Around the ‘Globe’ Ricky Gervais returns as host for the 73rd Annual Golden Globes

By Cassie Dresch TV Media

With the New Year in full swing, it’s time to kick the major awards season into high gear as well, and it starts at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California. A familiar face is back to host, and the best and brightest of television and film are gathered for the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing Sunday, Jan. 10, on NBC.

British comedian Ricky Gervais (“The Office”) returns to the show he’s hosted thrice before, in 2010, 2011 and 2012. His brand of comedy has always been a little on the edge, and after insulting practically everyone in the room in 2011, it looked like he’d be blacklisted from the event for forever. But he was back by popular demand in 2012 before handing over the reins to Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”) and Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), who hosted the last three Golden Globe Awards to popular and critical acclaim.

If there was any bad blood between Gervais and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the organization that runs the show — it’s gone now, and the funnyman is gearing up for his fourth turn as Golden Globes host. Fair warning, though: Gervais (still) won’t be tame this go-around.

“I’ve got to go out there and pretend that I’ve got swagger,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in December. “And I’ve got to be an outsider, and I’ve got to stick it to the man. I’ve got to be court jester. I’ve got to have a go at NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press and all the billionaires.”

He does this, he says, because the audience he’s trying to reach and make laugh isn’t the bedecked celebs in the room, it’s the regular folks at home in their living rooms.

“There’s nothing in it for them, they’re not winning awards,” he said to THR. “So I think that that I’ve got to try to make it more of a spectator sport.”

Whatever he does do to it, it’s bound to be entertaining, especially considering he was nominated for Emmys for his hosting duties at both the 68th and 69th edi- tions of the Golden Globes. He also has Golden Globes of his own for the U.K. sitcom “The Office” (which has two) and its U.S. counterpart of the same name (which has one).

There are a lot of statues to hand out to the best of both film AND television from the past year. Generating the most buzz, as is usually the case, are the film nominations. The Golden Globes are typically seen as the precursor to the Oscars, with many of the Best Motion Picture, Actor and Actress nominees and winners seeing similar results at the Academy Awards.

One of the big names to look out for in that sense is Leonardo DiCaprio. “The Revenant” star is up for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama (the movie itself is up for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director and Best Score), and if he wins, it could pave the way for the oft-snubbed actor to (finally) take a home a much-deserved Oscar.

On the TV side, “Fargo,” from FX, is again getting a lot of love, notching nominations for Best TV Movie or Miniseries, Best Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series (Kirsten Dunst) and Best Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series (Patrick Wilson). Fox’s “Empire” is also continuing its string of praises, getting a nod for Best Drama Series and Best Actress in a Drama Series (Taraji P. Henson). FX could be a big winner too, with “American Horror Story: Hotel” nabbing a Best TV Movie or Miniseries nod and Lady Gaga impressively grabbing a Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries nod.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an awards show without any surprises, and this year is no different. The biggest surprise is probably on the small-screen side where, for the first time ever, broadcast television saw a grand total of zero nominations for Best Comedy Series. Cable TV and streaming services cleaned house in that category, with Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black,” Hulu’s “Casual,” Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle” and “Transparent,” and HBO’s “Veep” and “Silicon Valley” getting the nominations.

Cable TV and streaming services are well-represented in the other TV categories, too. HBO’s critical darling “Game of Thrones” is nominated for Best Drama Series, as is Netflix’s “Narco Tambor and Judith Light from “Transparent” are up for Best Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively. Aziz Ansari’s Netflix series “Master of None” is also up for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, as is the ageless British wonder Patrick Stewart for Starz’s “Blunt Talk.”

What better place to dive into awards season than in Beverly Hills, California? With host Gervais back for the fourth time and a smorgasbord of the best television and film 2015 had to offer, there’s sure to be some highs and lows when the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards airs Sunday, Jan. 10, on NBC.

ACROSS

1 Sports org. since 1983 for those who spar in the ring

4 Swimming circuits

8 Cooking liquid

11 Ski-__ (Wintertime recreation vehicles)

13 Plot of land

14 Dir. opposite SSW

15 Glow

16 The quicker way of doing something

18 Nicki Minaj is one of this music label’s artists, for short

19 As well

20 Mr. Saarinen of architecture

21 New police series on NBC starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta: 3 wds.

24 French for ‘to hold’

25 “Uh-huh.”

26 Tea of “Madam Secretary” on CBS

27 Have _ __ for news (Be inquis- itive)

30 Bench presser’s targeted muscle, commonly

31 Namesakes of actress Ms. Skye

32 Controversial British comedian famous for hosting the Golden Globes: 2 wds.

36 Suffix meaning ‘collection’

37 Tubular fish

38 UFO passengers

39 Hillary and Bill of politics

41 Tree branch

43 “Turn to Stone” band [acronym]

44 “_, __ is me!”

45 Friend for Vivienne

46 Type of word in a thesaurus, for short

47 Namesakes of Mr. Gray of botany

48 ‘Dial’ add-on

Down

1 Ms. Lupino

2 __ a la Reine (Meat-stuffed puff pastry of French cuisine)

3 Come to decide/ Draw a conclusion: 3 wds.

4 Holds up

5 Noise made by someone sneezing!

6 Validation

7 Speech delivered in church, for short

8 ABC fantasy show: 4 wds.

9 Habituate 10 Oscar-winning actor Jared

12 An overly packed room or locale is described as being one, in slang: 2 wds.

17 Eva Longoria plays a star of a Spanish soap opera in this new NBC comedy series

21 City for the Cardinals of baseball [acronym]

22 Mr. Dampier of basketball

23 Way many people travel to far off destinations: 2 wds.

28 Earthquake related

29 Suffix with ‘Lion’

32 Gathering attended by supporters

33 Cries of pain in cartoons

34 __ City (Fictional setting of “The Young and the Restless” on CBS)

35 Someone __ (Not mine)

36 Decorates the cupcakes

40 “Prelude __ _ Kiss” (1992)

42 Wager Solution on page 10