I’ve always considered the Golden Globes to be the precursor to the Emmy and Academy Awards. With a past string of bad hosts and monologues, I felt the Golden Globes was considered to be the subpar, less credible version of the other more notable award shows. It’s like the warm-up for the more anticipated season of film and TV. In my experience, no one really talks about or even thinks about the Golden Globes after they have happened. That is, until now.
On January 5, 2025, the 82nd Golden Globe Awards occurred, and made history. It was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, making her the first solo female host of the event; maybe that’s why it was the first opening monologue in a while that was actually funny and not just offensive rage-bait.
It was the second Golden Globes to occur with a new voting body after the Hollywood Foreign Press disbanded amid scandal regarding corruption and their lack of diversity. In a way, this year’s show was an attempt to turn a new leaf and change its stigma.
I definitely agree with the choice of host after the very disappointing monologues in the past few years. Nikki Glaser’s monologue was funny and seemed to be perfectly curated to her audience. Although she made some questionable jokes that drew gasps from the crowd, most of them were upbeat and poked fun at celebrities instead of outright offending them. To be frank, though, the bar for hosts is pretty low. Jo Koy’s monologue from the year before was not funny, and some of his jokes were just flat out weird and insulting to the audience members.
A Vanity Fair article by Chris Murphy argues that the Globes should get rid of having a host at all and just rely on presenters. While I agree that the presenters are some of the only funny people on that stage most of the time, continuing to hire good comedians and actors to be hosts might help improve the award show’s watchability. The New York Times reports that this year’s show amassed an average of 9.3 million views, less than the 9.4 million from the year before, and extremely less than the about 20 million it had in the 2010s. The host should be good on their own— not just relying on the talents of the presenters to save the event.
Aside from the change in host, having a more equitable and diverse voting body makes the wins seem even more deserved. I especially loved the heartwarming speeches of the winners, making a mental note of who might be taking home an Oscar or Emmy award in the coming months. Some of the night’s wins were from The Substance, Wicked, Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, Hacks, Shōgun, Baby Reindeer, Anora, and more. I thought the selection of winners was extremely tasteful and laudable to the work of all the winners and their respective shows and films.
While it might take some time to remake the Golden Globes’ disappointing reputation, this year’s show was definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully in the future, they will continue to elevate their prestige and entertainment appeal.
