Sometimes, the toughest act to follow is yourself. Such is the case for Nikki Glaser. The actress and comedian almost singlehandedly revived the Golden Globes telecast last year with a hosting gig that did the near-impossible feat of pleasing a room full of A-listers and seemingly everyone who watched on TV. Now, she just has to do it again.
“I could do it tonight and feel like I have a solid monologue,” Glaser said over Zoom earlier Tuesday morning. “But I still have five days to write more, so I’m looking forward to what it becomes. There’s a lot that can happen in the final moments when the writing team and I are all kind drained of any creativity. That’s when it starts to get loopy and weird. I’m excited for what comes out of that.”
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What’s the most interesting or surprising feedback you’ve gotten in the year since you first hosted?
That it was all positive. (Laughs.) It kind of tripped me up, man. Usually, you do something and there’s a couple of people who don’t like what you did — or a couple flaws you can find — and it was universally appreciated and well-reviewed. I’m not used to that. I don’t like that. It only sets me up for failure. And I avoided watching it again, because I lived it. But I just went back and watched it two days ago just to remind myself of what I liked, what I didn’t like. Well, damn, I kind of nailed it. And it scares me, because that was kind of lightning in a bottle. I got really lucky with some of the nominees. Everything worked out. So it’s a high bar. I’m kind of screwed.
Wait a minute. When you watched it two days ago, that wasn’t the first time you’d ever seen it?
Yeah! I don’t like watching. If I see it come across my phone, I scroll away as quick as possible. I love performing and I love the feeling I get when I do it, especially in these one-shot moments. I just didn’t want to fill my head with anything else that I was like, “Oh, I wish I would’ve done this differently.” But I didn’t have that feeling when I watched it. I was like, “Oh, that was pretty good. I’ve got to do that again.” And I learned a lot from watching it. You got to keep it fast paced. You got to look like you’re having fun. I was having fun last year and it showed.
Signing on to return so early, I imagine, is a blessing and a curse. When did you first write down an idea of something you might include?
Honestly, I did not allow myself until Dec. 1. I taped my special at the end of October. Then I went right into Saturday Night Live. After SNL, I needed to take the month off and just breathe. Dec. 1, right after Thanksgiving, we got right into it. The nominees don’t come out until Dec. 8, so that’s when really you get cooking.
What did you learn from your first experience hosting SNL?
It was the greatest thing I’ve ever done. It was like summer camp. It really felt like being back in middle school and putting on plays — and I say in middle school because I didn’t get cast in high school plays. What was really remarkable to me about SNL is that they treat each show like it’s the 50th anniversary. I felt like everyone was as excited as I am. And what I learned from how I usually do things is that I had to let go a lot. I had to realize I don’t know better than any of these people and I can suggest things, but in the end, just let go and don’t be scared to be foolish. So much of stand up is looking cool and being yourself. I don’t get too much into characters and making myself look silly, and I felt like that was a really great opportunity to try stuff I hadn’t done before and admit that I’m kind of a novice in this world. And that’s OK. I can’t wait to do that again.
When are you not going to feel like a novice? You’ve done so much.
I don’t know when it will click in that I haven’t tricked anyone. That imposter syndrome is just so embedded in my soul. I think more people should have it, though. We’ve all been so lucky. Anyone who’s made a career in this has had an extreme amount of luck — just knowing the right people, impressing the right people, making a good impression in a moment where they didn’t know it mattered. So, instead of thinking, “I don’t deserve this,” I’m trying to turn imposter syndrome into, “I’m so grateful that this is my life.” And I think it’s good to have going into the Globes. I just watched this clip of Ricky Gervais talking at the Globes. He wanted to remind himself he’s like the court jester. The court jester is allowed to make fun of the king and queen because he’s so clearly not the king and queen and they know he’s not. He’s one of the plebes. It’s good that I know I’m not one of these A-listers and that I don’t feel like I’m one of them. That gives me license to make fun of them a little bit more.
Didn’t they execute court jesters?
I look forward to that. Die young, as long as I look good with my head rolling down the whatever.
Where are you with your homework? Have you watched everything?
You can’t watch everything. And you certainly can’t listen to all the podcasts. God. But I’ve watched most of everything. I still have a couple more to go — Train Dreams, The Secret Agent. I’m not someone who can really sit down and watch something. My big project this year was The Wire, and I wish that was nominated. That’s all I want to talk about. But I saw One Battle twice. I loved it so much. Marty Supreme? Insane. It’s a really good year for movies. Song Sung Blue? Loved it.
