What The Heck Is Newly Anointed Golden Globe Winner Mozart In The Jungle?

There was a rift in the space-time continuum during the 2016 Golden Globe Awards. Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard stepped out onstage to present the award for Best TV Series — Musical or Comedy. The nominees were Transparent, Casual, Veep, Mozart in the Jungle, Orange Is the New Black, and Silicon Valley. Everyone assumed Transparent was a lock. Jill Soloway's moving-yet-comedic story about a patriarch's gender transition won the 2015 Globe for its inaugural season, and it felt like a sure bet to take the award again. Instead, Henson and Howard announced that the winner was another Amazon Original series, Mozart in the Jungle. The second season actually just premiered on December 30, but a vast majority of viewers at home probably went "Mozart in the what now?" as the cast and producers Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola took the stage to accept their award. So what the heck is Mozart in the Jungle? Well, it's a show about Rodrigo, a mercurial and egomaniacal maestro played by Gael Garcia Bernal (who also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, a surprising upset for Transparent's Jeffrey Tambor), coming to take over as the conductor of a New York-based orchestra that desperately needs an infusion of something so that benefactors and audiences will take notice. It's also the story of Hailey (Lola Kirke), an extremely talented oboist who becomes his assistant while getting her big break in the symphony. Right now, you might not be that intrigued. Nevertheless, even if classical music isn't your jam (although if it isn't, I urge you to take a listen to listen to a piece like "Rhapsody in Blue" or Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and reconsider), the drama that surrounds the live production of it on Mozart in the Jungle is every bit as over-the-top as what goes down on Empire. It's surprising that the show's first season beat all of the other nominees in the category to win the Golden Globe, however, because Mozart in the Jungle was still finding its footing in season 1. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which chooses Golden Globe winners, does love a newbie, though, which could explain the show's surprising upset in the category. If you're looking for a light-hearted new binge-watch that also provides insight into a world about which you might not be that well-versed, I recommend Mozart in the Jungle. It also stars the legendary Bernadette Peters along with the lovely Saffron Burrows. Give it a watch!