You know the Golden Globes, but what do you know about the Golden Globes? You’re likely familiar with the booze-filled ceremonies and the weird categories, and you probably know about the random foreign body, a.k.a. the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, that votes for the winners. The Oscars and Emmys have their own shadowy voting bodies, but the Golden Globes one-ups them both with a 75-year-old advocacy group filled with Russian bodybuilders and Polish socialites.
With fewer than 100 members, each member’s vote carries more weight than, say, one of the 8,500 Oscar voters, sometimes resulting in flummoxing choices like critically panned flops The Tourist and Burlesque receiving Best Motion Picture nominations. But it can also result in a more diverse group of nominees, shining a light on television shows and films that might otherwise go unrecognized.
The Globes return this Sunday, January 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC.