The Awardist podcast: Who are the frontrunners in the longest Oscars season ever?

It's February, which means the Oscars are just around the corner, right?

Well, quite the opposite: EW's The Awardist podcast is just getting started with our season premiere, ahead of 12 long, sure-to-be-tumultuous weeks of campaigning. With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extending eligibility for its 2021 awards to the end of February, the Oscars are now being held on a new spring date of April 25. This means precursor awards like the Golden Globes and SAGs have followed suit — and that, where the circuit would normally would be winding down, it looks like we're only getting started.

To celebrate this chaotic week in which SAG and the Globes' HFPA weighed in with their picks for the best films and performances of the year-plus, the Awardist podcast is kicking off with a complete breakdown of the surprises, snubs, and what it means for the Oscars — including who's out front to win. True to form for this strange year, we've identified two Borat stars as acting frontrunners (though, to clarify, not both for that movie), in addition to the late, great Chadwick Boseman.

The Awardist hosts David Canfield, EW's movies editor, and Clarissa Cruz, EW's executive editor, are joined for the premiere by awards expert Joey Nolfi. Also making a special guest appearance: Oscar winner Kate Winslet, who joins David for an in-depth conversation on her new film Ammonite and how her decorated career led her to the film. Other stars set to join this season include Steven Yeun, Tom Holland, Carey Mulligan, Delroy Lindo, Andra Day, Maria Bakalova, and many more.

You can listen to the complete episode below. The Awardist is available wherever you get your podcasts: Subscribe for new episodes every week, and rate to tell us what you think. Let's roll out the red carpet.

Check out more from EW's The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best films.

Related content:

• Golden Globes light Oscars fire for Promising Young Woman, derail Da 5 Bloods
• Who's up and who's down in the Oscar race? EW's awards experts debate
• EW's 2021 Oscar predictions