The Golden Globes have returned to award the finest names in Hollywood tonight, from Cate Blanchett to Michelle Yeoh. (Yes, thankfully, both leading actresses have a shot at winning their own statues tonight!) Though the branch behind the awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has experienced scrutiny over its membership’s lack of diversity and alleged in-house corruption, the Globes will once again be broadcast on NBC this year. We will be spared from last year’s non-event, after NBC pulled the broadcast and the HFPA had to announce the winners on Twitter.
Any awards gala is frothy fun, and it’s always lovely to see creators be rewarded for their hard work in Hollywood and the TV industry. That’s not to discount any of the major issues within the HFPA—although the Golden Globes may be problematic, it’s still worthwhile to spotlight the best performances and why they deserve to win. Because, hey, if these folks win a Golden Globe, that might mean one more person goes to see the movie in theaters.
This is especially true for movies like Everything Everywhere All At Once and RRR, which have a shot at big wins tonight. It could help these cult-favorite films become more visible—maybe even leading to their re-release in cinemas all over the country. Wouldn’t it be fun to see those hot dog fingers in a theater again? Though both ceremonies are very different, especially thanks to their voting pools, the Globes usually gives us some good forecasting for the Oscars. Basically, if your fave wins tonight, they’ve got a big shot to be at least nominated at the bigger show.
Then there’s TV, which the Globes also celebrates. Without Ted Lasso in the running and thanks to a half-baked season of awards favorite The Crown, things could get more interesting this year. Fan-favorite Abbott Elementary will go up against big shows like Hacks, The Bear, and Barry in the comedy category. If anyone from those shows wins, it’s a win for all of us. Then, on the drama side, newcomer Severance faces down Better Call Saul in its final year of awards season. (Still: The Crown could just beat both.)
No, you don’t really need to watch the Golden Globes, especially after plenty of controversy—including that involving one of this year’s Best Actor frontrunners, Brendan Fraser. Fraser won’t be in attendance tonight, after he allegedly experienced sexual harassment at a prior ceremony. But you may be curious about who won so you can start readying that Oscar ballot—or know who should’ve won, so you can say, “Ugh, I was rooting for Dolly De Leon!” in the elevator at work tomorrow. Either way, we’ve got you covered with the guide to all the categories presented at the Golden Globes tonight, from our favorite contenders to the actual winners.
Best Motion Picture, Drama
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Who We Wanted to Win: Though we predicted this award would end up in Steven Spielberg’s hands for The Fabelmans, we were rooting for Tár to pull through and secure the win. “The clouds lifted when I experienced Todd [Field, the director]’s film,” Martin Scorsese said, after he saw Tár. How can you not give this movie every award imaginable after that glowing praise?
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Triangle of Sadness
Who We Wanted to Win: While we're happ for The Banshees of Inisherin, we would've preferred Everything Everywhere All at Once to take the cake. There’s been a bit of negative blowback online for the Daniels’ hit A24 action movie, while Banshees is still widely beloved. But the former is just so original and exciting that we hope it can secure other big awards.
Best Director, Motion Picture
James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water)
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Baz Luhrmann (Elvis)
Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)
Who We Wanted to Win: No women being nominated in this category was one crime. Todd Field’s absence for Tár was another. With what we’ve got, Steven Spielberg deserved the win for a touching autobiography of his younger years. Though The Fabelmans is nominated in many categories, this was where it’s most deserving.
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Tár — Todd Field
Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
The Banshees of Inisherin — Martin McDonagh
Women Talking — Sarah Polley
The Fabelmans — Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner
Who We Wanted to Win: This is not to say Tár’s Todd Field and Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Daniels Kwan and Scheinert weren’t deserving, but Martin McDonagh easily walked away with this award. I have a theory that The Banshees of Inisherin was ghost-written by McDonagh’s partner, the famous Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Who else would pen a line like “Well, there goes that dream”?
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Austin Butler (Elvis)
Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
Hugh Jackman (The Son)
Bill Nighy (Living)
Jeremy Pope (The Inspection)
Who We Wanted to Win: Considering the way Brendan Fraser has been treated by the HFPA in year’s past, it was kind of a crime not to give him this win. At the same time, awarding him with a Golden Globe also feels a little like an insult, considering he’s shown that he has no interest in the awards ceremony. That being said, Austin Butler put his all into Elvis. We're pleased to see him win (and he still sported that Elvis voice, too).
