The classic awards show took a new approach for 2021

The awards show season for 2021 kicked off with the Golden Globe Awards for a star-studded night with a new hosting format in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Despite hosting the awards show in a new format to keep all participants safe, the Golden Globes showed their determination in maintaining their ceremony traditions.

Did your favorites win at the 78th annual #GoldenGlobes? See all of tonight's winners here: https://t.co/J3OXGu5N5h

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 1, 2021

The Golden Globes hosts were a traditional choice of the comedy duo from “Saturday Night Live,” Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, who will be hosting the 2021 ceremony for the fourth time. Though the comedic duo appears to be presented together, they actually are presenting from two locations with Tina Fey at NBC’s Rainbow Room in New York City and Amy Poehler at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Both ladies took advantage of this new hosting format for some funny moments interacting through a split-screen. The Golden Globes also changed the format of the audience featuring front-line workers while nominees and other guests appeared live from home.

When you're BFFs but bicoastal #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/y6wEp0bMsO

— Vulture (@vulture) March 1, 2021

The hosts also addressed the massive elephant in the room being the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) after media scrutiny over the nominee choices. The nominees are determined by a group of approximately 90 HFPA members who annually attend press junkets for TV series and movie productions questioning the motives of who they nominate for the coveted awards with an investigation of escalating payment from the nonprofit to HFPA members.

The first award of the night was met with a technical difficulty for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Daniel Kaluuya in “Judas and the Black Messiah” with a sound error. The team quickly fixed the issue and Kaluuya delivered an amazing speech honoring the American political activist Chairman Fred Hampton featured in the film.

L.A. Times Reveals HFPA Has Zero Black Members, Raises New Questions About Ethics of Golden Globe Voters https://t.co/9aHSV3sY5h

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 22, 2021

Later in the night members of the HFPA addressed the demand for making a more diverse association to accurately represent all cultures. The HFPA appears to address the issues they face with the public but only their future actions will show whether they are determined to keep this promise.