Homeland, Girls rule TV Golden Globes

Los Angeles - The terrorism-themed thriller Homeland and the quirky Brooklyn hipster comedy Girls took top television honours on Sunday at the 70th annual Golden Globe awards.

Homeland, which wrapped its second season on the Showtime cable channel last month, won for best dramatic series, and took home best actress and best actor honours for its two stars, Claire Danes and Britain's Damian Lewis.

The show - held in high esteem by critics who contend that American television may have overtaken film for originality and risk-taking - won the same three categories at the Emmy awards in September.

"I'm proud to be working in this medium, in this moment, in this company," said Danes, who portrays CIA officer Carrie Mathison against Lewis's Iraq war POW turned politician Nicholas Brody.

'You make brave choices'

"I want to thank our writers who didn't buckle under the pressure, the success of the first season and continued to challenge themselves and, by extension, us as actors," she said.

"You make brave choices relentlessly and we are all better for it," added Danes, in her first big awards night appearance since giving birth to her first child, a boy, a month ago.

Showtime has commissioned a third season of Homeland, which was adapted from the Israeli series Hatufim, also known as Prisoners of War.

Girls, which by coincidence aired its second season premiere on Sunday on HBO as the Golden Globes gala was underway, took best comedy series as well as best actress for its 26-year-old creator and star Lena Dunham.

The show has been critically acclaimed for its post-Sex and the City portrayal of the lives of four New York City twentysomethings in a post-recession world of career and romantic uncertainty.

"This award is for every woman who felt like there wasn't a space for her," said Dunham, who bases the series on her own experiences. "This show has made a space for me."

Other winners on Sunday included the HBO television movie Game Change and its star Julianne Moore, who took best actress in a TV series, miniseries or film for her role as renegade Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Ed Harris collected best supporting actor for his portrayal of John McCain, who picked Palin as his running mate in his failed 2008 bid for the White House against Barack Obama.

Academy Award winner Kevin Costner took best actor in a TV miniseries or movie for Hatfields and McCoys, while Maggie Smith, also an Oscar winner, won for best supporting TV actress for the British-made Downton Abbey.

Don Cheadle collected best comedy actor for House of Lies.

* The 70th annual Golden Globe Awards will be televised on M-Net on Monday at 20:30