Highlights of hosts past

The Ricky Gervais and Fey-Poehler years had their share of ups and downs.

Here’s what Ricky Gervais and the Fey-Poehler duo had to offer over the years.

The modern era of the Golden Globe Awards began in 2010 when British comic (and insult artist) Ricky Gervais hosted the show for the first time. It was only the second time the awards show featured a host — the first time was in 1995 with John Larroquette and Janine Turner.

Since then, the awards broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton were hosted four times by Gervais and three times by the power comedy duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Here are some highlights of those years:

2010

The 2010 show proved to be the perfect opportunity for Gervais to introduce his signature cringe-worthy comedic flavor to the awards show sphere. Most notable were his various jabs at actor Mel Gibson, including the show-stopper: “I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next man is Mel Gibson.” The show reached an audience of about 17 million, a strong showing but well below a peak audience of 26.8 million in 2004. (That year the big winner was the blockbuster hit “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. ”)

2011

Gervais came back for the 2011 and 2012 shows despite his range of offensive jokes that rubbed some the wrong way. In 2011, the comedian brought more of his twisted humor, such as when he introduced Robert Downey Jr. and targeted his rehab past: “Many of you in this room probably know him best from such facilities as the Betty Ford Clinic and Los Angeles County Jail.”

2012

Gervais bit the hand that fed him in 2012, making fun of the awards show itself. “The Golden Globes are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem. The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. Bit louder, bit trashier, bit drunker, and more easily bought.” The ratings for the second and third Gervais shows were slightly less than those of his first effort.

2013

Fey and Poehler took over the role of host in 2013, and in their opening monologue, the “SNL” alumnae decided to give Gervais a taste of his own medicine: “Ricky Gervais could not be here tonight because he is no longer technically in show business,” Fey said.

“We want to assure you we have no intention of being edgy or offensive tonight because as Ricky learned the hard way— when you run afoul of the Hollywood Foreign Press, they make you host this show two more times,” Poehler followed.

Their hosting stint was a hit with critics and a ratings winner — the audience swelled to 19.7 million that year.

2014 and 2015

Fey and Poehler hosted for two more years. In 2014, they had some memorable lines such as Fey’s introduction of Matthew McConaughey: “For his role in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ he lost 45 pounds, or what actresses call being in a movie.”

In 2015, the two didn’t hold back from taking shots at Bill Cosby: “In ‘Into the Woods,’ Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from her tower for her prince and Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby,” Poehler said. The two repeat performances averaged about 20 million viewers.

2016

Gervais returned this year, and critics weren’t kind, finding his material vulgar and stale. Viewership dropped down to 18.5 millon.