The Golden Globes took place last Jan. 11 as a celebration of film, TV, music and even podcasts. A-list actors and actresses walked the carpet, and comedian Nikki Glaser hosted the show as she did last year.
Jessie Buckley won a Golden Globe for her wonderful performance in “Hamnet.” This came not so much as a shocker for the audience. She also won the critics choice award for best lead actress. “Hamnet” took home the Golden Globe for best picture as well.
“Hamnet” was an outstanding period-drama of this year. Buckley gave a phenomenal performance as Agnes; a woman in tune with nature who has William Shakespeare beguiled. Her portrayal of grief for her son Hamnet is viscerally human. She is a force in this film, and took home the Oscar as well.
Timothee Chalamet won the Golden Globe for best actor in musical or comedy film for his role in “Marty Supreme.” The actor did an incredible job in acting as a narcissistic table-tennis player. The film was swift and entertaining. “Marty Supreme” had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Chalamet is making an awards season comeback in comparison to last year’s Golden Globes where he lost to Adrien Brody. Brody won for “The Brutalist” over Chalamet’s portrayal of Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” Chalamet’s 2026 Oscar looked to be promising, however, he was up against a stacked list of actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Wagner Moura and Ethan Hawke, with Jordan taking home the win.
With his performance in “A Complete Unknown” last year, Chalamet brought music to the movies and started a conversation blending the two art forms that has particularly taken off this year.
Releases in film and TV saw contentious races between films heavily featuring music or with notable scores, of which the Golden Globes saw wins many feel predict a trend that will continue for the rest of award season.
“Sinners,” original horror film directed by Ryan Coogler starring Michael B. Jordan won the Golden Globe for the Best Original Score written by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, who also wrote Oscar award winning scores for “Oppenheimer” and “Black Panther.”
The film not only produced several original songs including “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” and “I Lied to You” that have earned honors including two Grammy awards, but the film itself is also centered around music. Heavily implementing nods to the Mississippi Delta blues that beautifully soundtracks cultural themes of Black voodoo culture and supernatural spirituality, these songs don’t just serve as background music, but plot-furthering, ancestrally significant reminders of the film’s core.
Thus, their win in this surprisingly competitive category was expected by many, however it was “KPop Demon Hunters” that took home the Golden Globe for Best Original Song with “Golden,” the chart-topping electronic song that continued this trend after a win in the same category at the Critics Choice Awards (CCA) on Jan. 4.
Just following the CCA but preceding other significant award shows including the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards and the Academy Awards, or the Oscars, the Golden Globes offers a unique opportunity into what popular picks will be, while also featuring a more diverse range in said outcomes and in the media featured.
“It Was Just an Accident,” an Iranian film by director Jafar Panahi, scored a nomination at the Golden Globes for the most heavily debated category of the night, Best Motion Picture Drama. Whereas, at the Oscars, with nearly double the amount of films nominated, “It Was Just an Accident” only scored a nomination for Best International Film and Writing in an Original Screenplay.
Not to mention, this year the Golden Globes debuted an entirely new category that represented a monumental shift in the recognition of digital audio entertainment in high-profile entertainment awards.
The inaugural Golden Globe went to comedian Amy Poehler for her podcast “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” that also had betting markets, including crypto-based Polymarket of which the Golden Globes partnered with to feature real-time betting odds and predictions, heavily favoring her win even up against popular podcasts including “Call Her Daddy” with Alex Cooper and “SmartLess” with actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.
The night saw additional historic moments unique to the Golden Globes with wins for television series including comedy “The Studio” and drama “The Pitt,” as well as a domination by the psychological crime drama “Adolescence” which took home four Golden Globes and made history with leading actor Owen Cooper making history as the youngest person to ever win the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series.
With viewers anticipating what the rest of such a highly debated award season will behold, the Golden Globes provided diversity across categories, nominations and wins and will act as a reference amidst the prestigious Oscar Academy Awards that occurred on March 15 and upcoming awards such as the British Academy Television Awards, or the BAFTA TV Awards, on May 10.