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cate Blanchett (Tár)
Olivia Colman (Empire of Light)
Viola Davis (The Woman King)
Ana de Armas (Blonde)
Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)
Who We Wanted to Win: The one upside of the Golden Globes was that we got to root for both Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. Which is what we were doing all night! Blanchett has many an awards statue in her home, and she deserved another for playing Lydia Tár.
Cate Blanchett in Tár.
Focus FeaturesBest Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris)
Margot Robbie (Babylon)
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu)
Emma Thompson (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande)
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Who We Wanted to Win: This one is the biggest no-brainer of the night. Michelle Yeoh, the prize was yours from the start. She’s deserved this win for a long time, and thank goodness she’s finally getting her time to shine.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Diego Calva (Babylon)
Daniel Craig (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery)
Adam Driver (White Noise)
Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Ralph Fiennes (The Menu)
Who We Wanted to Win: Another easy pick: Colin Farrell. We loved him for a number of different reasons this year (The Batman for one, his talk about sex with Emma Thompson for another), but playing a donkey-obsessed sad sack in The Banshees of Inisherin has to be at the top.
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Brad Pitt (Babylon)
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse)
Who We Wanted to Win: Though the Banshees boys put on a good show, Ke Huy Quan deserved this win. This line alone clinched it: “In another life, I would’ve really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.” It’ll be so fun to see photos of him and Yeoh holding their statues together later tonight.
Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness)
Carey Mulligan (She Said)
Who We Wanted to Win: We’re missing a big name in this category (some say it’s Everything Everywhere’s Stephanie Hsu; I say it’s Tár’s Nina Hoss), but working with what we have, Dolly De Leon was the clear standout. That being said, she had tough competition from everyone else nominated—for good reason! Anyone could've won this category. Angela Bassett, we love you too.
Best Television Series, Drama
Better Call Saul
The Crown
House of the Dragon
Ozark
Severance
Who We Wanted to Win: The Crown has a nasty habit of cleaning up during awards season—it didn't tonight—but we were rooting for Severance. The office dance party? The love story between Burt and Irving? The finale?! Everything about Severance was mind-blowing, and it’s hard to find a TV series that creates such a fully realized alternate universe in just its first season.
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Only Murders in the Building
Wednesday
Who We Wanted to Win: A year without Ted Lasso; thank goodness. Abbott Elementary is the best TV series in this list, especially seeing all its done to revive the sitcom, but a win for Hacks or The Bear would also be great. From a holistic perspective? Abbott Elementary, the award is rightfully yours.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Jeff Bridges (The Old Man)
Kevin Costner (Yellowstone)
Diego Luna (Andor)
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Adam Scott (Severance)
Who We Wanted to Win: It would be a crime not to pick Bob Odenkirk for this category for his stunning work in Better Call Saul, especially as the show wrapped up this past year. After having a small heart attack on set, the actor still went on to film a fantastic season— he was the most worthy of the award.
Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul.
AMCBest Performance by an 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)
Who We Wanted to Win: This is a category in which The Crown has historically excelled, so it's good to see the love for Zendaya this year for her frenzied performance in Euphoria. It was perhaps one of the only good parts of Sam Levinson’s wacky teen show. Even though she wasn't there (she's filming Dune: Part 2) it’s still so fun to watch Zendaya win awards.
Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary)
Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)
Jean Smart (Hacks)
Who We Wanted to Win: Though Quinta Brunson and Jean Smart were favored to win this award—and for good reasons!—we’d like to shout out Kaley Cuoco for another killer chapter in The Flight Attendant saga. No, we were not expecting her to win, and Brunson's win is lovely. But after Cuoco played several different versions of herself, how can you not root for her?
Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Donald Glover (Atlanta)
Bill Hader (Barry)
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building)
Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)
Who We Wanted to Win: What a tricky category! It was hard to root against Steve Martin and Martin Short, but there’s no way I could choose anyone but Bill Hader or Jeremy Allen White, so the win was certainly deserved. I’m still struggling to call Barry and The Bear comedy series, especially after both actors gave monologues and performances that drove me toward emotional despair.
Best Supporting Actor, Television
John Lithgow (The Old Man)
Jonathan Pryce (The Crown)
John Turturro (Severance)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)
Henry Winkler (Barry)
Who We Wanted to Win: This was another tricky one, as John Turturro and Tyler James Williams, with two very different roles, blew me away this year. But I was rooting for Henry Winkler, who time and time again has given us all lessons on how to act in Barry, even if they’re not through the classes he’s putting on in the show.
