The 2026 Golden Globes: Snubs, Surprises, and the Culture War on the Carpet
The nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards have dropped, and true to form, they’ve managed to generate more heat and debate than any single film or television show. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association—or whatever iteration of the voting body we're currently acknowledging—has delivered a list that is simultaneously predictable in its A-list obsession and baffling in its omissions. This year, the conversation isn't just about who got a nod, but whose entire cultural sphere was deliberately, or perhaps simply ignorantly, excluded.
The Wicked Problem: High-Flying Success or Grounded Hype?
The biggest headline grabber was, without a doubt, the dual-pronged success of Wicked Part One and the surprise inclusion of Wicked Part Two: The Final Bow (somehow managing to qualify for a technical nomination despite its late-December release strategy).
While the Globes traditionally embrace musicals, the sheer number of nominations for the Ozian spectacle feels like an overcorrection. Yes, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are magnificent, securing nods for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, but the real head-scratcher is the nomination for Best Original Song. Specifically, the inclusion of the newly arranged and slightly confusing "For Good: The Remix," which replaced the expected sentimental favorite, the original "For Good," in a controversial last-minute submission move.
The snobs are already calling it a triumph of marketing over merit. Was this a genuine appreciation of the film's undeniable spectacle, or simply Hollywood rewarding its own largest, most expensive endeavor with maximum visibility? It feels less like a surprise and more like a foregone conclusion, ensuring that the Globes telecast is guaranteed to have at least one billion-dollar franchise present.
The Shock Snubs: Where Was the Indie Darling?
The most jarring omissions this year highlight the persistent disconnect between critics’ circles and the Globes' taste for glitz.
The biggest snub is easily Denis Villeneuve’s quiet, deeply moving sci-fi epic, Echo Chamber. Despite sweeping nearly every regional critics' award and delivering career-best performances from its ensemble cast, it was completely shut out of the major categories, landing only a single technical nod for visual effects. The message is clear: if your movie requires more than 15 minutes of uninterrupted focus, the Globes may just look the other way.
Another notable absence was the dark horse comedy Suburban Trauma, which was expected to land nominations for Best Series and supporting actor Reginald Kincaid. Instead, the comedic category slots were filled by a handful of established network shows that frankly haven't been relevant since the Obama administration. It’s an easy, low-risk slate that suggests a voting body desperate for safety and star power.
The Cultural Undercurrent: Rogan, Shapiro, and the Hollywood Divide
This is where the Golden Globes reveal their most rigid limitations. In an era where cultural conversation is increasingly driven by figures outside of the traditional studio system—be it massive independent podcasters or highly influential political commentators—the Globes remain willfully insular.
The true snub this year wasn't a film; it was the entire content ecosystem represented by figures like Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro. Their podcasts and streaming specials command larger daily audiences than nearly every show nominated for a Golden Globe, yet they exist in a parallel universe that Hollywood’s awards infrastructure refuses to acknowledge.
Rogan's recent documentary, The Modern Gladiator (which garnered over 100 million views in its first week), was completely absent. Similarly, the highly rated political drama miniseries produced by Shapiro's Daily Wire, The Last Constitutionalist, was nowhere to be seen, even in the limited series categories.
This isn't to say their content deserves an award, but their complete and utter omission signals a distinct choice by the Globes: they are rewarding traditional, established media, and actively ignoring the powerful, messy, and frankly dominant cultural dialogue happening on streaming and audio platforms. Until the voting body recognizes that culture is no longer solely dictated by what plays on a studio lot, the Golden Globes will continue to feel like a lavish, but ultimately incomplete, celebration.
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