I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m aware of the twist…
Gear up! But I think it’s so underrated. I think the marketing did it kind of dirty. People are just like, “What is this? ” It seems like almost a parody, but it’s awesome. Hugh Jackman should have been nominated. I thought he was incredible. I hope Kate Hudson wins.
Outside of the writer’s room, who are you seeking counsel from right now? Who do you run material by?
I saw Judd Apatow last night at a gig and said, “Please send me any notes you have. ” He seemed to have no notes, but he’s someone who’s hosted the Directors Guild Awards. He’s done this before. Who else? Steve Martin sent in a joke through one of my writers. That was so nice. Then he said afterwards, “Actually, tell her: Don’t do that joke. That’s too far.” And he was right. I did love the joke, but I don’t think I could say that.
What was it?
It wasn’t really dirty or anything. It was just a political joke that probably isn’t right for the show. But I love that he corrected and was like, “Tell her, actually don’t do that joke.” I’m running around town, doing these sets, so I’m getting constant feedback from comedians who are writing me jokes and tags and suggesting. Everyone knows I’m very approachable when it comes to this stuff. I’ve had waitresses be like, “I have an idea for this joke.” Even my family. My sister just sent in a joke, because I was saying we were struggling for a Julia Roberts joke. She said we need Erin Brockovich to open up the Epstein file. She would’ve given us to them unredacted. That’s a good angle. We’re not going to do that, but that’s not bad. Then she said something like, “Julia Roberts is here tonight. She’s nominated for After the Hunt. She almost passed on the role, but the director was like, ‘Big mistake, huge.’” It’s not the best joke. She did admit that. But I couldn’t even do it because I’ve referenced, “Big mistake, huge,” and people don’t know it. It’s not Gen Z. I’m 41 and even millennials have forgotten it.
The erosion of the monoculture must make a task like this even more difficult.
It’s so impossible. I don’t usually have these “woe is me!” pity sessions, but lately… And people always remind me that hosting an awards show is the hardest gig. I say, “No, it’s actually so fun!” What’s hard is that people don’t watch things anymore. Even Marty Supreme, do people not even know that’s about ping-pong? People don’t know what the hell Jay Kelly is. They know George Clooney. So, you end up making a lot of jokes about the advertisements and the endorsements these people do. People might not know Kevin Hart’s special, but they know he’s popping up talking about DraftKings.
But is that enough?
You have to find what everyone knows. Honestly, there isn’t anything that everyone watches. There was Wicked was last year. Wicked: For Good, not as many people saw, so there’s not as much to say about it. We’ll be in the writers room and people will be like, “We have to talk about Timothée Chalamet saying ‘Schwap!’ or something.” That didn’t show up on my feed! I have no idea what you’re talking about.” And I’m plugged in. How did that miss me entirely? And that was half and half of our room. It’s either all you’re seeing or you’re not seeing it at all. I did a Venezuela reference [at a show] last night and half the crowd is like, “What does that mean?” It’s not showing up. People aren’t even getting news, man. It’s depressing.
Knowing that Timothée Chalamet and Adam Sandler will again be in the same room, how strong is the temptation for you…
It was strong at first. Then I thought, I don’t want to bug Adam Sandler again. “Could you do a bit with me?” I just want him to have a nice evening where he can relax. It’s not off the table yet, but I’m trying to think of some other kind of interaction I can have with someone because that’s what I really liked about that monologue last year. I loved that moment. It felt spontaneous and it was. We kind of gave him a heads up that I’ll call on him to do something, but it wasn’t choreographed or rehearsed. I want to have another moment like that. There’s fun people in the room this year — Kevin Hart, Amy Poehler, even Kathy Bates licking that paddle the other day! I walked into the writers room like, “Well, Kathy Bates is down!” There are certain people I’m thinking of messing with, but I don’t know that I’ll do a reprise of Chalamet and Sandler.
If having that podcast category is what it takes to get Amy Poehler in the room, I’ll take it.
She is the queen of the cutaway shot. I can’t wait to see what she does.
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The 2026 Golden Globes will air live from 8 -11 p.m. ET / 5 -8 p.m. PT on CBS, streaming on Paramount+, Sunday, Jan. 11.
