Who Should Win The First Golden Globe For Best Stand-Up Comedy Performance On TV?

By Sean L. McCarthy Twitter @thecomicscomic
Published Oct. 26, 2023, 8:30 a.m. ET

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The Golden Globe Awards recently announced two new categories for 2023 achievements to be awarded come January: One ensuring recognition for a movie that was a hit at the box office, and the other for “Stand-Up Comedy Performance on Television.”

“The Golden Globes has a rich history of supporting and celebrating the work of comedians, and we’re thrilled to honor their brilliance alongside outstanding motion picture and television performances of the year,” Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne told Variety (whose ownership also controls Dick Clark Productions, which now oversee the Globes).

What does that new comedy award mean, exactly?

And who might win it?

So let’s define the terms first. The award is open to comedians in 2023 who performed “traditional stand-up comedy of at least 30 consecutive minutes” on “broadcast, basic and premium cable, streaming, and pay-per-view cable” which premiered in the United States during this calendar year. The Globes will pick six nominees, but they also “must be released on a recognized media platform (individual social media accounts do not qualify).”

If I’m reading that correctly, that means a no-go for Matt Rife even though his Matthew Steven Rife has more than 16 million views on his YouTube channel, but perhaps maybe yes for anything on YouTube released by Netflix Is A Joke, Comedy Central, or 800 Pound Gorilla Media, which might include Kyle Kinane or Kelsey Cook’s popular new specials this year. And even a yes for Louis CK’s Louis C.K. At The Dolby released via his own website, because the Grammys and Emmys have awarded LouisCK.com as a recognized media platform previously.

But if we’re taking this seriously, three-quarters of the way through the year, who’s most likely in the running for this new award so far?

It kinda depends a lot on who’s voting, right?

Under the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Globes had a notorious reputation for handing out nominations to those actors and actresses whom the HFPA most wanted to see and be seen partying with in the festive boozy banquet setting of the ceremony. But they also had a knack in recent years for also recognizing comedians on the come-up, such as Rachel Bloom’s win for her show, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, or Ramy Youssef for Ramy. They also loved having Ricky Gervais as a host, of course. This year, the newly-restyled Globes picked Jerrod Carmichael to host, which say what you will about that, but at least they went with the guy who most critics thought put out the best stand-up performance of 2022.

Can’t get enough of the 2024 Golden Globes? Follow along with Decider’s coverage, including:

But after increasing the voting membership of the HFPA from 95 members to 310 this past year, Penske Media Eldridge acquired Dick Clark Productions (who produce the Globes telecast), and the new-and-improved(?) Globes announced Monday its 300 voting members eligible to nominate and award the 81st Golden Globes come Jan. 7, 2024. “Our commitment to maintaining the diversity of our voting body continues,” said Globes President Helen Hoehne. “Our voters represent 76 countries bringing a unique international perspective on nominating the best in motion pictures and television this year.” You can see who they are, even.

If I were to take my most educated guess at this moment, I’d suspect the Globes voters this year might have comedy tastes somewhere in between the Emmys and the Critics Choice Awards. Or perhaps they may align like the Grammys, because their concept of Comedy Album of the Year in recent years has snubbed actual albums for video specials, anyhow.

All of which undoubtedly leads to a bias toward comedians who already are famous. With several hundred stand-up specials (especially including half-hours) flooding the marketplace in 2023, most voters won’t have watched most of them, which is why they gravitate toward the names they know in the Grammys and Emmys. The Critics Choice Awards may have given their 2022 nod for Best Comedy Special posthumously to Norm Macdonald, but at least they spread their nomination love to comedians overlooked by the Grammys and Emmys, such as Fortune Feimster, Joel Kim Booster, and Nikki Glaser.

This year’s Emmys, on the other hand, still force stand-up specials to compete against all sorts of variety showcases, including the Oscars, Kennedy Center Honors, big-name concerts such as Adele, and gimmicks such as Carpool Karaoke. For the Emmy for writing of a variety special, though, comedians get their due. Of this year’s variety special writing crop, you see Chris Rock, John Mulaney, and Wanda Sykes competing for the award.

All three of them likely will rise toward the top for the first Golden Globe for televised stand-up performance.

My ballot, would it need to be filed today, wouldn’t have Rock or Mulaney on it, but would elevate these six specials from 2023 (in alphabetical order):

Nate Bargatze: Hello World (Prime Video)

What I wrote in my review: The only thing funnier than Bargatze’s stand-up is wondering how in the heck he hasn’t starred in his own family sitcom yet. He often carries an expression on his face that’s cool, calm but confused; that says, “Can you believe this?” Perfect for a leading man on a hit network multi-cam series. That I could believe.

Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale (Prime Video)

What I wrote in my review: Don’t be mistaken. This “dark pale” version of Gaffigan has always existed in our comedic universe, at least as far back as his Mr. Universe special more than a decade ago. Within his new bit about God, Gaffigan notes that He sent down 10 plagues, and comparing them to albums, imagines if God might plan a retrospective of some sort. Of course, Gaffigan himself is on his 10th stand-up special. Whenever he does his retrospective, he might find himself regarding Dark Pale as perhaps his best work since Mr. Universe.

Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark (HBO/Max)

What I wrote in my review: Last time around I compared Marc Maron to George Carlin, saying he had “Carlin level stuff,” and now? He’s still got it. If anything, as he gets older, Maron is only becoming both funnier and wiser.

My Name Is Mo’Nique (Netflix)

What I wrote in my review: What a difference a settlement makes. Mo’Nique may not be Chappelle, Rock or Schumer, but she has two things they’ve never had yet: an Academy Award, and this level of comedic catharsis. The latter makes this special worth watching and then some.

Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer (Netflix)

What I wrote in my review: There’s a raw vitality and gravity to this hour that makes me wish Netflix had gone live with Sykes, rather than (or in addition to) Rock. She deserves lots of eyeballs on this hour.

Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love (HBO/Max)

What I wrote in my review: Silverman has long played fast and loose with the edges of tastefulness and propriety in her humor, sometimes finding herself in hot water (“hot water” was a phrase old people used before “cancelled”) for it. But she leans even more into her Jewishness here than perhaps ever before. Why? Perhaps the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in America has gotten her riled up enough to double down on her style of comedy.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.