By the time you read this, most Academy Members will have received a notification that voting has begun for the 98th Academy Awards. Not all 11,000 members watched the Golden Globes Sunday night, and a very small percentage were on hand or at viewing parties. That being said, the Globes are a massive PR exercise for potential nominees hoping to sneak into a competitive category. And while it doesn’t always impact the races, it may have given a spotlight to a contender or two who needed it.
READ MORE: “One Battle After Another,””Hamnet” And “The Pitt” Top 2026 Golden Globes Awards Winners [Complete List]
This is also the first year the Globes were broadcast on CBS under “new” Paramount management following the company’s formal acquisition by Skydance Media in August. A lot has changed at Paramount over the past five months, and we’ll be curious to hear in the days and weeks ahead whether some of the new tweaks to the telecast were incorporated because of it. One thing is for sure: that forced and awkward UFC moment was definitely a “new” Paramount mandate. And that’s just one of the topics we’ll tackle as we look over the weird hybrid of sports and entertainment that was the 83rd Golden Globes.
Nikki Glaser met the moment
Now in her third year, Glaser’s confidence was evident. She started off almost immediately with three sharp, pointed, and funny political jokes. “Yes, the Golden Globes, the most important thing happening in the world right now. “And by A-listers, I mean have been on a list and been heavily redacted. Yes, and the Golden Globe for Best Editing goes to the Justice Department.” “And the award for most editing goes to…CBS News. Yes, CBS News, America’s newest place to see B.S. news.” To say that zinger at the end of your contract, on the same network, paying your salary? Some might say that’s brave. We’re sure Bari Weiss could have cared less, but props to Glaser for speaking truth to power. Glaser also roasted Leonardo DiCaprio, to his face, more fiercely than Tina Fey or Amy Poehler dared to (and they were pretty harsh). Her taped bit skewering the Podcast category was fantastic (again, surprised the producers let her diss their new award), and her “Heated Rivalry” and “KPop Demon Hunters” mash-up was different for the telecast (it also featured a fun Fran Drescher cameo). Overall, Glasser keeps getting better and better at this. At this point, her roast style is so endearing that she should be on Oscar’s radar (she might even boost their ratings).
Too many stars still kept their mouths shut and yet…
With so many International winners, including four “Adolescence” wins, Aussie Rose Byrne, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jessie Buckley, the opportunity for Americans to speak out on the unprecedented historical moment in the nation was genuinely less than you’d expect. That being said, Wanda Sykes delivered an incredible dressing down of Bill Maher and the not-in-attendance Ricky Gervais when presenting the Comedy Stand-Up Performance, Jean Smart reminded the audience “we know what we need to do” after some strong comments during red carpet interviews, and “The Secret Agent‘s” Brazillian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who no doubt wants to get a return visa for the Oscars, alluded to events outside the Beverly Hilton making sure to remind young american to make films (essentially to speak up). Mark Ruffalo also gave two impassioned interviews on the ET and CBS red carpets that have already gone viral. You’d think more would speak up, but it’s a big jump from the shell-shocked state Hollywood was in a year ago.
“The Secret Agent” got a PR boost
Speaking of “The Secret Agent,” NEON’s Best Picture nominee contender got a much-needed PR boost from its Globes wins. Already a big hit in Brazil and a solid arthouse performer in the U.S. so far, “Agent” won Film Not in the English Language and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. Wagner Moura‘s win was much-needed after he was snubbed by SAG and shockingly didn’t make the BAFTA longlist for Best Actor. The sentiment on the awards season ground, even from other studios, is that Moura will make it. This Globe win might have moved the needle in his favor. As for a Best Picture nom, NEON may see its streak of Palme D’Or winners earning Best Picture noms end (in this case, “It Was Just An Accident”) and two other Cannes prize winners, “Secret” and “Sentimental Value,” make the ten instead.
Julia Roberts gave “Sorry, Baby” a gift
She didn’t have to say anything, but before she presented the final award of the night, Julia Roberts took 30 seconds to shout outEva Victor, a fellow nominee for Best Actress in a Motion Picture- Drama, for her phenomenal film “Sorry, Baby.” With millions watching, including AMPAS voters, she told viewers, “If you have not seen it, see it.” You literally cannot buy that sort of FYC endorsement.
What was the UFC thing before the “Heated Rivalry” moment
I mean, we know what it was. Paramount wanted to promote its new $7 billion partnership with UFC during the Globes. An awards show audience primarily of women and gay men (I mean, it’s true), a very small percentage of whom could care at all about UFC. And yet, like a corporate low-hanging fruit play, two UFC stars came out before the “Heated Rivarly” stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams did their bit. It was, like many choices during this telecast, dumb.
