Obviously, The 2021 Golden Globes Will Be Weird — Here’s What To Expect On Sunday

We're still in the middle of a pandemic, but Hollywood is forging ahead with awards season. First up is the 2021 Golden Globes, and viewers can expect things to look a little bit different this year. Typically, the Golden Globes are known for being the most unpredictable ceremony of awards season thanks to The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's occasionally questionable nominations (looking at you, Emily in Paris) and the free-flowing champagne that gives the awards show its party atmosphere. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the Globes won't include a packed theater of stars or trays of those personal-sized Moët & Chandon bottles. There will be an increased focus on the pandemic; Feeding America is a philanthropic partner with the Globes, and viewers can expect to see updates on the organization's work in 2020 and 2021. There won't be a red carpet special and celebrities will largely be safe at home.

The ceremony almost always takes place the first week of January, but the 78th Golden Globes booted the Oscars out of its original Feb. 28 timeslot (the Oscars will now air in April) in order to kick off awards season around a month later than normal. The show's late premiere date is just one of several changes that will be made due to the ongoing pandemic.

From the logistics to the presenters and how exactly you can watch the ceremony, there are plenty of questions surrounding the 2021 Golden Globes. And while this sounds like the Hollywood version of your weekly team meeting on Zoom, the evening won't necessarily be predictable. Here's what you can expect.

The Golden Globes will air Sunday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and is scheduled to end at 11 p.m. ET. The broadcast, per usual, is simulcast across the country, so your friends out on the West Coast won't be crying "spoilers!" if you opt to live tweet the ceremony. You may be crying "no fair!" however, when your West Coast friends get to watch the Globes and still have a few hours left of Sunday evening free time.

Now that Ricky Gervais has retired from hosting, the HFPA tapped another tried and true formula: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be the Globes emcees for the fourth time. The duo previously hosted the ceremony in 2013, 2014, and 2015, but it's safe to say their job is going to be a little bit trickier this year. 

For starters, they'll be hosting from separate costs. Fey will be stationed at the Rainbow Room in New York, while Poehler's portion of the telecast will be broadcast live from the International Ballroom of Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, where the Globes ceremony is traditionally held. You can bet there will be plenty of jokes about the dastardly Zoom mute button made over the course of the telecast. 

Though the ceremony is socially distanced, there's no shortage of big name presenters lined up. The actors set to announce 2021 Globe winners include Awkwafina, Cynthia Erivo, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo, Renée Zellweger, Kevin Bacon, Sterling K. Brown, Michael Douglas, Kyra Sedgwick, Susan Kelechi Watson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Margot Robbie, Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Kate Hudson, and Kenan Thompson.

And while the show is going bi-coastal, the presenters will join either Poehler in Beverly Hills or Fey in New York. This should add a bit of normalcy to the ceremony, even though the presenters won't be cracking awkward jokes in front of a packed theater of their peers. 

Since the nominees will be spread out across the globe, the Golden Globes won't deliver a traditional red carpet experience. There will be some forms of pre-game content before the ceremony, however, if you need that ramp up before the awards.

Prior to the big event, E! will air Live From E!: Countdown to the Golden Globes hosted by Sarah Hyland, Nina Parker, Erin Lim, and Brad Goreski. It starts at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET and will count down the Globes' 20 best red carpet moments ever. Over on NBC, for those who hate the last minute scramble to change the channel from E!, the Golden Globes Pre-Show will air at the exact same time as the E! special. Unlike the red carpet retrospective, NBC's pre-show will feature live interviews with the night's nominees. It'll be hosted by Jane Lynch and This is Us star Susan Kelechi Watson.

If you don't have access to NBC and you've exhausted your Hulu Live and YouTube TV free trials, you can still watch the Golden Globes live without cable. The ceremony will also stream on the Roku Channel starting at 8 p.m. ET. The Roku Channel is completely free, and you don't need a Roku device to watch. Anyone with an internet connection can access the channel here. Additionally, the ceremony will be available on Peacock the following day. 

That is the million dollar question, isn't it? The 2021 Golden Globes will be a hybrid-ceremony with portions featuring live banter from Fey and Poehler and the presenters in their separate Globes hubs, and other bits focused on the nominees accepting their awards via Zoom. That means viewers may get a sneak peek inside the homes of some of the nominees, and a few ball gowns might just be traded in for high-end nap dresses. 

Much like the 2020 Emmys, the 2021 Golden Globes will be unlike any previous Globes ceremony, but the unpredictability of this awards show has always been its defining feature. In previous years, you never knew who would wind up waltzing onstage with a martini in one hand and her shoes in the other (you're a legend, Emma Thompson); this time, you won't know who's actually wearing sweatpants with their several thousand-dollar couture.