Skip to main content

This year’s Golden Globe Awards are coming up in just a few days and the show’s hosts were recently announced. Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg will share the duties. They were paired a year ago as presenters for the Primetime Emmys, and apparently had such fun together, they both welcomed their new opportunity. Just in case you aren’t familiar with the two, here’s a bit of background.

Sandra Oh

Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang on 'Grey's Anatomy.
Sandra Oh in Grey’s Anatomy | ABC

Most people know Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang from the ABC hit show Grey’s Anatomy. That’s the role for which she won her own Golden Globe, as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The Canadian-born actress started performing at the age of four. She studied drama at the National Theatre School of Canada and started performing professionally.

She was able to work in some Canadian films before broadening out and landing some part in the U.S. One of her first big breaks came in 2003, being cast in Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane. That was followed the next year by Sideways, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture among others, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Then came Greys Anatomy in which she worked for 10 seasons. Along with her award wins for the role of Dr. Yang, Oh also received five consecutive Emmy nominations. Oh can now be seen on BBC America in her role as Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Killing Eve. She is nominated for that role this year and will be waiting anxiously waiting in the wings for the Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Andy Samberg

Andy Samberg is not new to the Golden Globes either. He won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his work on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Born in California, Samberg has established himself as an actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. America got to know him as a cast member of Saturday Night Live starting in 2005. That gig took him through 2012 although he also starred in several films including Hot Rod, That’s My Boy, and the Hotel Transylvania series of 3-D computer-animated comedies.

Samberg has appeared as Jake Peralta on Brooklyn Nine-Nine beginning in 2013 on Fox. Canceled by Fox after five seasons in May 2018, the show was picked up by NBC the next day and will premier there on Jan. 10. Samberg says he is excited to be sharing the co-hosting duties with Oh.

What are the Golden Globes?

The Golden Globes have become known as the opening show of the awards season. The event airs early each January. Awards are aimed at a combination of television and film’s best work from the prior year. It originated with and is produced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in coordination with Dick Clark Productions. It has been held In the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton since 1962.

What is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association?

The HFPA is a non-profit organization based in Southern California. Membership is that of journalists who cover the entertainment industry through publications throughout the world.

While producing the Golden Globes since 1944 has been a primary function of the organization, it also has a charitable trust, “established to provide financial support for educational and cultural non-profit organizations whose primary focus is the entertainment industry.”

HFPA has provided more than $29 million in grants and fellowships to film schools and non-profits.

As president of HFPA, journalist Meher Tatna presides over the Golden Globes. This is her second year elected president, and with experience under her belt, she’s doing it all again. The Los Angeles-based film journalist was born in Mumbai, India and writes for Singapore’s The New Paper.

Last year’s host, Seth Meyers

It has been said that Seth Meyers nailed it last year and will be a tough act to follow.

“I think Seth Meyers was excellent because he had the really hard job of hosting the first show after the #MeToo movement was launched, and he pulled it off beautifully,” Tatna told Elle India in a July 2018 interview.

“Seth [Meyers] was incredible last year—and it was such a tricky year with everything that was coming to light, and he really threaded the needle well,” Samberg said during his interview with Oh for The Hollywood Reporter.

Meyers and Samberg had worked together on Saturday Night Live and Meyers served as a groomsman at Samberg and wife, Joanna Newsom’s 2013 wedding. Meyers is currently the host of Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC.

The 76th Annual Golden Globes air Sunday, Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. EST, also on NBC.

Best in Entertainment

Charlie Papp

Contact at [email protected]