Best Supporting Actress, Television
Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Julia Garner (Ozark)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Who We Wanted to Win: Either Abbott Elementary lady winning would've make me so happy, but Sheryl Lee Ralph completely deserved this award. She’s been a pleasure to watch for two seasons of the hit ABC sitcom—charming, motherly, and hilarious all at the same time. And her speech at the Emmys was so fantastic, so we would've given anything to witness another one. Too bad!
Sheryl Lee Ralph (left) and Janelle James in Abbott Elementary.
Gilles MingassonBest Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
Black Bird
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
The Dropout
Pam & Tommy
The White Lotus
Who We Wanted to Win: Anything but Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. (We’re only half-kidding.) Obviously we were pulling for The White Lotus, which gave us more Jennifer Coolidge, a drunkenly enraged Aubrey Plaza, and decked Haley Lu Richardson out in the worst outfits we’ve ever seen this season. Five stars. Let’s see Survivor winner Mike White accept all the awards.
Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Taron Egerton (Black Bird)
Colin Firth (The Staircase)
Andrew Garfield (Under the Banner of Heaven)
Evan Peters (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy)
Who We Wanted to Win: It would've been fun to see Andrew Garfield win an award, but Colin Firth was the most deserving for his role in HBO’s true crime-turned-mystery series The Staircase. Again, anything but Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Ugh.
Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
Jessica Chastain (George and Tammy)
Julia Garner (Inventing Anna)
Lily James (Pam & Tommy)
Julia Roberts (Gaslit)
Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout)
Who We Wanted to Win: And the best biopic role goes to…Amanda Seyfried! Though the entertainment value in the limited series biopic is drying up, Seyfried wowed us with her performance as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. Jennifer Lawrence even saw how good it was and dropped out of Adam McKay’s film adaptation of the same story.
Best Performance by an Actress in Supporting Role, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
Claire Danes (Fleishman Is in Trouble)
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Under the Banner of Heaven)
Niecy Nash-Betts (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus)
Who We Wanted to Win: Though it may be controversial to root against The White Lotus, and the two ladies nominated in this category gave absolutely killer performances, we put all our eggs in the Claire Danes basket. If you’ve only watched the first few episodes of Fleishman Is in Trouble, you may be wondering why Danes is the only one nominated from the entire TV show. Please, for the love of TV, watch Episode 7. Then, you’ll understand.
Best Performance by an Actor in Supporting Role, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
F. Murray Abraham (The White Lotus)
Domhnall Gleeson (The Patient)
Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird)
Richard Jenkins (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
Seth Rogen (Pam & Tommy)
Who We Wanted to Win: We’re going back toWhite Lotus here and were rooting for F. Murray Abraham, who farted, flirted, and fell into our hearts. What a weirdo! Equally weird is Domhnall Gleeson in The Patient, who would've been a fun win too.
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Carter Burwell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Alexandre Desplat (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
Hildur Guðnadóttir (Women Talking)
Justin Hurwitz (Babylon)
John Williams (The Fabelmans)
Who We Wanted to Win: We were pulling for Hildur Guðnadóttir, especially as she put out two amazing scores this year (for Women Talking and Tár), though this was a tough category to select one winner. Alexandre Desplat? The legendary John Williams? Justin Hurwitz was a fan favorite, especially after Whiplash and La La Land.
N.T. Rama Rao Jr. in RRR.
DVV EntertainmentBest Picture, Non-English Language
All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
Decision to Leave (South Korea)
RRR (India)
Who We Wanted to Win: A magnificent three-hour masterpiece rested within these nominees—obviously, we were pulling for RRR. Full of dancing, a fantastic original song, brotherhood, and epic action, RRR is the epitome of what cinema should be.
Best Original Song, Motion Picture
“Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing)
“Ciao Papa”(Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
“Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick)
“Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
“Naatu Naatu” (RRR)
Who We Wanted to Win: Taylor Swift won’t win an Oscar (nor did she get a Golden Globe) for this one. We're so happy “Naatu Naatu” from RRR won the award. “Ciao Papa” would've also been a fun win.
Best Motion Picture, Animated
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Inu-Oh
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Turning Red
Who We Wanted to Win: Although Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio was favored to win this category, with the cheeky Marcel the Shell right behind, we were really hoping Turning Red would get some love. That’s especially the case after facing so much strife after release. It’s also a crime Finneas and Billie Eilish also haven’t earned more recognition for their work in the movie, penning the songs for the fictional boy band 4*TOWN.
