The 2023 awards season has already opened, and it is time to celebrate the best of the best. It’s not just actors and singers who get recognized during these awards. Costume design, musical score, editing, and more are recognized and awarded as well. Many major stars have taken the world by surprise, including Austin Butler, Jenna Ortega, and Zendaya. Television, music, and movie stars are preparing their best outfits and speeches in hopes of taking home a new statuette. Movie enjoyers are anticipating the most well-known show, The Oscar’s, but few people know about what shows air prior to the Academy Awards.  

The first major award show of this season was the Golden Globes. Airing on January 10 of 2023, over 6.3 million people tuned into the show on NBC. The Golden Globe Award is presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in recognition of outstanding achievement in motion pictures and television during the previous year. The Golden Globes has recently become one of the most problematic award shows within this past year. When the Los Angeles Times raised question about the voting body, the world erupted in criticism when it was found there wasn’t a single black member on the board. Due to this, the show was cancelled in 2022, but returned this year with a goal of creating a more inclusive and diverse setting.  

Today, the Golden Globes recognize achievement in 27 categories. This year, the 80th Golden Globe Awards were celebrated. To see a full list of nominees and winners, click here. 

The 28th Critics’ Choice Awards were presented on January 15, 2023. This show honors the finest achievements of filmmaking and television programming. The ceremony was broadcast on The CW and hosted by Chelsea Handler. Many films and shows were recognized, including “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, “The Whale”, “Tár”, “Babylon”, “Better Call Saul”, “Euphoria”, “The White Lotus”, and “Abbott Elementary”. To see a full list of list of nominees and winners, click here. 

With both of these shows already having aired, the question being asked is why do so many people enjoy award shows? With millions of viewers, it is obvious that there is an audience for these programs, despite the criticism of these shows. But Why?  

Sophomore Claire Wagoner explains her perspective on the award show hype, “It’s kind of just an escape. I also think it’s just fun because everyone is always tuned into media ‘cause we are always on our phones, so it’s fun to watch them and see what happens even if you don’t care.” 

One of the most popular award shows for high schoolers is the Grammy’s. With music being such a big part in the lives of young people, many teenagers watch the Grammy’s to see if their favorite artist will take home the statue. This year’s Grammy’s will be airing on February 5, 2023 on CBS. The Grammy’s are presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in the music industry. The Grammy Award recognizes all genres, from pop to folk to Christian. There are 91 total Grammy categories, but not all are shown on air. To see the full list of nominations, click here. 

One of the more lively and entertaining shows is the Screen Actors Guild Awards, otherwise known as the SAGs. The Awards are presented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. This is the only televised award ceremony to exclusively honor actors. The Sag awards presents 13 awards in TV and Film. SAG Awards have been one of the major award events in the Hollywood film industry since 1995. This year, the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards will broadcast live on Netflix’s YouTube channel on January 19. To see a full list of nominees, click here. 

The last and most popular award show is The Academy Awards, or The Oscar’s. The Academy Awards are for artistic and technical merit of the American film industry. The awards are often viewed as the most prestigious awards in the entertainment industry. The Oscar’s are presented by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. In 2022, 16.62 million Americans watched the Academy Awards ceremony. The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel this year on March 12. The Oscar nominees will be announced on Tuesday January 24.  

With award season about one third of the way over, there is still time to catch one or two of these ceremonies. With annual ratings and viewers slowly declining over the past decade, critics and cinephiles have encouraged more people to tune into these programs to keep the traditions running.