The Golden Globes return after controversies and a shake-up: Here's what to expect at the show.
From the host to the stars in attendance, what to need to know about Sunday's ceremony.
It's just days into 2024 and we are officially into awards season. Kicking things off are the Golden Globes, a three-hour event airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday. The show will be like Barbenheimer all over again, as the two films, which shared a release date, earned the most film nominations. Succession, which ended last year after four seasons of tension and drama, scored the most for TV and is expected to get its flowers. (See the full nominee list here.)
Back to normal after a bumpy few years
The show — best known for being the one in which alcohol is served (or overserved in some cases) — is being broadcast live in its traditional Sunday spot for the first time since 2021. Amid controversy with the now disbanded Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the awards show found a new owner (Dick Clark Productions with asset management company Eldridge Industries), a new network (CBS), new producers (Oscars pros Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner) and an expanded voting membership.
A number of recent scandals — which included a lack of diversity, internal corruption and sexual assault allegations — led to ceremony boycotts (Tom Cruise returned his three awards) and NBC, which had long broadcast the show, canceling the 2022 telecast. The awards were handed out privately that year. The Globes returned to TV in 2023, via NBC, but the network banished the show to a Tuesday night. The ratings hit a 15-year low.
This year's ceremony will be the most "normal" in years, especially since the 2021 ceremony was bicoastal and largely virtual due to COVID. (The Hollywood strikes did, however, limit the amount of prep time that went into the show.)
With this big refresh — of the ownership, the management team and members (the voting body is now 47% female and 60% racially and ethnically diverse), the hope is it will return to being the party of the year.
"It’s not a standard awards show," Weiss said last month. "Everyone's having a good time – dinner, drinking." Though that's just the public-facing side. Behind the scenes, there's no doubt everyone hopes it will be a year free of bad press.
Jump for Koy
Due to the aforementioned controversies, producers had a challenging time finding both a network to air the show (CBS has only agreed to a one-year deal that reportedly entails no financial risk for the network) as well as a host. Only two weeks ago, Jo Koy, comedian and Chelsea Handler ex, was confirmed for the gig. Chris Rock and Ali Wong reportedly declined — so did a proposed trio of Smartless podcast hosts Will Arnett, Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman.
"It's so surreal," said Koy of his 11th-hour hiring, on the daytime talk show The Talk. "The day they made the announcement was the day I found out. So, we all found out at the same time." He's been working nonstop on his material since, as hosts typically have months to prepare. "I want everyone to know, I've been writing since the day I found out. I have not stopped watching every movie, every TV show. I've been writing every single night. I haven't slept. But I'm happy. The challenge is on..." He said at the very least, he just wants to make his son proud, which, honestly, is enough for us.
Koy, who just signed a Netflix deal for two specials, told Vanity Fair that he sought the advice of his peers who have emceed similar events, including Rock, Wong and Seth Meyers. Koy said Rock told him, in their hour-long phone call, "'F*** the wardrobe change,'" as many hosts, especially the women, cycle through outfits. "'Worry about the show. Watch the show. That way you're prepared. If something happens, you're ready.'"
What to expect at the show
Swifties already know that Taylor Swift will be in attendance as a nominee (for The Eras Tour movie) — and now you know too. While her boyfriend Travis Kelce will also be in Los Angeles that day, as the Kansas City Chiefs play the L.A. Chargers, the timing of the events will likely prohibit a big red carpet debut. That's OK — she can go with BFF and fellow nominee Selena Gomez, who received an acting nod for Only Murders in the Building.
The night's biggest film nominee is Greta Gerwig's Barbie, which snagged nine, including Best Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as acting nods for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. So expect Barbie and Ken to be there. Christopher Nolan's drama Oppenheimer scored eight nominations, including in the acting categories for Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey, Jr.
Other big movie stars who are nominated include Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro alongside their breakout co-star Lily Gladstone (for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon), Emma Stone (Poor Things), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Bradley Cooper (Maestro).
On the TV front, it's the last year for drama Succession, which led all series with nine nominations and is predicted to be a big winner. The show has three nominations in the best actor category — Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong — so they may cancel each other out, but there has been buzz about Sarah Snook winning for lead actress.
In the comedy arena, Ted Lasso and Jury Duty give The Bear tough competition. Speaking of The Bear, Jeremy Allen White, off his edgy new campaign as the Calvin Klein underwear guy, is a lead actor nominee for comedy again after winning last year. Will he be wearing his Calvins? We're sure someone on the red carpet will ask.
Also of note, there's a second new category this year — for TV stand-up comedy performance with Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes as nominees.
As far as presenters, Oprah Winfrey will be on tap (we imagine in purple) as well as besties Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, America Ferrera, Jared Leto, Jodie Foster, Michelle Yeoh, Jon Batiste, Annette Bening, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Costner, Kristen Wiig, Mark Hamill, Naomi Watts, Orlando Bloom, Ray Romano, Florence Pugh, Amanda Seyfried, Angela Bassett, George Lopez and Will Ferrell.
The Golden Globes air Sunday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. ET, on CBS and stream on Paramount+ (for subscribers who pay for the Showtime add-on). Other Paramount+ customers can stream the show the next day.
