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Episode: Critical Darlings: The Oscar Nominations Recap (And Also Some Talk About F1)
Release Date: January 22, 2026
Hosts: Richard Lawson & Alison Wilmore
Producer: Ben Frisch
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Main Theme

This episode is a spirited, granular recap and post-mortem of the just-announced 2026 Oscar nominations. Richard and Alison bring their signature wit and deep industry knowledge to dissecting surprises, snubs, shifting Oscar narratives, and what this year’s field says about filmmaking and broader culture. The episode gives special attention to breakout nominee “F1,” the international film shakeup, and how Oscar voting processes and Academy “vibes” shape the race.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mood of Oscar Nominations Season

• Richard and Alison kick off with the palpable sense of excitement for this year’s nominations, noting the unusually high general public investment:
  • “Normally...I’m kind of like, ugh, whatever. We already know everything. But this year I didn’t know everything and it felt great.” – Richard [01:15]
  • Alison highlights that this year, “the world is watching” for better or worse [01:51].

2. Sinners’ Record-Breaking Haul

• “Sinners” receives an astonishing 16 nominations, breaking longstanding records (Titanic, All About Eve, La La Land).
  • “Record breaking amount of nominations. Sixteen, which blows past Titanic, All About Eve...That’s huge.” – Richard [02:40]
• Discussion of what contributed: new casting category, unexpected acting nods, earlier signals from SAG.

3. Hamnet vs. Sinners – Villain/Hero Narratives

• Speculation on the unfolding Oscar narrative, with Sinners and “One Battle After Another” locked as rivals while “Hamnet” underperforms—potentially draining toxicity from the “spoiler” discourse:
  • “For my...sanity...I’m like, okay, maybe from now until the Oscars, the discourse will be a little less fraught and more fun.” – Richard [03:18]

4. Craft & Technical Category Surprises

• Cinematography for “Hamnet”: Lost to “Train Dreams,” which both hosts agree is “lusher, more alive.” [05:12]
• Notable mention that “Frankenstein” looks “a lot worse” [05:40].
• Max Richter’s “original score” nomination for “Hamnet” sparks a fun digression about his omnipresent music and Elisabeth Moss’s appearance in one of his videos [06:41].

5. Oscar Nominations Process Clarified

• Richard and Alison walk through the technical mechanics of shortlists, nomination voting (by branch), and final ballots:
  • “Each individual branch will vote...I’m in the sound branch, I’m voting for Best Sound and Best Picture...” – Richard [09:09]
  • Discussion of voting windows and how game theory and “freshness” can influence results (e.g., “The Father” and Anthony Hopkins’s surprise win) [10:32].

6. How ‘Surprise’ Nominations Happen—Voting Dynamics

• The “Olivia Colman effect”: when presumed frontrunners leave voters “free” to cast a passion vote, yielding unexpected winners.
  • “I’m convinced until someone tells me otherwise that [was] exactly how Olivia Colman won.” – Richard [12:23]
  • “There are definitely stubborn Academy members...like, ‘No, I’m going to defy that.’” – Richard [13:16]

7. Roundup of Notable Snubs

• International Category:
  • Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident” misses Best Picture; “F1” gets nod with Iranian government backing [17:30–18:22].
• Blockbusters:
  • “Wicked Part 2” gets zero nominations, a sharp reversal from last year’s 10. Discussion of “category inertia” and how sequels can get snubbed if competition is fiercer [19:59].
  • “Avatar: Fire/Nash” also misses major categories, breaking Cameron’s Best Picture streak [23:13].
• Acting Notables:
  • Jesse Buckley stands as “sole representative” for “Hamnet”—hosts foresee this as fitting [06:20].
  • Amanda Seyfried (“Testament of Anley”) and Paul Mescal (“Hamnet”) both snubbed; the latter feels “not like a true snub,” just no room [31:36].
  • Kate Hudson's surprise Best Actress nod for “Song Sung Blue”; the hosts highlight its "old-school" Oscar performance traits [26:20].

8. Stacked & Fluid Acting Races

• Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”) and Wagner Moura (“Prison”) praised for category-reshuffling performances [33:42].
• The long list of actors who faded out this season—Joel Edgerton, Dwayne Johnson, Jeremy Allen White, Oscar Isaac, Jesse Plemons, Daniel Day Lewis, Russell Crowe—lampooned in a rapid-fire “in memoriam” [36:00–39:41].

9. The Curious Oscar Fate of ‘F1’

[Key Segment: 49:43–65:56]

Why Did ‘F1' Break Through?

• The episode’s second arc dives deep into the surprise Best Picture nomination for the Brad Pitt racing pic “F1.”
• Technical Admiration:
  • Got Best Picture, Editing, Sound, and Visual Effects; tech branches and star-power clearly powered the push.
• Hollywood’s Movie Star Mythology:
  • “Hollywood likes movie stars. They like fast cars. Look at ‘Ford v Ferrari’ and all that stuff.” – Richard [50:22]
• Parallels with “Top Gun: Maverick":
  • Joseph Kosinski repeating the concept of making a film that “enshrines" an aging star as irreplaceable [51:20]
• Brad Pitt, Persona and Tabloid Backlash:
  • “There is a big enough contingent in Hollywood that’s…like, ‘no, that's not my business. He’s like one of our greats.’" – Richard [54:26]
  • Alison posits, “He is load-bearing within the industry in ways that other people have not been.” [55:24]
• The Movie’s Vibe:
  • It's technically slick, a “masculine Hollywood product.” F1’s chilly, blue-tinged look compared to “Top Gun’s” golden hue [56:01].
• Discussion on why “F1” succeeded where “Ferrari” didn’t: F1 is “easier to drop into,” less dynastically complex, more American mythmaking [58:14].

