The Golden Globes 2026 — the first big awards of the year and often considered the precursor to the Oscars — played out at the plush Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles on Sunday night (Monday morning in India). Crowning expected but deserving winners, the 83rd edition of the awards — an initiative of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — threw up a few surprises (read: Sinners being sidelined), but packed in enough moods and moments, scenes and speeches to keep the champagne flowing.

THE WARM-UP

Comedian Nikki Glaser, who made her debut as Golden Globes host last year, came back for this edition... and hit the ground running. Glaser teased Leonardo DiCaprio about dating much younger women, which is a frequent jest made about the love life of the 51-year-old actor. She told Leo: “You have worked with every great director. You have won three Golden Globes, an Oscar. The most impressive thing is that you have been able to accomplish all of this before your girlfriend turned 30. It is just insane!” DiCaprio took the joke in his stride, chuckling in the audience.

Sean Penn, Leo’s One Battle After Another co-star, wasn’t spared either. “I love you Sean, you are such an original. Everyone in this town is obsessed with looking younger; meanwhile, Sean Penn is like: ‘What if I slowly morph into a sexy leather handbag?’”

Team One Battle After Another, including Teyana Taylor (second from left) and director Paul Thomas Anderson

Glaser’s most daring jokes had to do with the late Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to the celebrity world. “I cannot believe the amount of star power we have in this room tonight, it is insane,” she said. “There’s so many A-listers… and by ‘A-listers’ I do mean people who are on a list that has been heavily redacted,’” she quipped. “Yes, and the Golden Globe for best editing goes to… the Justice Department. Yes, congratulations,” Glaser said to a roaring crowd.

While wrapping up her monologue, Glaser asked everyone to keep doing what they were doing. “Guillermo Del Toro, keep making weird monster sex movies. James Cameron, keep making weird monster sex movies.” She continued: “Steve Martin and Martin Short, keep proving to us that in this industry, you are never ever too old to still need money.”

ONE AWARD AFTER ANOTHER

The big winner of the evening in the film category was One Battle After Another that took home four golden statuettes. That included the big ones for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson), and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture for Teyana Taylor. The counterculture epic earned Anderson (the man behind seminal films like There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights) his first-ever Golden Globe wins. “I love doing what I do so this is just fun,” Anderson said in his speech before paying tribute to the late Adam Somner, who was an assistant director on the film before his death in November 2024.

Teyana Taylor, who beat out tough competition from strong contenders like Amy Madigan and Ariana Grande, delivered a tearful speech in which she devoted her award “to my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight”, adding: “We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space.”

ADOLESCENCE, AHOY!

Also winning four awards, this time in the TV segment, was the Netflix breakout hit Adolescence. Continuing its awards season sweep, Adolescence won for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film, while Stephen Graham took home Best Actor — Miniseries or Television Film. Owen Cooper won Best Supporting Actor — Series, Miniseries or Television Film, and Erin Doherty bagged Best Supporting Actress — Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

At 16, Cooper scripted history by being the youngest to win for Best Performance By a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television, and the second-youngest Golden Globe-winning male actor of all time. “What started off as what I thought I might be okay at, I might be awful, I took a risk and I went to drama classes. I was the only boy there, it was embarrassing, but I got through it,” the unassuming young man smiled on stage. “I am still very much an apprentice, I am still learning every day. I’m still learning from the people who are sat in front of me who inspired me.”

A heart-meets-humour moment was when his co-star Stephen Graham, and also the series’ co-creator, stopped his speech midway to point out excitedly to actor Queen Latifah sitting in the audience. Guess even stars have their fanboy moments!

Last year’s breakout hit The Pitt, a medical drama which puts the spotlight on America’s strained emergency rooms, won Best Drama Series while The Studio, a Hollywood satire from Apple TV, earned the award for Best Comedy. Star Seth Rogen, who had dedicated an entire episode of The Studio to the Golden Globes, also won the Globe earlier in the evening for Best Actor in the Musical or Comedy category. The Pitt star Noah Wyle won Best Actor in the TV Drama segment.

THE BIG FOUR

Timothee Chalamet made Golden Globes history by becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy award for his performance in the character-driven film Marty Supreme. The actor surged past heavyweights like George Clooney, Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, and Lee Byung-Hun to win the coveted award, which is being touted as a possible foreshadowing for the 30-year-old star’s first Oscar. Besides thanking the cast and crew, Chalamet threw in a special word for his parents and “partner”, aka Kylie Jenner, who seated in the audience, mouthed: “I’m so happy!” The couple was latter spotted indulging in some PDA off stage even as the champagne flowed to celebrate his big win.

Wagner Moura pulled off a semi-upset of sorts, racing past Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) to take home the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for The Secret Agent. In doing so, he became the first Brazilian man to win an acting Golden Globe, with the Kleber Mendonça Filho-directed film also winning for Best Motion Picture — Non English Language.

“The Secret Agent is a film about memory, or the lack of memory. And generational trauma,” said Moura, accepting his trophy on stage. “But I think that if trauma can be passed along generations, values can too,” he said. The Secret Agent, set in 1977 Brazil, is about living under a military dictatorship, which held sway in Brazil from 1964 to 1985.

“This is a very important moment in time, in history, to be making films,” said Filho, accepting the award for Best Motion Picture — Non English Language.

Jessie Buckley’s stirring portrayal of a woman learning to cope with the grief of losing her young son earned her the honour of Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for Hamnet, in which she stars as Agnes Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare (played by Paul Mescal). Buckley, who gives a performance for the ages in this profoundly moving adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, was clearly overwhelmed, thanking her Hamnet collaborators (including a very special crew member and his “soup”) for creating an environment that allowed her to depict the complex character in all her extraordinary love and unfathomable grief.

Hamnet, meanwhile, pulled off a blinder, taking home the award for Best Motion Picture — Drama, pushing past the more fancied Sinners. Backed by producer Steven Spielberg, who was also present on stage, director Chloe Zhao banded together her team and then quoted her actor Paul Mescal in her speech, saying: “Paul said that making Hamnet made him realise the most important part of being an artiste is learning to be vulnerable enough to allow ourself to be seen for who we are, not who we ought to be. To give ourselves fully to the world — even the parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of, that we are afraid of, that are imperfect. So that the people that we speak to, they can also learn to fully accept themselves.” Before her, Spielberg kept his acknowledgements short and sweet, pointing out: “I felt there was only one filmmaker who could tell this story,” said the auteur, turning to Zhao.

The top acting honour in the Musical or Comedy category went to Rose Byrne for her brilliance as the mother of a child with a pediatric feeding disorder in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

THE OUTSIDER

Global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters walked away with two awards — Best Animated Feature, while its breakout anthem Golden was named Best Original Song. The Netflix hit had its creators thanking audiences for embracing women who were strong, bold, really silly, weird, hungry for food and “sometimes a little thirsty”.

Speaking of thirst (trap), Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the lookers from the new rage Heated Rivalry, brought on huge applause (and some catcalls) as they walked on to the stage to present the Best Supporting TV Actress trophy. Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club played as Storrie and Williams — whose turn in the erotic romantic/sport series has earned them hordes of fans — approached the mic. “I am sorry, it is a little nerve-wracking here being at our very first Golden Globes,” Storrie began the comedic act. Williams suggested taking a deep breath and picturing everyone.... He trailed off, letting the audience and viewers at home fill in the blank. “You know,” he eventually said. Storrie replied: “Yeah, I don’t know if that works, considering everyone has seen us... you know.” They questioned whether everyone in the audience has seen Heated Rivalry to know what they are talking about, with Storrie joking: “Their trainers have and their moms have, their daughters have!”

A FIRST

This year, the Golden Globes added podcasting to the mix, acknowledging the major growth of that medium. Good Hang With Amy Poehler beat out podcasts like The Mel Robbins Podcast, Armchair Expert, and Up First for the honour. “This is an attempt to try to make a very rough and unkind world filled with a little bit more love and laughter — and laughing with people, not at them,” said Poehler, a former Golden Globes host.

PET PEEVE

A major irk for the TV audience this year was the frequent cutting away to ad breaks with none of the camaraderie and off-stage banter between the stars being up for viewing. That was not all. Two big awards were handed out the night before the main show in a separate ceremony. During a new annual primetime special aptly named “Golden Eve”, the HFPA honoured Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker with the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett awards, respectively. The biggest boo-boo? Sinners composer Ludwig Goransson won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score — but no one saw it because it got over in the commercial break!

The 83rd Golden Globe Awards is available to stream on JioHotstar