What Does Martin Short Need To Do To Finally Win A Golden Globe Next Year?
January 5th, 2025 marked the 82nd year of the Golden Globe Awards. It also marked the fourth year in a row that Martin Short was nominated and lost in the category of Best Male Actor for a Television Comedy or Musical. What gives?
Since 2021, Only Murders in the Building has been one of the most hilarious comedies on television. The main reason why it works so well is because of the one-in-a-lifetime comedic chemistry between Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short. They’re brilliant together.
To single out one person among the three who provides the most uproarious laughs per episode and most tear-jerking drama per season, it would have to be Martin Short.
As Oliver Putnam, Martin Short steals every scene he’s in. Putnam’s boisterous personality and tendency to embellish his own life story and talents means he’s always the center of attention. Short deserves recognition for bringing this amazing character to life, but when awards season comes around, there’s been a bear in his way for the past three years.
At the 2025 Golden Globes, Jeremy Allen White earned his third Golden Globe for playing Carmy in The Bear. Look, Jeremy Allen White is fantastic, and he deserves the praise he gets. But as a fan of Martin Short, one has to wonder what it’s going to take for the Golden Globe voters to see that, when it comes to “Comedy or Musical,” Short is an all-time great doing some of his best work ever.
The argument has been made by many that The Bear should really be in the Drama category more than Comedy or Musical. To be fair, The Bear is quite comedic. But comparing The Bear to Only Murders in the Building is like comparing seven fishes to various flavors of dip. They’re barely in the same category.
Does Short need to up his dramatic game in his fifth season as Oliver Putnam in order to compete with White’s fourth go-round as Carmy? After all, the Golden Globes historically seem to prefer a healthy dose of drama with their comedy. But what more tragedy can poor Oliver go through that he hasn’t already? Oliver already had multiple brushes with death, he went through difficult times with his son, and his relationship drama was a central focus of the past two seasons.
So here’s the dilemma. It looks like Only Murders in the Building needs Oliver to get more serious if they want to gain favor with the Golden Globe voters. But making Oliver more serious could feel like a disservice to one of the funniest characters on TV. So what is there to do? Honestly, nothing. Martin Short shouldn’t change a thing. He’s perfect as he is. Instead, the Golden Globes should start recognizing great comedians being hilarious.