Don't look now, but Hollywood's booziest awards show is back on NBC — potentially for the final time.
The embattled Golden Globe Awards returned to the air Tuesday, one year after NBC refused to broadcast the ceremony amid criticism of the organization behind it. In 2021, the Los Angeles Times revealed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had zero Black members at that time, and there were also questions about the ethics of some of the group's business practices. The backlash was intense — Tom Cruise gave back his Golden Globes — and it seemed like the ceremony might never return.
Since then, the HFPA instituted numerous reforms, including adding Black members to its organization. So in 2022, NBC confirmed it would air the 2023 ceremony. But there's a catch: NBC only signed a one-year deal with the HFPA, and Puck reports that inside NBCUniversal, it's understood that this year's Golden Globes "will almost certainly be NBC's last," leaving the show's future up in the air.
The Golden Globes is back at the Beverly Hilton hotel this year with comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosting. It's happening on a Tuesday, rather than Sunday as usual, because NBC was already airing Sunday Night Football that day. The nominated films include blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water and Oscar contenders like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. (At least one nominee will be absent: Brendan Fraser, who is nominated for Best Actor for The Whale, but is skipping the show after he accused the former president of the HPFA of groping him in 2003.)
After all the tumult, all eyes are on whether the HFPA can make the case with Tuesday's Golden Globes that this show still has a place as a crucial stop on the way to the Oscars every year. If the organization can't do so, don't be surprised if these Globes soon stop spinning for good.
We're covering all the latest from the Golden Globes as it happens, so check back in throughout the show for updates:
11:20 - Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans wins Best Picture - Drama, putting the director's film back on track as a frontrunner in the Best Picture Oscar race after it appeared to lose some steam in recent weeks. Spielberg keeps his speech short, joking he doesn't want to be the reason the Globes extends into the 11:30 news.
And that's our show! After all the controversy, the Globes wraps up a surprisingly drama-free ceremony, which managed to convince Hollywood's biggest stars to take the HFPA seriously again and in which criticism of the HFPA was mostly kept brief — and we all got through it without one single slap.
11:15 - The Banshees of Inisherin wins Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, defeating Everything Everywhere All at Once in a tight race and confirming the film is a serious contender in the Best Picture Oscar race.
11:09 p.m. - The president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association comes on stage and, after two years of controversy, vows to "continue to add representation to our organization" moving forward.
11:07 p.m. - The Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon wins Best Drama Series, defeating contenders like Severance and The Crown. It was a bit of an upset considering the original Game of Thrones never won this award. "As you can tell, we didn't think we were going to win, so I didn't get ready," says co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, who isn't wearing a tie and doesn't have his shirt tucked in. Sapochnik notably left House of the Dragon last year, reportedly because HBO refused to make his wife a producer.
11:03 p.m. - Abbott Elementary wins Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy Series after previously racking up two acting wins. It's the first ABC show to win in the category since Modern Family in 2012, and it's a big victory for the series after it came up short of a top comedy win at the Emmys. "Comedy is so important to me," creator Quinta Brunson says. "Comedy brings people together. Comedy gives us all the same laugh."
11:00 p.m. - Yellowstone finally gets some awards love! Kevin Costner unexpectedly wins Best Television Actor - Drama Series for Yellowstone in a big upset over Bob Odenkirk and Adam Scott. But Costner isn't in attendance because, presenter Regina Hall explains, "unprecedented weather and flooding" forced him to "shelter in place." Despite the serious nature of that message, though, Hall has a difficult time not laughing through it.
10:52 p.m. - Eddie Murphy receives the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which recognizes contributions to the entertainment industry and is presented by Tracy Morgan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The first thing he does is ... complain that the room is too cold, pleading, "Turn the heat up!" He also jokes he has learned there is a "definitive blueprint" for achieving success: "Pay your taxes, mind your business, and keep Will Smith's wife's name out of your f--king mouth!" That's Slap joke number two, baby — and there's still time for a third.
