“Could this whole night have been an email?” co-host TINA FEY asks of the Golden Globes, an awkwardly virtual ceremony that still has its moving moments, including a heartbreaking speech by TAYLOR SIMONE LEDWARD, widow of posthumous winner CHADWICK BOSEMAN: “I don’t have his words.” These Globes will be remembered, though, for revelations of theshocking lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Runner-up inauguration star: BERNIE SANDERS’ MITTENS, inspiration for many a bobblehead. Within hours, the eloquent national youth poet laureate has gained more than a million followerson Instagram(now close to 4 million) soon, she has million-print book orders, a modeling contract and a hosting gig at the Met Gala. AMANDA GORMAN, 22, captivates a nation, reciting “The Hill We Climb” in her distinctive yellow coat and red hairband. On Inauguration Day, a star is born, and we’re not talking about an elected official. And here’s our annual, highly subjective trip down pop culture memory lane: That’s good when you’re holding a grudge in sports, but also when you’re trying to get through a rollercoaster year like 2021, when we thought we were up and then we were down again. The happiest animal, Lasso likes to tell his players, because it only has a 10-second memory (though science may beg to differ). The whole “Ted Lasso” cast was great, but if we’re seeking to capture the mood of the year, let’s maybe look to the goldfish.
And nice guys won out - at least in TV comedy, where “Ted Lasso,” Jason Sudeikis’ show about an endearingly earnest American coach transplanted to cutthroat British football, swept the Emmys. Live entertainment brought a wary joy - wary because at any time, it could stop. Even Tony Soprano came back, sort of, for a minute. And revivals: “West Side Story” made an Oscar-buzzy splash 60 years after the original. It was a year for reunions: The cast of “Friends,” for example, and three of the “Sex and the City” foursome, in a reboot.
We listened, too, to Taylor Swift, who sang about a failed affair and a still-missing scarf (ex-lovers: hang onto knitwear at your peril!) Harry and Meghan spoke to Oprah, and boy, we listened. So did Broadway, yay! And actually, the Beatles! As for Bond - James Bond - he said goodbye, at least the Daniel Craig version.