Shakespeare, Sci-Fi, and Satire: The Best Moments from the 2026 Golden Globe Awards

Hollywood’s biggest party just wrapped up, and if you weren’t glued to your screen, you missed a night of surprising upsets, emotional reunions, and enough Nikki Glaser barbs to keep the internet buzzing for a month.

The 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, held on January 11, 2026, officially kicked off awards season with a bang. While the drama category saw an unexpected Shakespearean triumph, the comedy side was dominated by a “revolutionary” saga that swept the floor.

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The Night’s Big Highlights

• The Hosting Masterclass: Comedian Nikki Glaser returned for her second year, proving why she’s the new queen of the ballroom. She kept the audience on their toes with a biting opening monologue, famously “awarding” the U.S. Justice Department the Golden Globe for Best Editing (a sharp dig at the heavily redacted Epstein files).
• Emotional Wins: Teyana Taylor delivered the most moving speech of the night after winning for One Battle After Another. “To my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight—our softness is not a liability,” she said through tears, earning a standing ovation.
• A New Era for Podcasting: For the first time in history, the Globes recognized the digital age by introducing the Best Podcast category. Amy Poehler took home the inaugural trophy for Good Hang, jokingly thanking her fellow nominees—except for NPR.
• Macaulay Culkin’s Return: In one of the most heartwarming moments, Macaulay Culkin graced the Globes stage for the first time in 35 years to present Best Screenplay, quipping, “Shockingly, I do exist all year round.”

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The 2026 Winners Circle

Film

• Best Film – Drama: Hamnet
• Best Film – Musical or Comedy: One Battle After Another
• Best Male Actor – Drama: Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)
• Best Female Actor – Drama: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
• Best Male Actor – Musical or Comedy: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
• Best Female Actor – Musical or Comedy: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You)
• Best Supporting Male Actor: Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value)
• Best Supporting Female Actor: Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)
• Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
• Best Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
• Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson (Sinners)
• Best Original Song: “Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters
• Best Animated Film: KPop Demon Hunters
• Best Non-English Language Film: The Secret Agent
• Cinematic & Box Office Achievement: Sinners

Television & Digital

• Best Series – Drama: The Pitt
• Best Series – Musical or Comedy: The Studio
• Best Limited Series/Anthology: Adolescence
• Best Male Actor – Drama: Noah Wyle (The Pitt)
• Best Female Actor – Drama: Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus)
• Best Male Actor – Musical or Comedy: Seth Rogen (The Studio)
• Best Female Actor – Musical or Comedy: Jean Smart (Hacks)
• Best Male Actor – Limited Series: Stephen Graham (Adolescence)
• Best Female Actor – Limited Series: Michelle Williams (Dying for Sex)
• Best Supporting Male Actor (TV): Owen Cooper (Adolescence)
• Best Supporting Female Actor (TV): Erin Doherty (Adolescence)
• Best Stand-Up Comedy: Ricky Gervais (Ricky Gervais: Mortality)
• Best Podcast: Good Hang with Amy Poehler

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Full List of 2026 Nominations

Best Film – Drama

• Frankenstein
• Hamnet (WINNER)
• It Was Just an Accident
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners

Best Film – Musical or Comedy

• Blue Moon
• Bugonia
• Marty Supreme
• No Other Choice
• Nouvelle Vague
• One Battle After Another (WINNER)

Best Male Actor – Drama

• Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams)
• Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein)
• Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine)
• Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
• Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) (WINNER)
• Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere)

Best Female Actor – Drama

• Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) (WINNER)
• Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love)
• Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)
• Julia Roberts (After the Hunt)
• Tessa Thompson (Hedda)
• Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby)

Best Male Actor – Musical or Comedy

• Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) (WINNER)
• George Clooney (Jay Kelly)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)
• Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)
• Lee Byung-hun (No Other Choice)
• Jesse Plemons (Bugonia)

Best Female Actor – Musical or Comedy

• Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) (WINNER)
• Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good)
• Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue)
• Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another)
• Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee)
• Emma Stone (Bugonia)

Best Series – Musical or Comedy

• Abbott Elementary
• The Bear
• Hacks
• Nobody Wants This
• Only Murders in the Building
• The Studio (WINNER)

Best Series – Drama

• The Diplomat
• The Pitt (WINNER)
• Pluribus
• Severance
• Slow Horses
• The White Lotus

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Golden Globe Trivia & History

• The Origin Story: The Golden Globes were founded in 1943 by the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association (HFCA). The very first ceremony was held in 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios.
• The Statuette: Ever wondered what it weighs? A Golden Globe statuette is a solid 7.85 pounds. That’s a heavy piece of hardware!
• Splitting the Genre: In 1951, the association decided to split the “Best Film” category into two: Drama and Musical or Comedy. This was done to ensure that lighthearted films didn’t get overshadowed by heavy dramas.
• The GOATs: Meryl Streep holds the record for the most nominations (32) and the most competitive wins (8). However, Barbra Streisand holds the record for the most total Globes (10), including honorary awards.
• The Youngest Winner: Ricky Schroder remains the youngest winner in history; he was just 9 years old when he won for The Champ in 1980.

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Fun Facts from the 2026 Gala

• Double Duty: Stellan Skarsgård proved that supporting roles are the backbone of cinema, winning for Sentimental Value against a stacked list of industry heavyweights.
• The “Be Good” Pin: Winners like Jean Smart and Mark Ruffalo were spotted wearing “BE GOOD” pins, a quiet but powerful tribute to social justice movements of the year.
• Missing Winners: Ricky Gervais didn’t show up to accept his Stand-Up award, but Wanda Sykes gleefully accepted it for him, jokingly thanking “God and the trans community” on his behalf.
• Reptile Expo? Rose Byrne revealed in her acceptance speech that her husband, Bobby Cannavale, couldn’t attend because he was busy buying a bearded dragon at a reptile expo!

What was your favorite moment of the night?