The Golden Globes' First Ever Stand-Up Comedy Category Was, Ironically, A Joke
The Golden Globes really snuck up on me this year. I didn't even know they were happening until last night, about an hour before the awards ceremony started - and neither did the Golden Globes committee themselves, based on their last-minute host pick.
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That being said, I was pretty excited to hear they'd have a NEW category this year to reward the 'Best Stand-Up Comedy Special' of 2023. There's been a ton of great comedy over the last twelve months, and I think stuff like this will actually shake the Golden Globes up and breathe some fresh air into them. I hope they continue along the trend of adding new blockbuster awards/comedy awards, and I'd even toss some horror awards in there in the future. Take all of the genres you've basically not acknowledged over the years and show them some respect - make them mean something. I think it's a great idea….but I digress.
Jim Gaffigan came out to present the award and read the nominees (and was much funnier in his 30 second spot than Jo Koy was all night), and when those nominees were read, my heart dropped a bit….
Ricky Gervais (Ricky Gervais: Armageddon)
Trevor Noah (Trevor Noah: Where Was I)
Chris Rock (Chris Rock: Selective Outrage)
Amy Schumer (Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact)
Sarah Silverman (Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love)
Wanda Sykes (Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer)
What is that? Who the hell came up with that list? Did they just wake up from a coma they slipped into a decade ago?
This is an award for "Best Stand-Up Comedy Special" of 2023 and Shane Gillis isn't on the list for 'Beautiful Dogs'? Nate Bargatze isn't on the list for 'Hello World'?? Tom Segura isn't on the list for 'Sledgehammer'??? Mike Birbiglia doesn't make the cut for 'The Old Man and the Pool' but checks notes TREVOR NOAH AND AMY SCHUMER DID?!?! No John Mulaney (Baby J) or Marc Maron (From Bleak to Dark) or Joe Pera (Slow & Steady) or Pete Holmes (I Am Not For Everyone) but Chris Rock's horrrrrible live Netflix show - which had to be edited because he messed up punchlines live - is up for a GOLDEN GLOBE? Am I taking crazy pills?!
Thank god Chris Rock didn't win or else he'd risk award show PTSD, ducking and dodging the ghost of Will Smith throwing slaps during his acceptance speech.
It's all ridiculous, and comes off like a list of stand-up specials curated by people who don't watch stand-up specials - and I think that's exactly what this was.
I bet it was just a bunch of completely out-of-touch old people who chose the nominations, and this is who they legitimately believe delivered the biggest specials of the year. They're idiots, and wrong - but Gervais isn't exactly Hollywood's golden boy….
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….so I feel like if there was some sorta Hollywood political correctness vendetta there - he probably wouldn't have been nominated, let alone win. Who knows tho. The rest of those nominations are SUS.
Let's just clean it up next year and get some kinda comedy guild/committee to choose the nominees. This award won't mean anything in the future if the roster of winners is a bunch of undeserving stand-ups past their prime (no offense to Ricky Gervais, who I love, but that latest special was rough).
Plus, I want to see guys like Shane Gillis and Stavros Halkias rubbing elbows with A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Harrison Ford in 2025.