Awards season is my favorite time of year. During the winter and early spring in the Midwest, all I like to do is grab a blanket and watch infighting, glamour and surplus Hollywood from the comfort of your couch. The awards are a tiny window into the spectacle of the world’s biggest stars, but they also provide much-needed recognition for the enormous amount of work it takes behind-the-scenes teams to create our most beloved screen stories. As someone who spends far more time watching TV and movies than I should — my page-long to-do list silently judges me from my desk across the room every time I turn on the TV — nothing feels better than watching the way my favorite shows win awards, and knowing how many thousands of people it took to make that happen, is, in a way, getting a thank you from all of us viewers. But selfishly, I have to admit that I enjoy the awards the most because there’s something so satisfying about watching other people admit that they love shows as much as I do. It makes me feel strong, in my right opinion, and justified in recommending it to a dozen of my friends. As someone who has incredibly strong opinions about art, I like to be proven right.
For those less familiar with the awards ceremony, the Golden Globes kick off the season. It’s also the only major awards ceremony in both film and TV categories, making for a fairly long run. While that may be too much of a commitment for the casual viewer, for many fans of the Golden Globes, the Golden Globes are just the tip of the iceberg. Providing a glimpse into what the year’s great stories will be, the Golden Globe winners may not be the same as the Oscar winners, but by this point in the game, the competition is often weeded out with nothing but gold.
However, this year’s broadcast was a bit more complicated. For nearly two years, the Golden Globes’ governing body, Hollywood Foreign Press Associationengaged in navigation a dispute surrounding as the lack of diversity in their organization and criticism regarding their voting practices because of a LA Times February 2021 article which found that the HFPA had zero black voting members. After a break in 2022 and some organizational improvementsThe Golden Globes are back this year, despite their long hiatus, to once again kick off the winter awards season.
Host Jarrod Carmichael thankfully didn’t shy away from the controversy and addressed it at the start of his opening monologue, declaring: “One minute I’m making tea at home and the next minute I’m being invited to be the black face of a white organization in a state of struggle . » However, instead of using the rest of his time as a host to draw people in, Carmichael lethargically bored the audience. With no sense of momentum or excitement—Carmichael literally started the show by hushing the crowd like you would a bunch of preschoolers during sleep—the awards seemed like they were happening in an eternal abyss. A host’s job should always be to draw people in, to allow viewers in homes across the country to feel some connection to the world of Hollywood. Hosts are meant to be relatable, and their humor often works as a way to portray Hollywood stars as real people, rather than the idealized versions we see on screen. While I applaud Carmichael for addressing the HFPA issues so directly, I wish he would cultivate a greater sense of connection with the audience.
Fortunately, there was a sense of camaraderie among the Hollywood community in attendance, and many of the evening’s best moments came as actors and creators celebrated each other and reflected on the artistic relationships that helped them get to where they are today. In the nomination “Best supporting actor” was Ke Hui Kuan (“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) for the film “Everything everywhere and at once”. outstanding speech in the evening Quan’s win was well-deserved for his phenomenal performance, and his speech was one of the most heartfelt and touching of any awards ceremony in recent years. As he emotionally took the microphone, he emphasized his gratitude to the people who helped him along the way, from Steven Spielberg (nominated director of The Fables), who landed him his first ever film role, to directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss an army man”), who entrusted him with the main role 30 years later in the film “Everything everywhere and at once”. If you haven’t watched or listened to Quan’s full speech, I must insist that you do so now. As the first award of the evening, he was able to immediately set the tone for unity.
The rest of the evening was filled with many awards and no major upsets. The two small surprises in the results were Banshee of Inisherin, a bit of an underdog, beating out Everything Everywhere at once for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, and Dragon House, which won for Best Television Series. , The drama was obviously a surprise for the showrunners, as only director Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones) and two cast members attended the award.
After reviewing the evening, let’s move on to my predictions and results for some of the major television categories.