10:38 p.m. - The White Lotus wins Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture for its second season, another win for the HBO anthology that came soon after star Jennifer Coolidge's victory. Creator Mike White accepts and immediately notes that he's drunk because there was "no food" to eat at the show, so the Globes' reputation as the drunkest awards show of the year certainly hasn't changed.
10:36 p.m. - Evan Peters wins Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film for his role as Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, a series co-created by Ryan Murphy, tonight's Carol Burnett Award recipient. In a succinct speech, he thanks viewers who watched the Netflix hit, saying he hopes "some good came out of it."
10:33 p.m. - Amanda Seyfried wins Best Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film for her role as Elizabeth Holmes on The Dropout, but she's another contender who isn't present to accept the award, supposedly because she's "deep in the process of creating a new musical." Could it be the Jennifer's Body musical of our dreams?
10:32 p.m. - In another quip that elicits groans from the crowd, Carmichael jokes that the show is being held in the "hotel that killed Whitney Houston."
10:27 p.m. - Jennifer Coolidge wins Best Supporting Actress - Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film for The White Lotus, which comes on the heels of her winning an Emmy for the show. She gets emotional on stage paying tribute to those who "kept me going for 20 years with little jobs," including Ryan Murphy. Coolidge also thanks Mike White, the creator of The White Lotus, for changing her life. "My neighbors are speaking to me, and things like that," she says. "No, I mean it!"
10:22 p.m. - Paul Walter Hauser wins Best Supporting Actor - Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film for Black Bird, the Apple TV+ series, defeating contenders including F. Murray Abraham for The White Lotus. He pays tribute to all his co-stars and in particular the late Ray Liotta, who appeared in the series posthumously.
10:13 p.m. - Some up-and-coming director named Steven Spielberg wins Best Director for The Fabelmans, the semi-autobiographical film loosely based on the legendary filmmaker's childhood. This is his fifth Golden Globe win. "I'm really, really happy about this," he says. The director reflects that he was "hiding from" the story of the film, which depicts his parents' divorce, since he was 17 years old, but was inspired to make it when the future of the film industry was in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fabelmans was once considered the Best Picture frontrunner at the Oscars, but it seemed to be losing some momentum in recent weeks as films like Everything Everywhere All at Once surged. Could this be the beginning of a comeback?
10:01 p.m. - Sean Penn "proudly" presents Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who appears on screen to deliver an apparently pre-taped speech. "The war in Ukraine is not over yet, but the tide is turning, and it is already clear who will win," he says, thanking the "free people of the free world" who united around Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
9:57 p.m. - In what might be the single biggest upset of the night, Argentina, 1985 unexpectedly wins Best Picture - Non-English Language, beating both Netflix's All Quiet on the Western Front and RRR. Remember what we said about an RRR sweep? Yeah, scratch that.
9:55 - Cate Blanchett wins Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama for Tár. But unlike Michelle Yeoh, who is her main competitor for the Best Actress Oscar, Blanchett isn't there to give a speech.
9:53 p.m. - Carmichael jokes that during the break, Will Smith received an award for "best portrayal of masculinity on television." You didn't think we would get out of this without a joke about The Slap, did you?
9:49 p.m. - Writer and producer Ryan Murphy receives the Carol Burnett Award, which honors excellence in TV, and is presented by Pose star Billy Porter. He first references the fact that Pose star Mj Rodriguez became the first trans actor to win a Golden Globe last year, but that since this happened when the show wasn't televised, she didn't get the in-person recognition she deserved. So he points to Rodriguez, who is in the audience, calling on the audience to give her the "standing ovation she deserved for making history."
Murphy also pays tribute to a variety of his past collaborators, including Porter. "It's hard being an LGBTQ+ kid in America," he says, telling young gay kids to look at actors like Rodriguez and Porter as "examples of possibility."
