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By Lauren Daley
Envelope, please … And the winner of Most Golden Globes Nominees goes to: New England!
Whether or not that award is real (it’s not), we can celebrate all the New Englanders — and local connections — at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards. The 83rd annual celebration of movies and TV airs Jan. 11 on CBS at 8 p.m., and streaming on Paramount+. Get your popcorn ready.
There are a lot. My brain is wired weirdly to see New England natives everywhere, and looking at the nominees, I felt like Charlie Day (Rhode Island native! Merrimack alum!) in the Pepe Silvia meme.
First, I’ll note the show is hosted once again by Tom Brady roaster Nikki Glaser. While in Boston last year, Glaser told me about her favorite ’25 Golden Globes jokes and watching the Super Bowl with Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson — and that a New Englander was a “huge” influence in her comedy.
“I wouldn’t be doing comedy if it wasn’t for Sarah Silverman,” Glaser said. “She’s smart, but also joking about pee-pee and poo-poo. I love that dichotomy … She’s always been a beacon for me.”
We might get some Silverman/Glaser on-stage banter.
The Bedford, New Hampshire-born/Manchester, New Hampshire-raised Silverman is nominated for Best Performance in Stand-up Comedy on Television for her latest Netflix special: “PostMortem,” about losing her parents.
Silverman told me previously she was encouraged to get into comedy by her Boston-born dad. “He had a very thick Boston accent,” said Silverman, who cut her teeth at stand-up at age 17 while at summer school at Boston University.
“He also was one of those dads who thought it was funny to teach his 3-year-old swears. I’d swear, and get this massive approval-despite-themselves from adults. Gave me the itch.”
Speaking of Manchester, N.H. comedians: Adam Sandler is nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in film for “Jay Kelly.” I’m hoping the Sandman shows up in his signature basketball shorts and hoodie — whether or not it’s for a bit, like his one with Conan at the ’25 Oscars. Actually, I hope everyone shows up dressed like Adam Sandler. #NormalizeDressingLikeAdamSandlerInPublic.
Meanwhile, Boston University alum ’07 Josh Safdie — who recently returned to BU’s campus to talk to students — and co-writer Ronald Bronstein are up for Best Screenplay for “Marty Supreme.” I want to shout out the film’s brilliant music from former Wayland and Winthrop resident Daniel Lopatin, a.k.a. Oneohtrix Point Never. And yes, the electronic music producer/composer/singer/songwriter’s moniker is an homage to Boston’s Magic 106.7.
HBO’s “Hacks” — co-created in part by Milton native Jen Statsky and Hadley native Lucia Aniello — is nominated for Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy. Medford native and former Western Mass. resident Julianne Nicholson won an Emmy for her guest role as Hollywood-newbie/total train-wreck Dance Mom on season 4.
Bonus storyline connection: On the show, Ava (Hannah Einbinder, up for Best Supporting Female Actor) hails from Waltham. “I love that specificity,” Nicolson told me previously, with a laugh. “It’s so good.”
Meanwhile, season 7 of Netflix’s dark-tech hit “Black Mirror” serves up two New England ties: Harvard alum ’97 Rashida Jones is nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television. She played Amanda in episode 1, “Common People.”
And New Haven, Conn. native Paul Giamatti is up for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television. He played Phillip in episode 5, “Eulogy.”
They say you can always tell a Yale man by his love for Frank Pepe’s Pizza — and Giamatti is a vocal fan. In 2024, when he declared his love for the New Haven institution’s white clam and bacon pie on Jimmy Kimmel, Pepe’s served up a “Paul Giamatti Pie” for Oscar night. If he wins Sunday, I’ll order a piping hot Paul Giamatti in his honor.
Heck, I’ll order two if “Abbot Elementary” wins Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy. Because another Connecticut native — Waterbury’s Sheryl Lee Ralph — is in the cast.
Keep the tab open, Frank Pepe: I might have to also order a deep-dish in honor of the series about Chicago dining: “The Bear.” Yup, the anxiety-inducing, tension-filled drama is up for (double-checks notes) Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy (!), and Dorchester’s Ayo Edebiri is nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy. Side note: “Cousin,” a.k.a. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, grew up in Amherst, graduating Amherst Regional High School in 1995.
Netflix’s “The Diplomat” is nominated for Best Television Series: Drama. Cast member Allison Janney was born in Boston, and graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. (Another pie, Frank Pepe!)
FX’s “Dying for Sex” is up for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television. Cast includes Marblehead native Rob Delaney, who now lives in the UK but has told me he misses “eating Regina’s Pizza in a blizzard. I miss that a lot.”
The series also stars Milton native/South Dartmouth resident Jenny Slate — who just may attend with her husband: author/ screenwriter/ South Dartmouth native Ben Shattuck.
Slate also voices a character in “Zootopia 2,” which is nominated for Best Motion Picture: Animated. Two Harvard alumni — Nick DiGiovanni, Boston’s favorite internet chef, and poet Amanda Gorman — also voice characters in the Disney film.
For the first time ever, the Globes have a Best Podcast category — where BU faces BC. Boston College alum/Burlington native Amy Poehler is nominated for “Good Hang,” while Boston University alum Alex Cooper is up for “Call Her Daddy.”
More connections? Two authors whose books sparked movies.
“Wicked: For Good.” No, it’s not about Boston, and doesn’t star Ben Affleck or Matt Damon drinking Dunkin’ — but its roots do trace to Massachusetts.
The blockbuster is up for “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” — Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are also nominated — and it’s all based on the book by Concord’s Gregory Maguire.
Before his novel “Wicked” was published in 1995, the Tufts and Simmons alum worked around New England in “dozens of schools as a self-employed journeyman/jack-of-all-trades/author-in-residence/writing instructor.
While he’s created a worldwide phenomenon, he told me previously: “I’m just a Boston schlub. You wouldn’t notice me if I was walking down the street dropping my Dunkin’ donuts, spilling my coffee on some old lady waiting to cross the street to Central Square … I’m just a normal Boston jerk.”
Another book connection: Jeremy Allen White is up for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for his role as Bruce Springsteen in “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
The film is based on the book by Concord, New Hampshire native Warren Zanes. The former member of Boston-based band The Del Fuegos, Zanes was on set for much of the filming.
He first saw the finished movie alone, in a 150-seat theater.
“It was very intense,” he told me previously. “People laugh at me, but I love Dots. I’m in the theater with my box of Dots, and I put them down on the floor with my car keys, and the movie starts. I got to the end, the credits are rolling, and I hadn’t eaten my Dots. And my children won’t believe that.”
Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
Lauren Daley is a longtime culture journalist. As a regular contributor to Boston.com, she interviews A-list musicians, actors, authors and other major artists.
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