The Golden Globes aired Sunday night, leaving us with a clearer vision of this year’s Oscars contest. Cue the “Hamnet” reference: We’ve got four acts to go in this drama. Now for the “One Battle After Another” punch line: This race is going to be hilly, disorienting and probably a blast.
Following the Globes, the Academy Award for best picture looks like a toss-up between Chloé Zhao’s heart-wrenching Shakespeare tale, which won best drama, and the gonzo action-thriller “One Battle After Another,” which snagged best comedy (in addition to trophies for writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson and supporting actress Teyana Taylor).
Jessie Buckley, who won for her lead performance as a grieving mother in “Hamnet,” is neck and neck for best actress with Rose Byrne, who landed an award in the comedy category for her role as an aggrieved mother in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” (Moms: They had a year.) Timothée Chalamet, who won best comedic actor for his intensely committed performance in “Marty Supreme,” seems to have edged out his best-actor competition, which included heavyweights such as Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney and Ethan Hawke — though Wagner Moura, who also won for leading the historical drama “The Secret Agent,” might still stand a chance.
The ceremony was hosted by returning comedian Nikki Glaser, who started things off spicy — with jokes about Jeffrey Epstein, the ongoing Warner Bros. acquisition war and DiCaprio’s dating life — before handing duties over to capable presenters. Here’s a rundown of the show’s most notable moments.
Timothée Chalamet emerged as an Oscars front-runner
Taking a different tone from his braggadocious press tour for “Marty Supreme,” Chalamet’s acceptance speech was subdued and straightforward. He thanked his fellow nominees, his family, his partner Kylie Jenner and the “Marty Supreme” cast, singling out non-actor Kevin O’Leary. “If you had told me when I was 19 years old I’d be thanking Mr. Wonderful from ‘Shark Tank’,” he said, “I would have been stunned but very grateful.”
Chalamet’s win at the Globes (combined with his recent victory at the Critics Choice Awards) solidifies Chalamet as the Oscars front-runner. He’s been nominated twice before, for 2017’s “Call Me By Your Name” and last year’s “A Complete Unknown,” but his hustling, exhausting performance in “Marty Supreme” just might take him across the finish line.
Teyana Taylor gave a rousing speech
The multi-hyphenate Taylor won best supporting actress for her role as a complex revolutionary in “One Battle After Another.” Accepting the prize, Taylor cried and thanked God, her family, director Paul Thomas Anderson and much of the film’s cast.
But her speech ended with a message for the “little Brown girls watching tonight.” Taylor told them that “our softness is not a liability. Our depth is not too much. Our light does not need permission to shine. We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space.”
The best actress race will be a tough one
Motherhood and its many facets emerged as a big theme in film this year. Buckley has earned a great deal of praise for playing Agnes — also known as Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare — in “Hamnet.” The grief Agnes experiences after losing their young son to the bubonic plague is visceral. Her screams are haunting. Before winning at the Globes, Buckley won best actress at the Critics Choice Awards, where Byrne was also nominated.
Because the Globes separate films by genre categories, both women were able to be recognized. Byrne, known for acting in more traditional comedies, stunned as the increasingly frustrated mother of a child suffering from a mysterious illness. Her rage becomes existential, and her claustrophobia contagious. The New York Film Critics Circle awarded Byrne best actress.
The TV wins were well-deserved — and mostly repeats from the Emmys
Did the TV winners seem a little familiar? That might be because we just saw the same shows sweep a few months ago during the 2025 Emmy Awards. But that meant we got charming speeches from the cast and creators of HBO’s medical drama “The Pitt,” Apple TV’s Hollywood parody “The Studio” and the big winner, Netflix’s “Adolescence.” The latter, about a teenage boy accused of killing a teenage girl, cleaned up with best limited series, as well as supporting TV actor (Owen Cooper, who played the boy) and limited series actor (Stephen Graham, who played the boy’s father).
Erin Doherty won supporting TV actress for playing the boy’s psychologist, and gave a shout-out to the profession in her speech. “I just think life can be tough, mental health is everything,” she said. “So thank you to therapists, and it was an honor to play one.”
A ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ phenom gave an emotional speech
There was little doubt that “KPop Demon Hunters” global smash “Golden” — by the fictional K-pop group Huntr/x — would win original song. But Ejae, a co-writer who is also one of the vocalists on the track, gave one of the most moving speeches as she talked about getting rejected early in her K-pop journey.
“I leaned on songs and music to get through it, so now I’m here as a singer and a songwriter,” she said tearfully, adding, “This award goes to people who’ve had doors close at them. … I can confidently say rejection is redirection. And so never give up — and you know, it’s never too late to shine like you were born to be.”
Second-time host Nikki Glaser came out swinging
She went straight for the jugular, joking that the Golden Globe for best editing should go to the Justice Department, before quickly extending the award to CBS News, which she dubbed “America’s newest place to see B.S. news.”
She praised Leonardo DiCaprio’s legendary career, the Oscar, the three Golden Globes, the iconic roles, before landing the punch line: that he managed to do it all “before his girlfriend turned 30.”
The comedian took the opportunity for some quick hits around the room: Sean Penn looks like a “sexy leather handbag,” Timothée Chalamet “gained over 60 ounces” for “Mary Supreme,” Jacob Elordi and Paul Mescal are the same person to her mom, and Steve Martin and Martin Short continue to prove that in Hollywood, “you’re never too old to still need money.”
The ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars were quite a draw
All eyes were on Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, stars of the gay hockey romance “Heated Rivalry” that has become a global TV sensation. The two appeared to be loving the spotlight as audience members and presenters, and were excellent sports about the inevitable jokes about the show’s frequent nudity.
Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams presenting at the #GoldenGlobes. pic.twitter.com/njR1pUrKOX
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 12, 2026
Amy Poehler is a successful podcaster
As predicted by many, Amy Poehler’s good-natured “Good Hang” — which launched last March and ended the year in the Top 10 most-listened-to shows on Spotify — won the inaugural “best podcast” prize. She won over “Call Her Daddy,” “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” NPR’s “Up First” and “SmartLess,” hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and her ex-husband, Will Arnett.
“I know I am new to this game. I have great respect for this form, I have great respect for all the people that I am nominated with, I am big fans of all of you. Except for NPR — just a bunch of celebs phoning it in, so try harder,” Poehler said, which got a big laugh from the celebs in the room. She added that her show “is an attempt to try to make a very rough and unkind world filled with a little bit more love and laughter.”
Wanda Sykes had some words for Ricky Gervais
Former Globes host Ricky Gervais didn’t show up to accept his trophy, but comedian Wanda Sykes was more than happy to do it for him. While presenting the award for best stand-up comedy on television, Sykes clocked Gervais’s absence and jokingly predicted exactly how the moment would play out.
“If you win, I get to accept the award on your behalf,” she said. “And you’re going to thank God and the trans community.”
When Gervais did, in fact, win for his Netflix special “Mortality,” Sykes seemed thrilled. “He would like to thank God and the trans community,” she said, drawing loud laughter from the crowd. The joke landed with extra bite given Gervais’s history of ridiculing transgender people in his comedy.
Politics? What politics?
The A-listers on hand mostly shied away from commenting on current events. When Jean Smart won best TV actress in a comedy for “Hacks,” she said she wouldn’t repeat her “rant” from the red carpet, but told the audience: “I think everybody knows in their hearts knows what the right thing is to do, so let’s do the right thing.” (Smart didn’t get specific on the carpet, but told “Entertainment Tonight” that, “I feel like we’re kind of at a turning point in this country and I hope people can keep their heads” and that it will require “a lot of courage and a lot of restraint.”)
Director Judd Apatow was less vague as he presented an award and listed some of the things that have changed in the world over the last 10 years, and added: “I believe we’re a dictatorship now.”
Gambling continues to take over
As betting has seemed to creep into more and more aspects of life, the Globes decided it needed to be part of the ceremony: Every so often, the announcers would declare the odds for a certain category thanks to Polymarket, the prediction market platform that partnered with the Globes as a sponsor. It felt like clutter in an already-long ceremony, and given that the odds were pretty accurate, arguably served as a spoiler.
The Golden Globes are showing Polymarket odds for the winner of “Best Podcast” pic.twitter.com/iEuXpvRARI
— Jack (@jackfromohio) January 12, 2026
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