrics aren't in play as much as they used to be.

For example, with a network series like “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” industry watchers were able to observe the show’s ratings after it won the best comedy series Golden Globe in 2014 (an unexpected move by the HFPA at the time) and see whether more viewers flocked to the show. 

Now with, for example, “Robot,” it may not matter as much to USA. While the season finale for the program attracted about 1.2 million viewers overall, a rating that would be dismal for a big network, “Robot” had become the third-highest-rated new fictional basic cable drama show of 2015, behind only big-name offerings like “Fear the Walking Dead” and “Better Call Saul.” In the world of cable, “Robot” is a success, especially for USA, where “Robot” was the first show in some time to catch the public’s attention. 

As for “Mozart,” it’s a streaming drama that comes from Amazon. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon are usually very quiet when it comes to viewership data, with Netflix in particular famous for not commenting on which shows are its most popular. 

Amazon recently revealed that the alternate-history drama “The Man in the High Castle” is their most-streamed show and that the show “Bosch” had previously been the most-watched show, but that was the first time the company had commented on original TV viewership numbers.

Therefore it’s unlikely that we’ll know whether ratings for “Mozart” soar or plummet following its Golden Globes win (though if “Mozart” ratings experience a massive increase, perhaps we’ll hear, as it would be good news and Amazon might want to share it). 

What we’ll know for sure is that the HFPA found “Mozart” worthy of the title of best comedy series.