Timothée Chalamet, Cynthia Erivo, and Leo: Who Will Own Awards Season?

Olivia Bennett, 12/8/2025As awards season kicks off, the Golden Globes stir excitement with heavy-hitting contenders like Timothée Chalamet and Cynthia Erivo. This year's nominations promise prestige, transformation, and even a Best Podcast category, blending nostalgia with modernity in Hollywood's most glamorous spectacle.

At 5:15 a.m. Pacific—an hour when even the most caffeinated publicists grapple with their sense of purpose—Marlon Wayans and Skye P. Marshall will pronounce this year's chosen few. The only thing less predictable than their banter is which Oscars frontrunner will manage to look genuinely surprised on a Zoom call. Fifteen minutes later, CBS Mornings tosses the spotlight onto major categories, with millions of bleary-eyed cinephiles trying to make sense of predictions as wild as a Moschino dress in July.

But truth be told, the main event isn’t the ceremony—it’s the spectacle of speculation. Welcome to the greatest contact sport in town: prediction season. According to Variety’s awards whisperer, Clayton Davis, the 83rd Globes mark an inflection point, especially in comedy and musical brackets. Once legendarily the playground of fizzy rom-coms and perky showtunes, the category now hosts some of the season’s heaviest hitters—rainbows and rhinestones not strictly required.

The power players? Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” isn’t lurking in the wings; it’s taken to belting out across the stage for all to hear. Not far behind is Warner Bros.' “One Battle After Another” and, from A24, the darkly comic “Marty Supreme.” It’s a new type of contest, more chess than musical chairs.

Has a category evolved more dramatically? Timothée Chalamet—forever the patron saint of angular jawlines and velvet tuxedos—might actually clinch a Globe, unless Leonardo DiCaprio wakes up and decides he’s overdue for another gilded mantelpiece addition. The “comedy/musical” label now signals serious Oscar firepower, a far cry from the days when simply popping up with a witty accent would suffice.

There’s no denying the sense of transformation—remember when “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” was shorthand for category fluff? Not this year. Prestige sequels like “Wake Up Dead Man,” the latest in the Rian Johnson “Knives Out” file, faces off with the wild imaginings of Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia” and the jet-black humor of Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.” Suddenly, the stakes are as dazzling as any borrowed Chopard necklace.

As for the actress races? Cynthia Erivo’s been enchanting the circuit as Elphaba in “Wicked: For Good,” her blend of humility and steel a welcome surprise. Ariana Grande—never content with the background—pushes the supporting roster into high gear. Elsewhere, Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Kate Hudson, and—of course—Olivia Colman hover in the nominations ether, sipping their coffee and plotting their next acceptance speech.

On the drama front, things only get weightier. Michael B. Jordan carries “Sinners” with gravitas, standing alongside “Hamnet” and “Sentimental Value,” the latter buoyed by Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve. Skarsgård has a knack for the unexpected—a bit like someone wearing vintage Mugler at a pool party and making it look natural.

This year, the Globes caved to a new frontier: Best Podcast. Twenty-five hopefuls hustled for attention, but the toss-up includes “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” the mischievous “Call Her Daddy,” and streaming juggernaut “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Setting aside the purists who haven’t forgiven the addition of Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement—that category is back, and frankly, it’s about time the fans had a say about what actually sells popcorn.

There’s always a balancing act to the Globes: nostalgia and reinvention waltzing awkwardly in the same ballroom. The Lifetime Achievement set—Helen Mirren (Cecil B. DeMille) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Carol Burnett)—will be fêted on “Golden Eve,” an homage-laden primetime bash that promises the comfort of old Hollywood, albeit with hashtags lighting up before brunch.

And yet, the love affair with the new continues. Podcasts? Check. Stand-up? Why not. Network galas making peace with apps, streaming everywhere—from the velvet rope to the comment section, the ceremony is engineered for maximum meme potential (and maybe one or two actual surprises).

So as ballots jostle and stylists sharpen their shears, the field of 28 categories is both a tribute and a challenge—how do you hold onto the dream factory’s old-school dazzle while embracing a digital era so fast it leaves sequins in its wake?

That is the contradiction, and magic, of the Globes: equally infatuated with glamour and insatiable for reinvention. When the sun rises on December 8, Hollywood wakes up not just to a fresh list of nominees, but to proof that in 2025, even the most storied institutions must outsmart their own legend. The stage is set. The question isn’t just who will win—it’s who will make us believe in the magic all over again.