The biggest stars in the room everywhere this weekend were…
Yep, you guessed it, the “Heated Rivalry” cast. Storrie was at the Universal Toast, and the rest of the cast all made the NEON party. On Saturday night, they hit Amazon MGM Studios and Vanity Fair’s shindig as well as the W Magazine soiree next door. The reaction from executives was wild. Oscar and Emmy winners left and right, and you would have thought the Beatles, Beyonce, or Harry Styles at his height (four years off might have been a mistake, Harry) walked into the room. We haven’t seen anything like this on the industry side since Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart exploded with “Twilight.” The disconnect of Palme d’Or winner and cinematic icon Jafar Panahi walking around the NEON party almost unnoticed, as the “Rivalry” cast has to huddle in a corner to breathe, was crazy. Oh, and you also saw it on the Globes red carpet with Ayo Edebiri crashing Storrie’s interview. Again, wild.
Original Score would have given the show another “Sinners” moment
Granted, the telecast producers didn’t know who would win in the Original Score category. Still, if they had kept the category during the live portion of the telecast, Ludwig Göransson’s win would have given the show another “Sinners” moment. A moment that would have given the show another social media boost, considering how massive Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed blockbuster is online (it’s arguably the most popular among all the major awards contenders this year). Instead, they spent valuable time on two Glaser skits that weren’t bad, but also weren’t necessary, and handed out Podcast and Comedy Stand-Up awards no one cares about whatsoever (more on that in a minute).
That Met Gala staircase might have looked good in photos, but…
Honestly, trying to incorporate the iconic Met Gala red carpet staircase (also a Cannes fixture) is a smart idea. And the Globes beat a slew of other award shows that are now kicking themselves for not doing it first. Unfortunately, from what we’ve learned, there are a ton of kinks to work out for 2027. In their wisdom, the Globes put their official interview placements at the top of the stairs. That created a massive talent clog at the top as some stars were dismissed who wanted to talk, and others were rangled whether they wanted to or not. Basically, the Globes made it hard to escape (that’s not fun or classy). Moreover, while the lights are always warm on a red carpet like this, they were massively hot this year. Some talent was sweating profusely when they got to the top of the stairs. Oh, and to make matters worse, most talent or their reps were not briefed on this setup, so they often got to the top and had no idea where they were (they had to descend another set of stairs to ground level). Organization is everything. Maybe they’ll make it a better on-the-ground experience next year.
EJAE’s acceptance speech for “Golden” was not ideal
We are overjoyed that EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick won Best Original Song for “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.” As working songwriters, the phenomenal success of the track over the last six months has completely changed their lives (over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify alone). Having said that, we’re not joking when we suggest it’s a good thing Grammy voting ended last week, because EJAE’s speech was simply too much…for the Globes. She was being heartfelt, and it was an emotional moment for her, but this was just the Golden Globes. Grammy and Oscar wins are right around the corner. “KPop” fans might have been down for this, but it felt like someone needed to have briefed her beforehand.
Do the podcast and comedy special awards really sell that many tables and ads?
Listen, without the Comedy Stand-Up award, we’d never have that fantastic Skyes moment. And Amy Poehler likely would not have shown up to grace our screens without the Podcast award. That being said, the Golden Globes voters are not experts in these spaces whatsoever. They barely watch enough American or U.S. fostered television to qualify to vote on those long-running awards (the fact that Kim Kardashian didn’t get an “All’s Fair” nomination is some sort of miracle). The Podcast and Comedy Sand-Up Performance Award serves two purposes only: For Penske Media’s trade outlets to sell FYC ads for those categories and to sell more tables during the ceremony. That’s it. They are not boosting ratings. It’s not creating more must-watch hype. Nope, it’s a monopolistic move by Penske, which owns both the Globes and four major Hollywood trade outlets. We’re afraid of what they will try to add next.
The veteran stars delivered the best bits
Whether it was the aforementioned Roberts, Judd Apatow crushing his Best Director presentation, the “Smartless” trio poking fun at themselves, or Melissa McCarthy and Kathryn Hahn presenting Male Actor in a Limited Series, the stars with established comedic backgrounds sorta killed it. Capping it all off was Don Cheadle crashing George Clooney’s attempt to announce Best Motion Picture – Drama in a fantastic two-fer that felt like a tease or the upcoming “Ocean’s Fourteen” movie (we thought for a split second Brad Pitt might appear). We think the Oscar telecast could take some pointers from this strategy (basicallymore of this and fewer uncomfortable first-timers) for March.
The sportification of the Globes was a bit too much
The Polymarket partnership was simply gross. The last thing awards shows need is to tie gambling into it. Especially when it’s being determined by a very small number of voters in a historically corrupt organization. Having ET’s Kevin Frazier and Variety’s Marc Malkin provide commentary would have been fine in small doses, but it was simply too much and often overshadowed the talent and any sense of drama as they walked to the stage to collect their trophies. Moreover, there were numerous times where “news” about a future project was shared that was utterly and factually incorrect (no, any “Adolescence” sequel is not going to be a direct sequel, Stephen Graham and Jack Throne have made that clear many times). And that’s not counting the “rumors” that, again, were often speculation and factually incorrect. Often their commentary was worthy of a big ol’ “Yikes.”
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