Annual Golden Globe Awards lean heavily toward fan favorites

The 76th annual Golden Globe Awards aired on Sunday with the lowest viewership in three years, a total of 18.6 million viewers.

According to NBC, which aired the awards show, the largest number of viewers fell into the 18–49 age group. This means that though viewership numbers may be down, the show was still one of the highest trending topics on social media during its three-hour time slot.

Many of the conversation-starters on social media included Jamie Lee Curtis’ ice-white hair, a pretend marriage proposal from comedian Maya Rudolph to Amy Poehler, and surprise (fake) vaccinations for all the audience members.

The show was hosted by actors Andy Sandberg and Sandra Oh, and awards heavily favored popular films. Two of the biggest awards of the night, Best Drama Motion Picture and Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture, went to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and its star, Rami Malek.

One difference between the Golden Globes and other awards shows is that the Best Picture category is split into two sections: Best Drama and Best Comedy or Musical. It might seem weird that “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a predominately music-driven film, and Lady Gaga’s “A Star Is Born” both competed in the drama category. It might also seem odd that the serious segregation film “Green Book” won Best Comedy or Musical and its lead actor, Mahershala Ali, won Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.

While the Golden Globes is considered a serious awards show, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is in charge of the voting, typically favors popular films over more artistic films that draw in Academy voters.

Paul Drinkwater via AP

This image released by NBC shows hosts Andy Samberg, left, and Sandra Oh at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC via AP)

Both of these films were considered November studio blockbusters and had a much wider release than the other films in the categories such as “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “The Favourite,” which perhaps accounts for this seemingly strange distribution of awards.

It is for this same reason that the telecast was met with shock when neither “Black Panther” nor “A Star Is Born” received any awards. (The latter actually won Best Original Song, though that was no surprise to anyone and was the the film’s only award despite its four nominations.)

The FX limited series “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace” took home two awards, and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” won Best Animated Feature, the first award of the night.

Carol Burnett won the first ever Carol Burnett Award and Jeff Bridges won the Cecil B. DeMile Award.

The Golden Globes typically kick off awards season, and many other notable awards shows will take place in the coming months, including the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Oscars. The Golden Globes ceremony has always been a night of celebrities getting drunk, political speeches and a “who-cares” attitude amongst presenters.

This year was no different.

—erickwood97@gmail.com

@GrahamWoodMedia