Italics = Prediction
Bold = winner
Best TV Series, Drama
- “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
- The Crown (Netflix)
- House of the Dragon (HBO)
- The Ozarks (Netflix)
- The Gap (Apple TV+)
Despite the surprise of the Dragon House team, I think it was a well-deserved win – and one I was desperately hoping for. Coming off the tails of the acclaimed Game of Thrones was a difficult task, and House of the Dragon was a huge success. Smarter and more nuanced than its predecessor, it deserves more praise than the original Game of Thrones.
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
- Abbott Elementary (ABC)
- The Bear (FX)
- “Haki” (HBO Max)
- Only Murder in the Building (Hulu)
- Wednesday (Netflix)
While “Wednesday” has gained massive popularity in recent months, “Abbott Elementary” was the clear favorite here. Quinta Brunson’s smart, relevant and hilarious series about teachers in Philadelphia was, in my opinion, the only real contender.
Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama
- Jeff Bridges (The Old Man)
- Kevin Costner (Yellowstone)
- Diego Luna (Andor)
- Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
- Adam Scott (The Gap)
I really hoped for the victory of “Andorra”. Diego Luna was fascinating in the lead role, and as the first live-action Star Wars actioner to try something new in a while, he deserves more recognition than he’s gotten so far. While I was hoping that Andor would get awards recognition, I’m sure Kevin Costner had a good time in Yellowstone.
Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama
- Emma d’Arcy (House of the Dragon)
- Laura Linney (Ozark)
- Imelda Staunton (The Crown)
- Hilary Swank (Alaska Daily)
- Zendaya (“Euphoria”)
As I hope I’ve made it clear before, I’m a big fan of House of the Dragon. Emma D’Arcy gives one of the best performances I’ve seen on the show in years, so again I was hoping they’d win this category. From what I’ve heard, Zendaya was great in Euphoria Season 2 (“Euphoria” is too dark for me to get into, so I’m hearing about her from friends), but she’s also won awards for her role before. I tend to dislike seeing the same performer win a role year after year, and wish the spotlight would be shifted to other great performers like D’Arcy. That said, if he had to move on to someone other than D’Arcy, I’d want it to be Zendaya.
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
- Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary)
- Kaley Cuoco (Stewardess)
- Selena Gomez (“Only Murder in the Building”)
- Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)
- Gene Smart (The Khakis)
What Quinta Brunson has created with “Abbott Elementary” is something special, so this is a well-deserved win.
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Blackbird (Apple TV+)
- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
- “Elimination” (Hulu)
- Pam and Tommy (Hulu)
- White Lotus (HBO)
Although I haven’t had a chance to watch White Lotus yet, I’m just thankful that Jeffrey Dahmer’s Monster: Story didn’t win. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a series that I think should never have been made because it led to people glorifying the serial killer and even dressing up as him on Halloween. Plus the fact that the showrunners did not ask the consent of many relatives of the victim to include their stories. Suffice it to say, I’m very glad it didn’t win in this category.
Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie
- Taron Egerton (Blackbird)
- Colin Firth (The Staircase)
- Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”)
- Evan Peters (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
- Sebastian Stan (Pam and Tommy)
Like I just said, I wish Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story didn’t exist. So, while I think Evan Peters is very talented, I unfortunately cannot in good conscience fully support this win.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television
- Jessica Chastain (George and Tammy)
- Julia Garner (Inventing Anna)
- Lily James (Pam and Tommy)
- Julia Roberts (Hoslit)
- Amanda Seyfried (“Elimination”)
Amanda Seyfried did a great job with this role, so it wasn’t a surprise.
All in all, the 2023 Golden Globes were enjoyable. From great fashion choices to heartfelt speeches and watching people come together in support of various causes, the broadcast checked many of the necessary awards boxes. However, with few changes at the HFPA on screen and not much excitement in the audience, this broadcast was not a memorable return to the Golden Globes. From this year’s broadcast reaping the lowest number of viewers in the history of the Golden Globes., begs the question of how long smaller awards ceremonies can continue to live on as national events. So, while the 2023 Golden Globes were enjoyable, they were also forgettable.
Daily Arts writer Mallory Edgell can be reached at medgell@umich.edu