The 78th Golden Globe Awards were presented virtually on February 28 which saw big wins for Netflix with The Queen’s Gambit and The Crown, as well as a surprise win for Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and some viral moments. Following the nominations being announced on February 3, the award ceremony took place on NBC spanning approximately three hours long. Hosted by Tina Fey (Mean Girls) and Amy Poehler (Sisters, Parks and Recreation), the Hollywood Foreign Press’ award show followed the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards with virtual presentation of nominees and presenters combined with a mix of in-person appearances by celebrities. A list of the film winners at the 78th Golden Globes can be found here.
The Golden Globe ceremony kicked off with a monologue from Fey and Poehler with some commentary on the distinction between movies and television along with some jabs at COVID-19 and the lack of black representation in the Hollywood Foreign Press. Additionally, the ceremony also promoted donations to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund. Check out the monologue below:
Some of the big winners of the award show were streaming giant Netflix and its original series The Crown and its limited series The Queen’s Gambit. The Crown finalized a sweep of Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Emma Corrin (Pennyworth) as Princess Diana, Best Actor for Josh O’Connor (Emma.) as Prince Charles, as well as Best Supporting Actress in a TV Drama for Gillian Anderson (Sex Education, The X-Files).
Additionally, Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit achieved some award success with the procuring the awards for Best Miniseries as well as Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) as Beth Harmon who won Best Actress in a Limited Series, Miniseries, or Television Movie. This streaming original series centered around the fictional tale of Harmon, an orphan who finds success as a young Chess prodigy in addition to following the management of her on-going struggle with addiction.
During the 2020 Emmy Awards, Pop TV’s original comedy series Schitt’s Creek cleaned up the awards for Best Comedy Series, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress for comedy series. However, in a shocking upset, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso managed to steal a win for Best Comedy Actor in a Television Series with Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live) as the titular role. Sudeikis’ win also came with some viral antics including an assumed improvised victory speech as well as his casual sweatshirt attire for one of Hollywood’s biggest award shows.
Meanwhile, Schitt’s Creek managed to win Best Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Catherine O’Hara (Best In Show). Similar to Sudeikis, O’Hara’s win was also marked with some viral laughs as her partner played the infamous wrap-it-up music from his phone during her speech which provided some technical sound difficulties for one of the night’s first awards.
The 78th Golden Globes also marked a world of firsts for its recipients. Corrin, O’Connor, O’Hara, Sudeikis, and Taylor-Joy joined a list of first-time Golden Globe winners. John Boyega (Attack The Block) received his first Golden Globe for his Supporting Actor role in a Limited Series as Leroy Logan in Steve McQueen (Hunger, 12 Years a Slave) and Amazon Prime Video’s Small Axe. Additionally, actor Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) won his first Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited Series for his role in HBO’s I Know This Much Is True as Dominick and Thomas Birdsey.
One of the night’s more special moments for the television world was the montage and speech from this year’s recipient of the Carol Burnett Award, Norman Lear (All In The Family, The Jefferson). Lear received this lifetime achievement award for his success in the sitcom world by breaking down barriers such as race, religion, and sexuality within his show’s narratives. The award ceremony showed a long montage of clips from Lear’s various successful sitcoms such as Good Times, The Jeffersons, All In The Family, and many more. This montage was followed by a speech for Lear in which he accepted this award virtually.
The full list of Golden Globe television winners can be found below:
Best Television Drama Series: Netflix’s The Crown
Best Television Comedy Series: Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek
Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series: Josh O’Connor in Netflix’s The Crown
Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series: Emma Corrin in Netflix’s The Crown
Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical Series: Jason Sudeikis in Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso
Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series: Catherine O’Hara in Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek
Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film: Mark Ruffalo in HBO’s I Know This Much Is True
Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film: Anya Taylor Joy in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit
Best Miniseries or Television Film: Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit
Best Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film: John Boyega in Prime Video’s Small Axe
Best Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film: Gillian Anderson in Netflix’s The Crown