The Golden Globes are back from the dead and ready to party.
The long-running awards show will have the champagne flowing again Sunday night when the 81st Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST. Much will look the same as ever when well-dressed celebrities gather at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom in Los Angeles.
But the Globes return without the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which was disbanded after years of diversity and ethics scandals. The Globes also lost their longtime network home. This year's show will air on CBS in a one-year contract.
Can the revamped Globes recapture the vibrant, irreverent spirit of all those Ricky Gervais or Tina Fey and Amy Poehler shows? Those broadcasts make the Globes the third biggest awards show of the year, behind the Oscars and the Grammys. The glitzy good time of the Globes allowed many to overlook the ramifications of an awards show that often doubled as a punchline.
Regardless of the behind-the-scenes drama, most viewers tune in for the dresses, the speeches and the stars – of which there is an abundant supply this year. Among the expected attendees is Taylor Swift, whose “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” has been nominated in the recently launched award for “cinematic and box-office achievement.” Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, will play with the Kansas City Chiefs at nearby SoFi Stadium earlier today.
Swift, along with the stars of likely winners “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” are among the main attractions at Sunday's ceremony, hosted by Jo Koy. The comedian, who is not expected to strike as caustic a tone as previous hosts, will be tasked with leading the Globes into a new era. Even the menu (Nobu is catering) has been turned around.
CBS will broadcast the ceremony live after an afternoon of NFL broadcasts. The show will also be streamed live via Showtime's subscription to Paramount+. The Globes can also be watched via live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, such as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.
Red carpet coverage will be online. The official pre-show will be hosted by “Entertainment Tonight” and Variety starting at 6:30 PM Eastern. The red carpet will be streamed on the Golden Globes site, ETOnline.com, Variety's website and social platforms and other Penske Media publications.
Announced presenters include Oprah Winfrey, Will Ferrell, Ben Affleck, America Ferrara, Michelle Yeoh, Issa Rae, Florence Pugh, Angela Bassett and Amanda Seyfriend.
You won't see two awards usually presented at the Globes: the Cecil B. DeMille Award or the Carol Burnett Award. Neither honor will be awarded this year, although there are two new categories: the blockbuster award and one for stand-up comedy special. Also new: there are six nominees in most categories, and not five.
Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie,' the biggest movie of the year with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, lands in the main nomination with nine nods, including best comedy or musical, best director for Gerwig, best actress for Margot Robbie, best supporting actor for Ryan Gosling, and three original song nominations.
Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' follows closely behind with eight nominations, including best drama, best director for Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy and supporting nods for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt.
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are expected to clean up, but are eyeing possible wins over front-runners including Lily Gladstone for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Emma Stone for “Poor Things” and “Da'Vine Joy Randolph for “The Remainers” .”
On the TV side, HBO's “Succession” leads with nine nominations. “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building” follow with five pieces each.
A few years ago, the Golden Globes were on the verge of collapse. After The Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA had no black members, Hollywood boycotted the organization. The 2022 Globes were all but canceled and taken off television. After reforms, the Globes returned to NBC last year on a one-year deal, but the show was canceled until Tuesday night. With Jerrod Carmichael as host, the broadcast drew 6.3 million viewers, a new low on NBC and a far cry from the 20 million who once tuned in.
The Golden Globes were acquired by Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which owns Penske Media, and turned into a for-profit corporation. The HFPA (which usually had about 90 voters) was disbanded and a new group of about 300 entertainment journalists from around the world now vote for the awards.
Questions still remain about the long-term future of the Globes, but their value to Hollywood studios continues to provide a marketing boost to awards contenders. (The Oscars won't be held until March 10.) Due to actors' and writers' strikes, this year's Globes will air before the Emmys, which were postponed until January 15.
With movie ticket sales still down 20% from pre-pandemic levels and the industry facing a potentially rocky 2024 at the box office, Hollywood needs the Golden Globes as much as ever.
