Five things to watch at the Golden Globes Sunday night: NPR

After a few difficult years and the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes appear to be stabilizing. Now the question is: can they still put on a good show?

The 82nd annual Golden Globes, which kick off Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST, hopes to revive some of the frothy comedic energy of the days when Ricky Gervais or Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were hosts. Last year’s return edition, hosted by Jo Koy, was widely criticized, but it delivered where it counted: Ratings rebounded to around 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS signed up for five more years.

This time, actress Nikki Glaser will host the ceremony from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The Globes, now owned by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, will be broadcast live by CBS and available for live streaming to Paramount+ subscribers with Showtime beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Although Glaser doesn’t have contenders as widely seen as last year, when “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” were the headliners, the series promises about as much star power as Hollywood can muster. Nominees include Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Denzel Washington, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Selena Gomez.

Jacques Audiard’s Netflix musical, “Emilia Pérez,” tops the nominations, with 10 nominations, followed by Brady Corbet’s post-war epic, “The Brutalist,” with seven, and the papal thriller from ‘Edward Berger, “Conclave”, with six. Among the most nominated series are “The Bear”, “Shogun” and “Only Murders in the Building”.

Here are some things to watch out for ahead of Sunday’s Globes:

Will Timothée Chalamet win his first Globe?

Best actor in a drama category is a murderer, with a field of Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”), Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Daniel Craig (“Queer”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) and Chalamet, for the Bob Dylan film “A Complete Unknown”. Although Fiennes or Brody could win, a win for Chalamet would be the first major award for the 29-year-old star – and would surely start the Oscar discussion.

How long until someone mentions Hollywood’s biggest feud?

Just days before the Globes, Blake Lively sued “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni and several others connected to the romantic drama, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation for revealed his treatment on set. Baldoni, who has denied it, joined a lawsuit accusing The New York Times of defamation in its article about her allegations.

Whether or not all of this is mentioned on stage at the Beverly Hilton Ballroom, it will surely stick in the minds of many attendees. Among the nominees for box office performance is “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which stars and was co-produced by Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband. Glaser, whose sharp jokes about a Tom Brady roast helped catapult her to this moment, isn’t known for biting her tongue.

How will “Wicked” fare?

“Emilia Pérez” may have been chosen over “Wicked” for the best comedy or musical award, but Jon M. Chu’s theatrical hit is also in the running for the Globes’ new film box office award. One or both of the leading ladies of “Wicked” could also win: Erivo in the leading actress category and Grande in the supporting category.

Will politics play a leading role?

The Globes, which take place about two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, could become very political if presenters and winners are so inclined to continue what has been a mutually antagonistic relationship between Hollywood and Trump. This may be unlikely, however; So far in Hollywood awards season, most nominees have tried to stay out of the fray.

That’s with one major exception, though, in “The Apprentice,” Trump’s young drama starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. Both were nominated for Globes. Stan was also nominated a second time for his performance in “A Different Man.”

Is there an Oscar favorite?

Awards season so far has been unusually uncertain in many ways. No film has really established itself as a leading contender for Best Picture, although several films — including “Conclave,” “Anora,” “Wicked,” “Emilia Pérez” and “The Brutalist” — can all make a decent case . The Globes don’t usually do much to sort the pack, but a good showing from any of the above could fuel their Oscar campaign.