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When Timothée Chalamet gained the Golden Globe for Greatest Actor in a Musical or Comedy, a mini-debate broke out in IndieWire’s Slack channel. What occurred to his “Marty Supreme” swagger? Previous to Sunday evening’s ceremony, the King of Christmas had been making the advertising rounds virtually in-character: Assured. Loud. Orange. However on the Globes stage within the Beverly Hilton ballroom, he was, as one colleague put it, “diminished.”
“My dad instilled in me a spirit of gratitude rising up: All the time be thankful for what you could have,” Chalamet mentioned. “It’s allowed me to go away this ceremony prior to now empty-handed, my head held excessive, grateful simply to be right here. However I’d be mendacity if I didn’t say these moments didn’t make this second that a lot sweeter.”
Wearing an all-black ensemble, Chalamet stored his voice even and expressions stage, conveying sincerity with out getting blubbery (it’s simply the Globes, in any case) whereas earnestly acknowledging his director, Josh Safdie, co-stars (like Kevin O’Leary), and fellow nominees. With something that could possibly be construed as bragging confined to his closing line, the aggressive drive fueling Chalamet for the previous month was all however erased.
Was it a mistake, or an indication of maturity? Was it sincere, or a calculated choice to dial issues again? Some mentioned they by no means discovered him extra likable, whereas others in contrast his time onstage to a sleepy “marriage ceremony speech.”
Huh. OK. Whereas yours actually believes Chalamet’s speech is 100% in response to any perceived backlash to his brash PR blitz — with so many older Oscar voters nonetheless deciding find out how to rank their ballots, it by no means hurts to be humble — well mannered debates just like the one I shared with my savvy IndieWire cohorts have been as compelling because the Golden Globes acquired for these of us watching from residence.
Even for a “precursor” awards present, that’s not saying a lot.
At its finest, the 2026 Golden Globes acquired out of its personal manner lengthy sufficient to let the awards (and winners) communicate for themselves. Nice speeches from Rhea Seehorn, Rose Byrne, and the “Sinners” crew have been enjoyable and/or candy. Stable intros from presenters like Wanda Sykes, Don Cheadle, and Zoë Kravitz have been memorable with out overwhelming the honorees. It was a starry present (because it must be), albeit one with out a character — which can not matter to basic audiences within the right here and now, however appears downright odd to veteran viewers and will spell bother down the road.
The 2026 Golden Globes actually didn’t deliver again the “celebration” environment so many previous editions have bragged about, and with a Polymarket betting ticker popping up earlier than each different industrial break (plus the Authentic Rating award being handed out throughout one), it additionally wasn’t a good presentation on the extent of the Oscars, Emmys, or no matter severe group prizes podcasts. (Las Culturistas?) Unforced errors surfaced far too typically, from the Google Maps-ing of the ballroom (who cares the place they’re sitting? fill the display with their faces!) to the inept coloration commentary supplied whereas winners took the lengthy stroll to the stage. (With apologies to Kevin Frazier and Marc Malkin, you’ve acquired to have extra to say whereas Chalamet takes the stage than, “Will he thank Kylie Jenner once more tonight? We’re about to search out out!”)
It wasn’t a catastrophe, like Jo Koy’s effort, or a semi-success, like final yr. It simply… was. It occurred. The celebrities confirmed up, and the audiences who weren’t enamored with a 16-3 NFL sport could have, too. Scraping by could also be sufficient for an awards present nonetheless getting again on its toes, nevertheless it’s not sufficient to compete with every little thing else preventing for our consideration on a Sunday evening in January. (You shouldn’t have skipped “Business” for this.)
The shrugs began with returning host Nikki Glaser, who feigned biting commentary with a CBS Information joke (“America’s latest place for B.S. information”) earlier than largely falling again on simple gags. Cease me if you happen to’ve heard any of those set-ups earlier than: George Clooney’s Nespresso advertisements. Kevin Hart’s peak (or lack thereof). Timothée Chalamet is skinny. “The White Lotus” Season 3’s incest, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s (very) younger dates.
It’s not that the punchlines have been disastrous or defamatory. (If something, they have been so protected the topics didn’t have to fret about blushing by their response shot.) It’s that they struggled to steer Glaser’s opening monologue anyplace thrilling. She began with gentle topical touches (acknowledging the Warner Bros. elephant within the room, OK), gave a fast nod to the community (the aforementioned CBS joke), after which name-dropped celebrities, aka what the host does yearly, taking us across the room for introductions, applause, and fast quips.
Effectively, fast apart from one. After turning into the 1,000,000th particular person to poke DiCaprio about his relationship habits, Glaser stored going. She apologized for stooping to such a “low-cost” joke, after which pivoted into defending it — not just for being low-brow, however for its acquainted material.
“We don’t know the rest about you!” Glaser mentioned to the famously reclusive megastar. Glaser tried to discover a completely different subject. She even did her analysis. However one of the best she may give you was an previous interview with Teen Beat journal the place DiCaprio mentioned his favourite meals was “pasta, pasta, and extra pasta.” (Sure, it’s actual.)
In that all-too-brief second, when the “One Battle After One other” star wasn’t certain the place Glaser’s prodding was headed — and we didn’t both — the Golden Globes felt alive. The present carried a cost solely dwell TV can provide, able to embrace the unknown with an ideal stand-up main the cost.
However then it was over, Glaser mentioned Sean Penn regarded like an attractive leather-based purse, and issues quieted down.
Afterward, the evening felt perfunctory. Positive, there have been aberrations, like when Rose Byrne mentioned her associate, Bobby Cannavale, missed her massive win so he may attend a “reptile expo” in New Jersey, or when Teyana Taylor danced her manner off stage after dedicating her trophy to “my brown sisters and little brown women [who] belong in each room we stroll into.” (And I’d be remiss to omit Glaser’s prolonged repetition of a joke she made final yr: I’m glad we acquired one verse of her “Marty Supreme”-inspired “Golden” parody! Progress!) However these spontaneous moments are all however assured. It’s an awards present. The manufacturing must heighten the speeches, not distract from them, and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner struggled to make the Globes stand-out from the months-long parade of awards reveals.
Granted, fading into the fray stands out as the best-case situation for a present that stored encouraging its viewers to put bets on the subsequent spherical of winners and handed out one more new award to a former host. (Amy Poehler gained the inaugural Greatest Podcast award simply two years after Ricky Gervais gained the primary Greatest Stand-Up trophy — which he gained once more this yr.) But when the Golden Globes are ever going to ascertain an id past “watch your favourite actors observe their speeches for future awards reveals,” it’ll want much more swagger than this.
Grade: C
Dick Clark Productions, which owns and produces the Golden Globes, is a Penske Media firm. PMC can be IndieWire’s father or mother firm.
The 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards have been held Sunday, January 11 at 8 p.m. ET within the Beverly Hilton Lodge in Los Angeles, California. CBS and Paramount+ broadcast the ceremony.
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