While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to interfere with the ways of modern life, the show must go on in the case of awards season.

Last night saw the delayed Golden Globes ceremony finally take place via a virtual set-up as various films and television series were celebrated for their achievements.

In the big-screen categories, the indie drama Nomadland overcame stern competition from the likes of Mank, Promising Young Woman and The Trial of the Chicago 7 to win the coveted Best Film (Drama) award.

The film, which stars Frances McDormand as a nomad travelling through the American West, also clinched the Best Director accolade for Chloé Zhao. Her victory makes her only the second female winner of the category since Barbra Streisand prevailed back in 1983.

For the first time in Globes history, two African-American stars prevailed in the leading actor/actress (drama) categories as the late Chadwick Boseman won for his final role in the music-based drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

His competition included British trio Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Anthony Hopkins (The Father) and Gary Oldman (Mank).

In contrast, Best Actress (Drama) saw a major upset as singer Andra Day saw off the likes of Viola Davis (Ma Rainey) and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) to clinch the prize for her portrayal of real-life musician Billie Holiday in the biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Day’s win also makes her only the second African-American actress to win this category since Whoopi Goldberg in 1986.

Elsewhere, the mockumentary sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm picked up two gongs including the important Best Film (Comedy/Musical) against other contenders including Hamilton, Palm Springs and The Prom.

Leading star Sacha Baron Cohen repeated his success from 2007 by winning the Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) accolade for his reprised role as eccentric Kazakhstan reporter Borat Sagdiyev.

“Thank you to the all-white Hollywood Foreign Press,” said Cohen as he accepted the prize, referring to the recent revelation that the organisation behind the Globes currently has no black members.

Disappointingly, co-star Maria Bakalova missed the chance to make it a clean sweep for the film as she surprisingly lost the Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) award to British opponent Rosamund Pike for her devilish turn in the dark comedy I Care a Lot.

Another Brit celebrating success was Daniel Kaluuya as he took home Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Black Panther activist Fred Hampton in the factual drama Judas and the Black Messiah.

The other supporting category produced another shock result as Jodie Foster upset the likes of Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy) and Olivia Colman (The Father) to nab Best Supporting Actress for her role in the political drama The Mauritanian.

Elsewhere, the Pixar animation Soul snared two awards for Best Animated Film and Best Original Score while The Trial of the Chicago 7 landed a Best Screenplay victory for writer Aaron Sorkin.

The American-produced Minari triumphed in Best Foreign Language Film with the Italian drama The Life Ahead picking up Best Original Song.

Finally, two-time Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda was the proud recipient of this year’s Cecil B. DeMille award for her outstanding contribution to film over the past sixty years.

Despite leading this year’s Globe nominations with six, the factual drama Mank went home empty-handed along with The Father, One Night in Miami and Promising Young Woman.

While nominees dialled in from home, the live audience was made up of frontline workers and first responders of the pandemic.

The full list of film winners are below:

BEST MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
NOMADLAND

BEST ACTOR (DRAMA)
Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Andra Day, THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

BEST MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIE

BEST ACTOR (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Sacha Baron Cohen, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Rosamund Pike, I CARE A LOT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Kaluuya, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jodie Foster, THE MAURITANIAN

BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND

BEST SCREENPLAY
Aaron Sorkin, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, SOUL

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
THE LIFE AHEAD, “lo Si” (Seen)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
SOUL

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
MINARI (USA)

 

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In the television line-ups, the fourth series of the hit Netflix show The Crown dominated proceedings with a hefty four wins.

Emma Corrin and Gillian Anderson overcame stern competition from co-stars Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter respectively to win Best Actress (Drama) and Supporting Actress for their celebrated portrayals of Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher.

The duo also saw off other talented contenders in their categories including Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Ozark pair Laura Linney and Julia Garner and Ratched pairing Sarah Paulson and Cynthia Nixon.

Additionally, Josh O’Connor conquered the Best Actor (Drama) line-up to win for his performance as Prince Charles while the series itself took home Best TV Series (Drama) ahead of The Mandalorian and Ozark.

Elsewhere, the final series of the hit sitcom Schitt’s Creek clinched two gongs including Best TV Series (Comedy/Musical) and Best Actress (C/M) for Catherine O’Hara and her iconic role as Moira Rose. This triumph caps off an amazing few months for the show after its Emmy dominance in August last year.

There were also two wins for the Netflix mini-series The Queen’s Gambit as it picked up Best Mini-Series/TV Film and Best Actress (Mini-Series/TV Film) for its leading star Anya Taylor-Joy.

Jason Sudeikis picked up Best Actor (C/M) for his role in the football-based sitcom Ted Lasso while Mark Ruffalo secured Best Actor (Mini-Series/TV Film) for his performance in I Know This Much is True.

Finally, British star John Boyega prevailed in the Best Supporting Actor category for his portrayal of real-life policeman Leroy Logan in the mini-series Small Axe.

Multi-award-winning comedian legend Norman Lear was the recipient of this year’s Carol Burnett award for his contributions to television.

The full list of television winners are below:

BEST TELEVISION SERIES (DRAMA)
THE CROWN

BEST PERFORMANCE BY ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES (DRAMA)
Josh O’Connor, THE CROWN

BEST PERFORMANCE BY ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES (DRAMA)
Emma Corrin, THE CROWN

BEST TELEVISION SERIES (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
SCHITT’S CREEK

BEST PERFORMANCE BY ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Jason Sudeikis, TED LASSO

BEST PERFORMANCE BY ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Catherine O’Hara, SCHITT’S CREEK

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Mark Ruffalo, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Anya Taylor-Joy, THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Boyega, SMALL AXE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Gillian Anderson, THE CROWN