Hollywood
Golden Globes 2026: Who won and what blew up online
CALIFORNIA: Hollywood’s annual pre-Oscar showcase returned with vengeance, spreading its accolades across film, streaming, and television in a strategic play to keep every major studio competitive heading into awards season.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture epic One Battle After Another and Netflix’s youth drama Adolescence emerged as the evening’s biggest winners, each claiming four trophies. Anderson secured his first-ever Golden Globe wins with best comedy or musical film, best director, and best screenplay.
Netflix’s Adolescence won best limited series alongside acting prizes for Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty. Writer Jack Thorne used his acceptance speech to frame the show as an indictment not of young people but of “the filth and the debris we have laid in their path”.
Big-ticket cinema was not shut out. The Shakespeare-inspired drama Hamnet won best drama film and best actress for Jessie Buckley, with producer Steven Spielberg praising director Chloé Zhao as the only film-maker who could have made it work.
Ryan Coogler’s period horror Sinners demonstrated its commercial might with wins for original score and box-office achievement.
Timothée Chalamet became the youngest winner of best lead actor in a comedy for Marty Supreme, while Rose Byrne took best lead actress in a comedy for the indie hit If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, which she joked was made for $8.50. Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent scored two wins, including best non-English language film and best actor in a drama for Wagner Moura — the first Brazilian to take the prize.
Television saw a generational shake-up. Hospital drama The Pitt won best drama series, with Noah Wyle named best actor, while Apple’s industry satire The Studio took best comedy series and a lead-actor win for Seth Rogen. Rhea Seehorn won best actress in a drama for Pluribus, and Jean Smart claimed her third Globe for HBO’s Hacks.
The ceremony also leaned into politics and culture-war signalling, with several stars wearing anti-ICE pins and the show introducing a new category for best podcast, won by Good Hang with Amy Poehler.
The Golden Globes 2026’s wildest, weirdest and most viral moments
Host Nikki Glaser opened by calling the ceremony “the most important thing happening in the world right now” before firing at targets ranging from George Clooney’s coffee habits to CBS News and the US justice department’s redacted Epstein files. Her Nicole Kidman cinema-ad parody and K-pop singalong kept the ballroom loose and social media buzzing.
Glaser also skewered Leonardo DiCaprio, turning his famously scrutinised dating history into one of the night’s biggest laughs. “The most impressive thing about Leo,” she joked, “is that he managed to do all that before his girlfriend turned 30.” She mock-apologised for the dig, calling it “cheap”, before adding, “But honestly, we don’t know anything else about you. Give us something to work with.”
The night’s emotional centre came early. Teyana Taylor completed the sweep with best supporting actress, delivering one of the night’s most powerful moments when she told “little brown girls watching tonight” that their softness and ambition needs no permission to exist.
A new Globes category — best podcast — also landed with a flourish. Good Hang With Amy Poehler took the inaugural prize, with Poehler wrapping Snoop Dogg in a celebratory hug before joking that NPR should “try harder” than simply letting celebrities phone it in. Backstage, she said her dream listener was Meryl Streep.
Timothée Chalamet became the youngest-ever winner of best lead actor in a comedy for Marty Supreme, raising eyebrows by thanking Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary—a playful nod to the Globes’ tendency to blend prestige with pop culture spectacle.
Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters underlined its status as a commercial juggernaut by winning both best animated film and best song for Golden. The creators said they had simply poured everything they loved into the film and hoped to repeat the trick in a sequel, even if lightning rarely strikes twice.
Elsewhere, steamy TV breakout Heated Rivalry brought its fan-service straight onto the stage as stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams teased the audience while presenting, triggering whoops that would have been unthinkable at the Oscars.
Director Judd Apatow supplied the night’s sharpest industry critique, reminding the room that the Globes’ “comedy or musical” category once handed his Trainwreck a loss to The Martian. He joked that while the world had endured Covid and authoritarian drift since then, he was “still pretty focussed on this Martian thing”.
Melissa McCarthy and Kathryn Hahn delivered the slickest comic bit, flipping Hollywood’s gender politics by pretending men were an under-represented minority in film. “It’s about time,” McCarthy deadpanned, “that men finally got a seat at the table.”
Hollywood
Disney unifies streaming, film, TV and games under Dana Walden
Debra O’Connell to chair Disney Entertainment Television in new setup
LOS ANGELES: The Walt Disney Company is pressing play on a more tightly woven future. As audiences hop between cinema screens, streaming apps and game worlds, the media giant is stitching its storytelling arms into one coordinated machine under Dana Walden.
Set to take charge as president and chief creative officer on March 18, Walden will oversee a newly unified Disney Entertainment structure that brings together streaming, film, television and the company’s fast-expanding games and digital business. She will report directly to incoming chief executive officer Josh D’Amaro.
The thinking is simple. Whether viewers are watching on Disney+, heading to the cinema or diving into a game, Disney wants the experience to feel like chapters of the same story. Walden summed it up as strengthening the emotional thread between Disney’s characters and its audiences, wherever they choose to engage.
The leadership reshuffle reads like a carefully cast ensemble. Alan Bergman continues as chairman of Disney Entertainment, studios, steering film production, marketing and distribution while sharing oversight of direct to consumer.
Streaming gets a dual command. Joe Earley and Adam Smith step in as co-presidents of direct to consumer, jointly handling strategy and financial performance across Disney+ and Hulu. Earley will also guide content strategy, while Smith retains his role as chief product and technology officer across Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
A new chair enters the frame with Debra O’Connell taking on the role of chairman, Disney Entertainment Television. She will oversee an expansive slate that includes ABC Entertainment, National Geographic and Hulu Originals, while continuing to supervise ABC News and owned stations.
Gaming, once a side quest, is now a central storyline. Sean Shoptaw, executive vice president, games and digital entertainment, moves into the Disney Entertainment fold. His remit includes partnerships such as the collaboration with Epic Games, aimed at building a Disney universe linked to Fortnite.
Elsewhere, John Landgraf remains chairman of FX, reporting to Walden, while Asad Ayaz continues as chief marketing and brand officer, reporting to both D’Amaro and Walden.
The message behind the reshuffle is clear. Disney is no longer thinking in silos of screens but in stories that travel. And with Walden at the creative helm, the company is betting that a single, seamless narrative can keep audiences hooked, whether they are watching, scrolling or playing.