9:35 p.m. - Carmichael gets in another zinger after returning from the commercial break, giving a shout out to Steven Spielberg and joking that he saw his film The Fabelmans, which deals with antisemitism, "with Kanye, and it changed everything for him!"
9:28 p.m. - Julia Garner wins Best Supporting Actress in a Television series for Ozark. It's her first win for the show. She's also nominated tonight in a different category for Inventing Anna, so might she go home with not one, but two statues?
9:26 p.m. - Zendaya wins Best Television Actress - Drama Series for Euphoria. It's her first Globe win for the show, as she was snubbed for the first season, though she's the first winner of the night who isn't there to accept her award.
9:23 p.m. - Jerrod Carmichael busts out the most brutal quip of the night so far. He comes on stage holding three Golden Globe Awards, joking they were the ones Tom Cruise returned because of the HFPA's diversity scandal — and quipping they should be exchanged for "the safe return of Shelly Miscavige," the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige who hasn't been seen in years. The joke draws audible groans from the crowd.
9:19 p.m. - Thank you, thank you very much. Austin Butler wins Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for his role as Elvis Presley in Elvis, cementing his status as a strong Oscar contender. "I owe this to a bold, visionary filmmaker who allowed me the experience to take risks," he says, thanking director Baz Luhrmann. Butler also thanks Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie Presley and concludes his speech by thanking "Elvis Presley himself," saying, "You were an icon and a rebel and I love you so much."
Notably, Butler defeats Brendan Fraser, who has accused the former president of the HFPA of groping him in 2003 and said he would not attend tonight's ceremony as a result.
9:17 p.m. - Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio wins Best Picture - Animated, marking Netflix's first time winning in this category and a somewhat rare win for a non-Disney film. The movie was a passion project for director Guillermo del Toro, who talked about making it for years. "Animation is not a genre for kids, it is a medium," del Toro says, also celebrating the fact that the Globes have returned for an in-person ceremony. "Some of us are drunk," he says. "What can be better?"
9:08 p.m. - She ended up in the right universe. Michelle Yeoh wins Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Everything Everywhere All at Once, the movie's second acting win tonight after Ke Huy Quan. It's her first nomination and first win. "I'm just going to stand here and take this all in," Yeoh says as she begins her speech, reflecting on her "amazing journey" to get to this point and thanking the film's directors for casting her at a time when she feared she would not continue receiving opportunities. She expresses gratitude to the whole cast, but particularly Jamie Lee Curtis, thanking her two separate times — and threatening to beat up the musician playing the wrap-it-up music. Fight! Fight! Fight!
9:03 p.m. - There will be no finger-severing today. Colin Farrell wins Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Banshees of Inisherin, as expected. This is his second win in the category after a previous victory for In Bruges — which, like Banshees, was also directed by Martin McDonagh. After telling presenter Ana de Armas he cried himself to sleep after watching her film Blonde, Farrell jokes that because he doesn't expect any of his movies to work, he's "horrified" by what's happened with Banshees "in a thrilling kind of way." He concludes by thanking the film's biggest star: Jenny the Donkey. Nominate Jenny at the Oscars, cowards!
8:54 p.m. - Abbott's reign continues! Quinta Brunson wins Best Television Actress - Musical or Comedy Series for Abbott Elementary. This was the first nomination for Brunson, who also created the show, and comes after she lost the most recent lead actress Emmy to Jean Smart from Hacks. With two acting wins on the board for Abbott, it's safe to say tonight's top comedy series winner is an already done deal.
8:50 p.m. - Yes, chef! Jeremy Allen White wins Best Television Actor - Musical or Comedy Series for The Bear, his first win for his first nomination — and he is immediately bleeped upon taking the stage. "I love acting," the Shameless alum says as he concludes his passionate speech. "Thank you."