There’s an electric sort of delirium that descends on Hollywood right before sunrise—a blend of nerves, anticipation, and the regret of a too-late Negroni. Early December means one thing: the Golden Globe nominations, the starter pistol for awards season’s relentless circuit. Monday morning, well before most Angelenos have exchanged silk eye-masks for reality, all eyes and ring lights will be trained on CBS News and its merry phalanx of streaming platforms—proving that, if nothing else, Hollywood has made peace with its TikTok overlords.At 5:15 a.m. Pacific—an hour when even the most caffeinated publicists grapple with their sense of purpose—Marlon Wayans and Skye P. Marshall will pronounce this year's chosen few. The only thing less predictable than their banter is which Oscars frontrunner will manage to look genuinely surprised on a Zoom call. Fifteen minutes later, CBS Mornings tosses the spotlight onto major categories, with millions of bleary-eyed cinephiles trying to make sense of predictions as wild as a Moschino dress in July.But truth be told, the main event isn’t the ceremony—it’s the spectacle of speculation. Welcome to the greatest contact sport in town: prediction season. According to Variety’s awards whisperer, Clayton Davis, the 83rd Globes mark an inflection point, especially in comedy and musical brackets. Once legendarily the playground of fizzy rom-coms and perky showtunes, the category now hosts some of the season’s heaviest hitters—rainbows and rhinestones not strictly required.The power players? Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” isn’t lurking in the wings; it’s taken to belting out across the stage for all to hear. Not far behind is Warner Bros.' “One Battle After Another” and, from A24, the darkly comic “Marty Supreme.” It’s a new type of contest, more chess than musical chairs.Has a category evolved more dramatically? Timothée Chalamet—forever the patron saint of angular jawlines and velvet tuxedos—might actually clinch a Globe, unless Leonardo DiCaprio wakes up and decides he’s overdue for another gilded mantelpiece addition. The “comedy/musical” label now signals serious Oscar firepower, a far cry from the days when simply popping up with a witty accent would suffice.There’s no denying the sense of transformation—remember when “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” was shorthand for category fluff? Not this year. Prestige sequels like “Wake Up Dead Man,” the latest in the Rian Johnson “Knives Out” file, faces off with the wild imaginings of Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia” and the jet-black humor of Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.” Suddenly, the stakes are as dazzling as any borrowed Chopard necklace.As for the actress races? Cynthia Erivo’s been enchanting the circuit as Elphaba in “Wicked: For Good,” her blend of humility and steel a welcome surprise. Ariana Grande—never content with the background—pushes the supporting roster into high gear. Elsewhere, Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Kate Hudson, and—of course—Olivia Colman hover in the nominations ether, sipping their coffee and plotting their next acceptance speech.On the drama front, things only get weightier. Michael B. Jordan carries “Sinners” with gravitas, standing alongside “Hamnet” and “Sentimental Value,” the latter buoyed by Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve. Skarsgård has a knack for the unexpected—a bit like someone wearing vintage Mugler at a pool party and making it look natural.This year, the Globes caved to a new frontier: Best Podcast. Twenty-five hopefuls hustled for attention, but the toss-up includes “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” the mischievous “Call Her Daddy,” and streaming juggernaut “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Setting aside the purists who haven’t forgiven the addition of Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement—that category is back, and frankly, it’s about time the fans had a say about what actually sells popcorn.There’s always a balancing act to the Globes: nostalgia and reinvention waltzing awkwardly in the same ballroom. The Lifetime Achievement set—Helen Mirren (Cecil B. DeMille) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Carol Burnett)—will be fêted on “Golden Eve,” an homage-laden primetime bash that promises the comfort of old Hollywood, albeit with hashtags lighting up before brunch.And yet, the love affair with the new continues. Podcasts? Check. Stand-up? Why not. Network galas making peace with apps, streaming everywhere—from the velvet rope to the comment section, the ceremony is engineered for maximum meme potential (and maybe one or two actual surprises).So as ballots jostle and stylists sharpen their shears, the field of 28 categories is both a tribute and a challenge—how do you hold onto the dream factory’s old-school dazzle while embracing a digital era so fast it leaves sequins in its wake?That is the contradiction, and magic, of the Globes: equally infatuated with glamour and insatiable for reinvention. When the sun rises on December 8, Hollywood wakes up not just to a fresh list of nominees, but to proof that in 2025, even the most storied institutions must outsmart their own legend. The stage is set. The question isn’t just who will win—it’s who will make us believe in the magic all over again.