Golden Globes: Recapping the 2021 Ceremony's Best and Worst Moments

The Golden Globes is considered the most fun of all the shows: the Oscars’ naughty step-cousin, where celebrities get drunk and if we’re lucky, the wheels fall off by the end. Instead, this year’s mostly at-home edition had the opposite effect, as many a winner sat at their desk.

Read my recaps here and here.

And also, I talk to the Golden Globes producers to get the full behind-the-scenes info on details like how the bicoastal setup worked, those Zoom category rooms and Catherine O'Hara's acceptance speech joke here.

Golden Globes: Final TV Comedy and Drama Predictions

My Variety colleague Danielle Turchiano and I give our final analysis of this year's Golden Globe TV categories. Above, the drama race, and below, comedy.

Mike on TV: How I Handle Awards Season

I recently spoke via Skype with Spectrum News 1's Bianca Rae on Feb. 3, 2021, to discuss Golden Globe Awards nominations, and covering this year's awards season in general.

The Three Best Celebrity Sightings at This Year's Golden Globe Awards

For the third year in a row I had the opportunity to sit at one of the press tables at the Golden Globe Awards, and although we're in the back, it's the perfect vantage point for celebrity sightings. As everyone rushes down to their tables, they pass right by us. The problem is people move so fast that you miss most great shots — but these were my three favorites from this year: The Rock, Tom Hanks and the one and only Tommy Wiseau.

Scenes from the Golden Globes, 2016 Edition

Above, best TV drama actor winner Jon Hamm mugs for my camera at the Golden Globes.

"Mr. Robot is golden," I wrote on January 10 while covering the annual Golden Globes Awards from inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom. "The USA Network drama, coming off critical acclaim for its freshman season, was one of the big winners Sunday night at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards. The show won for best drama, beating out a stellar list that included Game of Thrones (HBO), Narcos (Netflix), Outlander (Starz) and Empire (Fox)."

Read my full story here.

And below, a few more pics from the event.


Rachel Bloom wins for best TV comedy actress (The CW's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend")


Supporting film actor winner Sylvester Stallone gets a standing ovation


Will Smith enters the ballroom


Selfie with winner Hamm


The Beverly Hilton ballroom


At the HBO after party, Harrison Ford and Rob Lowe have a chat

MIKE ON RADIO: Talking Golden Globes and Winter TV with KROQ's Kevin & Bean

I was back in studio with Kevin and Bean on Friday to talk up the Golden Globes (and why they've become more relevant, even if still questionable), and the load of winter TV coming our way. Listen to the episode below!

MIKE ON KCRW: Golden Globes and the TV Critics Press Tour

Another busy week at KCRW. On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- The Golden Globes are a few days away. What used to be a smaller awards show has become a must-attend affair.
- The Television Critics Association holds its semi-annual gathering. The big topic so far: what to do about cord cutters.
- Just a few weeks ago, Sony was on the brink of disaster and the jobs of the studio's top executives seriously at risk. But as of right now, it looks like Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton will be able to hang on to their positions.

Listen by clicking below:



Or here:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the Television Critics Association press tour, happening now in Pasadena:

Twice a year the Television Critics Association gathers to hear presentations from network heads and showrunners of upcoming programs. This winter's gathering is just getting started, but so far the big topic is the continued unbundling of cable and the ever increasing options for over the top streaming services, which networks are hoping appeal to millennials who aren't interested in a cable subscription. HBO and CBS announced standalone streaming services last year, and this week, Dish Network announced a $20 a month streaming service called Sling TV. The big difference with Sling is that their over the top bundle will include ESPN, the sports network frequently cited as the reason for hanging on to cable.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, I called in from the TCA to talk more about the press tour, plus the Golden Globes:

Last night’s Golden Globes ceremony is getting so-so reviews today. Many people say they were more staid, a.k.a. boring, than usual. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who were showered with praise for their previous hosting stints, weren’t on the stage as much this time around. We hash out the highlights and lowlights, and preview what the networks are cooking up this year in our weekly TV segment.

Listen below:

MIKE ON KCRW: Talking Golden Globe Noms, the Sony Hack and the End of "The Newsroom"

Another busy week at KCRW. On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- Golden Globe nominations announced. No major surprises this year, but a major snub for Angelina Jolie and her movie Unbroken. - The hack attack at Sony continues to wreak havoc at the studio, as more and more personal details and emails between top executives are leaked to the public.

Listen by clicking below:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the Golden Globes but ended it with a bit more about the Sony hacking scandal:

The Golden Globes have been known for some eyebrow-raising nominations in the past, but this year their nominations on the film side at least, seem more predictable. Birdman had the most nominations, with Boyhood and Selma also snagging several nominations. Angelina Jolie's name was notably absent from the list. The TV nominations favored new shows like Jane the Virgin and The Affair over old Emmy favorites like Modern Family and Big Bang Theory. And the hack at Sony continues to cause monumental damage, as more and more leaked emails are appearing in public.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, LA Review of Books' Sarah Mesle and I discussed several topics, including the end of "The Newsroom" and my recent TV Guide Magazine piece about whether TV is still willing to tackle hot button issues:

Aaron Sorkin didn’t mince words in a New York Times op-ed today, saying journalists who publish leaked emails from the Sony hack are “morally treasonous and spectacularly dishonorable.” The topic would’ve made great fodder for Sorkin’s series The Newsroom, if the series hadn’t aired its final episode last night. We discuss that and more in our weekly TV roundup.

Listen below:

MIKE ON TV: Discussing Golden Globe Nominees on "Access Hollywood Live"

I was up early on Thursday chatting up "Access Hollywood Live" hosts Billy Bush and Kit Hoover about this year's Golden Globes TV nominations. Watch as I chastise them for not watching "Orphan Black" -- and I let Billy Bush know I'm comfortable enough with my marriage to watch Showtime's "The Affair" with Maria!

Here I am talking about the drama nominees and snubs:



And here I am chatting about comedy -- or the lack thereof.

According to Their TV Ads, "August Osage County" and "Philomena" Are Already Golden Globe Winners

Correct me if I'm wrong, but have any of you seen this in a film marketing campaign before? In TV spots for its movies "August: Osage County" and "Philomena," The Weinstein Company is touting the movies as Golden Globe "winners."



But wait, the Golden Globes aren't until January 14. How are the movies already "winners"?



Look closer. They "won" a nomination. So did Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Judi Dench. What the what? How is securing a nomination suddenly a "win"?





I've written plenty of award nomination stories before. Yeah, we have to use a lot of verbs to describe being nominated. You can "score," "earn," "land," "grab," "secure," and "take" a nomination -- and there are many, many other ways to describe it too. Perhaps I've even used "won a nomination," although I don't recall. But to put "WINNER" in big letters in an ad, next to pics of the Globes trophy, when the movies and stars haven't technically won anything yet? Unusual move. But I don't normally follow the feature film award races, so I can't tell you if this is common in that world. Either way, it's... an interesting strategy.

Spotted Outside the Golden Globes: Jen Aniston Ruined My Life

More specifically, I think it was those final, dreadful two seasons of "Friends" that set this guy over the edge.

Liveblogging the Oddball Golden Globes

The review is in! "Not funny," says one commenter. All right! Judge for yourself... my Variety partner Joe and I decided to double team and liveblog last night's strange Golden Globes... and came up with this. Enjoy. (Or don't.)