This weekend truly kicked off the Oscar race with the 1-2-3 punch of Critics Choice, the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild all announcing their winners in the span of 24 hours, including dueling ceremonies for the latter. On episode 274 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson is joined by AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to break down what happened, how it happened and what's next.

In a surprising sweep, Sean Baker's Anora took home the top prize at all three: Best Picture at Critics Choice (its only win), the DGA for Theatrical Film and the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures at the PGA. Erik, who was at all three events, offers his insight to vibe in the rooms, which felt muted at Critics Choice until the left field Best Director win for Wicked's Jon M. Chu (and the awkward Oscar-stat intro the category got), and the race from the DGA to the PGA that brought life back to everyone, making Anora the first film to win the Palme d'Or and DGA since 1955's Marty and pushing it (back?) to the top of the Best Picture race. But what does that mean for its star Mikey Madison? The young actress is the far and away critics' leader but so far has lost to Demi Moore (The Substance) in their first two face-offs, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice (ironically, or not so). With BAFTA and SAG looming, as well as the passion for Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here), Best Actress remains the most exciting race of the season.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h57m. We will be back next week with the very fresh BAFTA winners and a preview of the Screen Actors Guild. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).