Anecdotally, the word most often used to describe the Golden Globes before this year’s broadcast was “unserious”. Which is true, of course, but also, I think, kind of gives it a weird amount of weight. That is, for all the Globes’ reputation for, you know, a practice that might most delicately be called “inviting and rewarding the biggest names they can”, they sometimes get it quite right, almost against their will. In particular, the organization formerly known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, sometimes so distractible by shiny stars, has had a tendency to get it right where TV is concerned, and even to pick up on nuance in television where they don’t, always, in film.

So it must have been exciting for the cast of Severance to think they might come back to the Globes and extend the glow of season two into another year… but it was not to be. In fact, other than a few incidental shots of Adam Scott’s charming outfit, there was very little Severance representation. Then again, Adam Scott did seem somewhat focused on, you know, other projects:

(Truly I did not know people still aspired to be on Survivor. I thought everyone’s allegiance had switched to Traitors by now.)

Britt Lower was one of a few women in super-rich jewel greens, but her Loewe dress didn’t even get to present an award.

It’s not that anyone expects to get an outsized amount of attention just because they’re nominated, but unlike, say, The Pitt (spoiler), Severance is widely acknowledged to be at least another year or two away, so a loss isn’t just a “someone else is better” loss, but a “less chance we’re even going to remember who you are by the time awards season 2028 comes around” loss, which – has to sting a little bit. There was, of course, no chance Tramell Tillman would look anything other than stunning:

But I didn’t imagine that he seemed a little melancholy, either – it’s hard not to feel wistful when you’ve given an incredible performance and yeah, everyone loved it (and to be fair, he collected the Emmy in the fall) but there was no way Severance energy – weird, unsettling, vaguely corporate and scary – could win over The Pitt, which is overtly about Good Guys Doing Good.

It’s also just an impossible TV heavyweight situation; not only is it about doctors in an underfunded hospital – Good Guys! By Definition! – it’s also being produced by TV royalty, and not just because of the gigs they’ve had before. Case in point, Noah Wyle is humble and clearly loves his crew and the healthcare professionals who inspire him, but he still knows his way around an interview.

Look how smoothly he promotes his show, plays the interviewer’s game, and gets a friendly rib in at Clooney, one of Hollywood’s all-time favourites:

That is skill. As he said himself, 54 years and counting, and though not all were in the business, he takes care to point out he was lucky to be raised in a house that valued art, but also service…

I think it’s worth noting, though, that our love for The Pitt is a sign of the times. In less fractious, troubled points in history, a show about trying to do good might seem a little saccharine – or the point made by producer R. Scott Gemmill, that the healthcare workers are the real heroes, might seem a little facile. As it was, it came close to being the most political moment of the night, which is saying something, because it’s not very political at all:

(I did like him shouting out fellow nominee and The Diplomat showrunner Debora Cahn – if you’re not watching, it’s doing the same thing as The Pitt, kind of, in showing the ordinary work and workers in extraordinary workplaces; except in that case it’s the bananas presidency of CG Cregg Grace Penn.)

In short, between star power and the state of the world, there wasn’t a chance The Pitt would be anywhere but front and centre, and what might have felt a bit goody-two-shoes any other timeline seems incredibly timely and relevant in this one.

(P.S. The gravitas may also have been helped by a lack of a huge ensemble cast crowding up onstage – I assume they were celebrating elsewhere but kind of wonder why the producing team didn’t spring for a table or three this time – could it be they weren’t all that sure about a win either?

Adam Scott (with wife Naomi Scott) and Britt Lower at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes held at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026

Tramell Tillman and Noah Wyle (with John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill) at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes held at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026

Photo credits: OConnor-Arroyo / AFF-USA.com / MEGA/ Wenn, AdMedia/MediaPunch/INSTARimages, OCoonor/Arroyo/AFF-USA/Shutterstock

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