Will ‘F1’ Go Further?

• “I don’t think there is a single person in Hollywood who’s like, ‘F1’ could win Best Picture.” – Richard [65:25]
• Hosts see its journey as likely over: “Solid 10th place,” with some realistic chances in the technical categories.
• Anecdote: Richard never saw F1’s ending after leaving a screening to make a Pride event [61:04].

10. Oscar Voting Structures and Their Impact

• Discussion of whether the 10-nominee field creates more “walking dead” films that are there in numbers but not in real contention [64:41].
• “When like an F1 gets in, it’s just the industry being like, ‘Well done.’” – Richard [65:33]

11. Personal Picks, Regrets, and the Spirit of the Season

• The hosts each air out “in memoriam” for movies and performances that never really had a chance but were personal favorites (Ben Whishaw in “Peter Hujar’s Day Beyond”; “Weapons”; Julia Lochtev’s “My Undesirable Friends”; breakthrough supporting performances like Asap Rocky [67:10–68:20]).
• Alison closes with the hope that Amanda Seyfried could have been more present on the circuit “because she’s a delightful, genuinely eccentric person in press” [69:05].

Notable Quotes (with timestamps & attributions)

• On Sinners’ 16 nominations:
  “Record breaking amount of nominations. Sixteen, which blows past Titanic, All About Eve...That’s huge.” – Richard [02:40]

• On Oscar voting strategy:
  “It’s like volunteering to be club treasurer…this thankless job, but I’ll do it.” – Richard [08:32]

• On the unpredictability of Best Picture nominations:
  “It’s also funny that a movie with 13 nominations is not the leader. Like, that’s crazy.” – Richard [12:23]

• On Kate Hudson’s surprise nod:
  “It’s a big, broad kind of old school performance...You could probably go back to like the early 2000s, the late 90s, and all five Best Actress nominees would be giving this kind of performance. It’s just that kind of old fashioned thing, I feel like.” – Richard [27:38]

• On Brad Pitt’s career durability:
  “You can feel that Brad Pitt is load bearing within the industry in ways that some other people have not been.” – Alison [55:24]

• On F1’s purpose in the Oscar field:
  “F1 is Top Gun but they’re on the ground and the stakes are lower, but it has that really…exciting to watch.” – Richard [55:47]

Key Timestamps

01:15 – Oscar morning excitement & public engagement
02:40 – “Sinners” breaks the nomination record
03:18/03:34 – On expectations and predictions gone wrong
04:51 – Hamnet’s nomination fortunes
08:02–09:09 – The nomination process explained
12:23 – The Olivia Colman ‘surprise winner’ effect
16:37 – First “Let’s talk snubs” segment
17:30 – Panahi missing out, international shakeup
19:59 – Stunning shutout for “Wicked Part 2”
23:32 – “Avatar 3” doesn’t get in – first James Cameron shutout in decades
26:20 – Kate Hudson as the surprise Best Actress nominee
33:42 – Praising Hawke’s old-school “transformative” acting
36:00–39:41 – Lightning round: snubbed actor “In Memoriam”
49:43–65:56 – Big “F1” discussion (Hollywood mythmaking, technical branches, Brad Pitt, why it hit)
65:33 – F1: “taken as far as it’ll go”; industry/Academy congratulation
67:10–68:20 – Honorable mentions and performances that deserved more
69:05 – Alison misses Amanda Seyfried’s likely can’t-care eccentricity

Tone and Language

The episode is infused with sharp humor ("he is not aging, he’s developing a patina"), industry savviness, and empathy for both the craft and the heartbreak of Oscar races. Both hosts are playful but—when breaking down technicalities—precise and accessible. The show is equally comfortable poking fun at Oscar mechanics as it is sharing personal anecdotes from real-world Oscar nights.

Memorable Moments

• Richard discovers Elisabeth Moss is in a Max Richter music video after YouTube suggests it the night before [07:15].
• Extended laughs imagining Kate Hudson’s “old-school” Oscar bait performance and the deep bench of “vibes” actors almost in the running [26:20–36:00].
• The segment where the hosts ponder which remaining movie stars could next get the “Kasinski mythmaking” treatment (Mark Wahlberg? Dwayne Johnson?) [51:50–52:34].
• Richard’s story about leaving the “F1” climax to join Pride festivities, leading Alison to joke that the film ends with Brad Pitt dying and the cast breaking into song [61:04–62:46].

Conclusion

The episode is a lively, candid, and authoritative Oscars analysis, dissecting statistics and narratives but embracing the emotional, unpredictable “vibes” of the awards race. Richard and Alison blend hard reporting, personal insight, and mirthful cynicism—demystifying the industry for listeners while keeping the stakes human and fun. The discussion of how “F1” nabbed Best Picture and the evolving dynamics of international cinema mark this as a crucial recap for anyone following the 2026 Oscar season.

Next Week: The hosts will deep-dive into “Train Dreams,” the surprise darling in cinematography and other technical fields.

Critical Darlings is a Blank Check Production in association with Vulture. Hosted by Alison Wilmore and Richard Lawson. Produced by Benjamin Frisch.