8:41 p.m. - RRR sweep! "Naatu Naatu" from RRR wins Best Original Song, an upset over songs by Lady Gaga and Rihanna from Top Gun: Maverick and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, respectively. The tune from the three-hour Indian epic became a massive viral hit, in part thanks to the elaborate dance number that accompanies it. Could the song now be headed for Academy Awards glory, too? Get ready for the Oscars to transform into the OscaRRRs.
The loss of "Hold My Hand" in this category, though, may not bode well for Top Gun's chances at taking a top Best Picture prize tonight, suggesting the HFPA doesn't feel the need for speed.
8:37 p.m. - Justin Hurwitz wins Best Original Score for Babylon, meaning he remains undefeated in this category after also winning for Damien Chazelle's previous films, First Man and La La Land. He was up against John Williams, who was nominated for his latest and possibly final collaboration with Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans.
8:30 p.m. - Everybody hates Chris, but nobody hates Tyler. In a major upset, Tyler James Williams wins Best Supporting Actor - Television Series for Abbott Elementary, an impressive victory over nominees from drama series like John Turturro for Severance. Williams was previously nominated at the Emmys, but did not win.
He thanks the cast and crew of the elementary school sitcom, including creator Quinta Brunson. "I pray that this is a win for Gregory Eddie," he says — referencing his character on the show — "and for his story and for stories like his, that we may understand that his story is just as important as all of the other stories that have to be told out here."
Abbott Elementary is also favored to win the top comedy series prize this evening. Could it pull off a clean sweep of all the awards it's nominated for? Oh, the joys of not having to compete with Ted Lasso.
8:17 p.m. - Angela Bassett wins Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, making her the first actress to ever win a Golden Globe for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film and boosting her odds in the Oscar race. It's a bit of an upset win over Kerry Condon for The Banshees of Inisherin and Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Bassett reflects on winning her first Golden Globe for What's Love Got To Do With It in 1994. "By the grace of God, I stand here grateful," she says, thanking the HFPA and the film's "amazing team," including director Ryan Coogler. "We mourned, we loved, we healed, and we were surrounded each and every day by the light and spirit of Chadwick Boseman," she says, adding that Black Panther remains a part of the late actor's legacy. "We showed the world what Black unity, leadership, and love looks like beyond, behind, and in front of the camera."
8:12 p.m. - Ke Huy Quan wins Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture for Everything Everywhere All at Once, and the crowd goes wild for the actor, who starred as a child in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but quit acting for 20 years due to difficulty finding roles.
"I was raised to never forget where I came from, and to always remember who gave me my first opportunity," he says. "I am so happy to see Steven Spielberg here tonight. Steven, thank you!"
Quan reflects that after his roles as a child actor, he started to become afraid he had "nothing more to offer" and would "never surpass what I achieved as a kid." But, growing emotional, Quan reflects that "more than 30 years later, two guys thought of me," referring to the directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once. He concludes by thanking his wife, "the one person who never stopped believing in me."
8:09 p.m. - Like it or not, the Golden Globes is back, baby! Comedian Jerrod Carmichael kicks things off at the Beverly Hilton hotel, and he addresses the elephant in the room right from the top.
"I'll tell you why I'm here," he tells the crowd. "I'm here because I'm Black."
Carmichael acknowledges that the Globes didn't air in 2022 because the HFPA "didn't have a single Black member until George Floyd died." Sitting down on the stage, he recalls being asked to be "the Black face of an embattled white organization" and feeling "torn" about it. "I'm only being asked to host this, I know, because I'm Black," he says, creating a "moral, racial dilemma." But he reveals he's being paid $500,000 to host and jokes, "Where I'm from, we all live by a strict 'take the money' mentality."
Carmichael goes on to joke he "took this job assuming they hadn't changed at all," sarcastically congratulating the HFPA for adding just six new Black members. "Regardless of whatever the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's past might be," he adds, "this is an evening where we get to celebrate, and I think this industry deserves evenings like this." If we had to guest, this won't be the HFPA's only time getting grilled tonight.
