Golden Globes 2021: What to expect as scandal, coronavirus clouds award show

Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal breaks down what to expect at this Sunday's Golden Globes Awards.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: It's time for "Fame & Fortune." Hollywood is getting ready for the Golden Globes on Sunday. Ale Canal has a preview for us. And Ale, the show, like basically everything else in the past year, will be different, from my understanding, than what we've seen in the past. So what can we expect?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Very interesting show this year. Not only do we have the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which as you mentioned is forcing this award show to go virtual. But heading into Sunday's ceremonies, there's also a cloud of scandal. "The LA Times" released a bombshell investigation on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

This Association consists of 87 foreign journalists who ultimately pick who will win and who will lose when it comes to the Golden Globes. And according to this report, there are allegations of corruption, bullying, self-dealing, including the payments of millions of dollars to members in the form of expensive junkets, publicity swag, and even travel.

This report alleges that 30 members were actually flown over to Paris for a private set tour of the Netflix series "Emily in Paris." That show did go on to secure a nomination for best comedy, which had a lot of critics scratching their heads, especially since some more notable Black prominent stories, like "Insecure" and "I May Destroy You" were both shut out from those nominations.

The report said that out of those 87 foreign journalists that sit on the board there, not one of them is black. And this is an issue that has plagued the entertainment industry, that's plagued Hollywood for quite some time. Last year, we saw the Oscars come out. They tweaked those eligibility requirements to try and be more inclusive. This morning, Netflix said they are pledging hundreds million over the next five years to try and bridge that diversity gap.

But these scandals-- it questions the validity of these award shows. And that's something that we're going to have to continue watching in the years and coming weeks to come, even.

But for now, it's certainly one thing that does help provide visibility, windows of opportunity for certain shows and movies. When it comes to Sunday, specifically what I'm watching, who I think could be big winners here, are Netflix's "The Trial of the Chicago Seven," along with Hulu's "Nomadland." They have both received some Oscar praise, some Oscar buzz, and we know how much the Golden Globes likes to go in that direction.

On the comedy side, I also think we could see Disney's "Hamilton" do really well, along with Sacha Baron Cohen's new "Borat" sequel. I do think "Borat" will win out here. And then finally, for best actor and best actress, I think for actress, we could see that going to Carey Mulligan for her role in "Promising Young Woman." And then for actor, I think the late Chadwick Boseman has this one for his performance in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

So certainly a lot to watch on Sunday, but again, that veil of the scandal is certainly not a good luck for the Globes this year.

SEANA SMITH: Certainly not, but we will see who will be the winners this year. That's on Sunday. And Ali Canal, we will talk to you on Monday for a recap of the show.