As Hollywood gears up for the intricate and intoxicated Golden Globe Awards, the awards race has its usual suspects and frontrunners competing for those shiny statues.

It's been a remarkable year for TV and movies, which makes choosing a winner all the more challenging. We have our expectations on which shows and films will win big, but here are a few that would truly thrill us Sunday night -- even if they are unlikely.

SEE ALSO:'Stranger Things,' Millie Bobby Brown score SAG Award nominations

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Thandie Newton, Westworld

If you loved Westworldor even if you just tolerated it, a high point was undoubtedly the stirring sentience of Maeve. Newton’s allure makes her robot host one of the most relatable and multidimensional characters in the show and saved Westworldfrom growing as self-aware and self-destructive as its characters.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy: Issa Rae, Insecure

As the star and creator of her own webseries and now HBO comedy, Rae doesn't need an award to assert her boss status. But the Globes love new blood, (this category previously honored first-time nominees Rachel Bloom and Gina Rodriguez) and Rae has momentum.

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Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Refreshing though it was, Deadpoolhad its issues with story and uninspired hegemonic ideas about sex and relationships (women like Star Wars. Get over yourself). But Reynolds was a champion for this film in every respect and seemed born to play the Merc with the mouth.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen

Emma Stone andLa La Landare the talk of the town, and Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, but Steinfeld’s inclusion in this category is solely due to a knockout/bullseye/killer performance as the sarcastic and spiraling Nadine.

Best Television Series - Drama: This Is Us

Game of Throneshas enough awards, Stranger Thingshas a massive following, and The Crownis basically replacing Downton Abbeyas TV's resident Anglophile catnip. This is Usstands separate from all of that, removed from special effects and grand characters; it’s on a broadcast network, it’s about a normal or trying-to-be-normal family, and is deeply, wonderfully emotional.

The Golden Globes air Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.

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TopicsGolden Globes