Everything You Need to Know About the 2024 Golden Globes

On June 12, 2023, after enduring years of controversy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization which founded the Golden Globes, announced that it would be closing. However, this is not the end for the famously raucous ceremony, which has kicked off awards season for the past 80 years. Below, find everything you need to know about the 2024 Golden Globe Awards.

2024 Golden Globes are definitely going ahead?

Yes. Eldridge Industries, a holding company owned by the billionaire investor Todd Boehly, and Dick Clark Productions, which has produced the Golden Globes telecast for decades, agreed to purchase the HFPA’s Golden Globes assets, rights and properties for an undisclosed price. They’ll form a new non-profit, the Golden Globe Foundation, which will continue the philanthropic work of the HFPA. (The organization has given more than $50 million to entertainment-related charities over the last 30 years.) Meanwhile, a for-profit entity will also seek to expand the Golden Globes as a brand. Planning and producing the Golden Globes ceremony annually will remain a focus, too. Earlier this year, the HFPA disclosed that the voting body for the 2024 competition will be comprised of 310 journalists from outside the US, a group which will include the organization’s 95 current members.

In a statement, Dick Clark Productions’s CEO Jay Penske said: “As stewards of the Golden Globe Awards, our mission is to continue creating the most dynamic awards ceremony on live television viewed across the world. We have a great team in place to grow this iconic brand and captivate new and existing audiences to celebrate the very best in television and motion pictures.”

when will the 2024 Golden Globes take place?

The ceremony is currently scheduled for January 7, and will air live in the US on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Who will host the 2024 Golden Globes?

The comedian and actor Jo Koy will host the 2024 ceremony.

What will the 2024 Golden Globes ceremony look like?

There are many questions still to be answered—including what the set-up for the ceremony will look like and who might attend—but one thing we do know? There will be two new categories: the Golden Globe for best performance in stand-up comedy on television; and a Golden Globe for cinematic and box office achievement, awarded to the highest-earning or most widely seen blockbusters that have also achieved artistic excellence. The latter prize, in particular, seems designed to encourage more viewers to tune in—in 2018, in the face of declining TV viewership, the Academy considered introducing a best popular film Oscar for similar reasons, before the idea was scrapped.

When did the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s problems begin?

On February 21, 2021, a Los Angeles Times investigation accused the HFPA of “self-dealing” and highlighted potential conflicts of interest. Among them was the fact that 30 HFPA members had been flown to France to visit the set of Emily in Paris in 2019. Two years later, the series was nominated for two Golden Globes, while more critically lauded shows like I May Destroy You were snubbed. It was also revealed that the organization had no Black members. Meher Tatna, its former president, later told Variety that there hadn’t been any Black members for at least two decades. The backlash was swift, with several former Golden Globe nominees including Ava DuVernay demanding change via social media.

Just days before the 2021 Golden Globes ceremony on February 28, the HFPA responded with a statement saying: “We are fully committed to ensuring our membership is reflective of the communities around the world who love film, TV and the artists inspiring and educating them. We understand that we need to bring in Black members, as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible.”

What happened next?

Things quickly went from bad to worse. In March 2021, the HFPA hired a new strategic diversity advisor and vowed that at least 13% of its membership would be Black. However, in April, Deadline reported that HFPA member and former eight-term president Philip Berk had sent an email sharing an article that labelled Black Lives Matter a “racist hate movement.” Berk was expelled, but the incident set off a chain of events that led to the departure of the HFPA’s crisis communications firm and diversity consultant.

The organization unveiled further plans for reform in May—promising to diversify and proposing restrictions on the gifts its voters can accept—but Netflix, Amazon Studios, and WarnerMedia all announced that they’d boycott the HFPA until there was more meaningful change. On May 10, NBC released a statement saying it would not be airing the 2022 Golden Globes. “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform,” it read. “However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”

Did the 2022 Golden Globes still happen?

Yes, but not in the usual format. On January 4, 2022, Variety reported that the HFPA had failed to secure any celebrity presenters for the upcoming ceremony. Hours later, the outlet revealed that the 2022 Golden Globes would be “very stripped down [and] will center on announcing this year’s winners while also focusing on the HFPA’s philanthropy work. There will not be an audience, only select HFPA members and philanthropy grantees will be in the room. There will be no red carpet and media credential requests for the event will not be accepted.” On January 6, a HFPA rep added: “This year’s event is going to be a private event and will not be live-streamed. We will be providing real-time updates on winners on the Golden Globes website and our social media.”

And what about the 2023 Golden Globes?

After promising to get their collective act together, the members of the HFPA were given another chance to prove themselves on NBC in 2023—albeit on a Tuesday night. A surprising number of nominees and A-listers were in attendance, and, at points, it almost felt like business as usual. However, the show’s host, Jerrod Carmichael, addressed the elephant in the room in his opening monologue. “I’ll tell you why I’m here,” he said to the audience. “I’m here ’cause I’m Black. This show did not air last year because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—which I won’t say were a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died. So do with that information what you will.” He then recounted being “invited to be the Black face of an embattled organisation,” adding: “So, I did what I do when I have a moral racial dilemma. I call my homegirl Avery, who for the sake of this monologue represents every Black person in America. And I said, ‘What should I do?’ She was like, ‘Well, how much are they paying you?’ And I said, ‘$500,000.’ And she said, ‘Boy, if you don’t put on a good suit and take them white people money…’”

He continued, “I was really proud of that decision, until I got an email from a publicist saying that Helen [Hoehne], the president of the HFPA, wanted to have a one-on-one sit down with me. I said, ‘No thanks, I know when I hear a trap.’ Then they came back, like, ‘Well, they’re not really asking, they’re insisting that you take the meeting.’ And I’m like, ‘Or what?! They’re gonna fire me?!’ They haven’t had a Black host for 79 years and they’re gonna fire the first one? I’m unfireable. And it came back again: ‘Helen really just wants to educate you on the changes that the organization has made in regards to diversity.’ And I’ll be totally honest with everyone here tonight. I don’t really need to hear it. I took this job assuming they hadn’t changed at all. I heard they got six new Black members, congrats for them, whatever. I’m here, truly, because I look out into this room and I see a lot of talented people.” The speech was widely reported on—and perhaps the writing was on the wall for the HFPA from that point onwards.

BY RADHIKA SETH

Photo: Getty