Golden Globes Shed 410,000 Viewers From 2018, but Rise 4 Percent in Key Demo Ratings
Thanks, Eagles-Bears nail-biter
Tony Maglio and Reid Nakamura | January 7, 2019 @ 10:28 AM
Last Updated: January 7, 2019 @ 11:18 AM
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The 2019 Golden Globes may not have been able to match the total audience size of years past, but Sunday night’s telecast actually improved upon last year in the 18-49 demo.
The NBC broadcast finished the night with 18.6 million total viewers, which was down about 2 percent from last year’s total of 19.0 million. Ultimately, the show came in as the least-watched Golden Globes telecast since 2016.
But the good news for NBC is that among adults 18 to 49, the show actually bucked the trend to build upon last year’s audience by four percent. With a 5.2 rating according to Nielsen’s fast official data, the 2019 Golden Globes beat the 5.0 rating of the Seth Meyers-hosted ceremony a year ago.
Read the special’s earlier-available overnight ratings here, and find out how the rest of broadcast TV fared here.
Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh emceed Hollywood’s Biggest Party on Sunday night, opting for playful goofs and emotional resonance over Ricky Gervais-style roasts of years past. The duo’s opening monologue included an emotional speech from the “Killing Eve” star about the strides Hollywood has taken in recognizing the importance of representation and diversity in the past year.
The night’s big winners included Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” the Netflix comedy series “The Kominsky Method,” Rami Malek and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.”
The NBC broadcast was boosted a down-to-the-wire NFL Playoffs lead-in, with the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles earning a road win off a double-doink field-goal attempt by Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey.
It marks the highest-rated entertainment telecast since ABC’s blockbuster debut of its “Roseanne” revival last spring and is just about the only major awards show in the last year not to see a year-over-year decline.
Golden Globes 2019: 10 Snubs and Surprises (Photos)
The 2019 Golden Globe Awards were held on Sunday night, with a list of winners ranging from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.
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Surprise: The lead actress in a drama series categories was crowded with heavyweights including nine-time Golden Globe winner Julia Roberts and last year's winner Elisabeth Moss, but ultimately the HFPA went for "Killing Eve" star Sandra Oh, making her the first Asian performer with two Golden Globes.
BBC America
Snub: "Crazy Rich Asians" broke ground with its two nominations for best picture and lead Constance Wu, but ultimately the first studio film with an Asian-American cast in 25 years was edged out by "Green Book" and "The Favourite" star Olivia Colman.
Warner Bros.
Snub: Olivia Colman took home her first Golden Globe this year for her work in Yorgos Lanthimos's period dramedy "The Favourite," but her "bitches"Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, both nominated in the supporting category, were bested by "If Beale Street Could Talk" scene-stealer Regina King.
Fox Searchlight
Snub: NBC's "The Good Place" remains one of the most critically acclaimed comedies on the air right now, but awards recognition remains elusive for the afterlife comedy, with both Kristen Bell and the series as a whole missing out on a trophy on Sunday.
NBC
Surprise: Glenn Close took home her third Golden Globe for her role in "The Wife," upsetting a category which included Nicole Kidman, Rosamund Pike, Melissa McCarthy and the "A Star Is Born" frontrunner Lady Gaga.
Sony Pictures Classics
Snub: "A Star is Born's" Lady Gaga seemed like a shoe-in to go home with a Globe in each hand: one for acting and one for songwriting. But in a shocking upset she lost the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama category to Glenn Close, who grabbed the winner’s trophy for her role in “The Wife. And the film itself lost the biggest award of the night -- best drama -- to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Warner Bros.
Snub: The Julia Roberts-led drama "Homecoming" missed out on every award it was nominated for, including the TV Drama category, a leading lady statue for Roberts (which went to Sandra Oh for “Killing Eve”) and one for her co-star Stephan James.
Amazon
Surprise: Netflix's "The Kominsky Method,” starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, managed to sneak up on us and swipe the best comedy series award from the favored second season of Amazon’s Globes darling “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
Netflix
Snub: Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" was first snubbed in noms, with only stars Yvonne Strahovski and Elisabeth Moss getting nods. Then the hits kept coming tonight, as neither of them managed to win their category, leaving “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the show that won best drama series just last year, totally shut out.
Hulu
Surprise: It looks like the HFPA was feeling nostalgic when they voted on Best Television Series — Drama this year, as they doled out the award to final season of FX’s “The Americans,” which was a real shock, as the prize was assumed to be going to either BBC America’s new series “Killing Eve” or Amazon’s Prime Video’s “Homecoming.”
FX
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From Sandra Oh to Glenn Close
The 2019 Golden Globe Awards were held on Sunday night, with a list of winners ranging from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.