74th Writers Guild of America (WGA) winners: ‘CODA,’ ‘Don’t Look Up,’ ‘Mare of Easttown,’ ‘Hacks’ and ‘Succession’
The Writers Guild of America, both West and East, held its annual WGA Awards tonight on both coasts, in a joint virtual ceremony hosted by Ashley Nicole Black, where CODA won the adapted screenplay award just a day after nabbing the Producers Guild prize.
CODA‘s only Oscar-nominated competition was Dune, joining other WGA nominees Nightmare Alley, tick, tick…BOOM! and West Side Story.
In an upset, Don’t Look Up bested Licorice Pizza in original screenplay. Both are Oscar-nominated alongside fellow WGA nominee King Richard. Being the Ricardos and The French Dispatch were also nominated here.
Since the WGA is a signatory guild, you cannot be nominated without being a member as the org created its awards specifically for its members and those who write under its jurisdiction. That’s what gives us wild misses year to year and make the WGA a less relevant Oscar precursor than most of the other guilds.
As a result, a number of top screenplays and frontrunners this year were ineligible, including Oscar nominees The Power of the Dog, The Lost Daughter and Drive My Car in the adapted screenplay category and the Oscar-nominated Belfast in original screenplay.
In television, which breaks up comedy and drama series as well as individual episodes, the winners were and Hacks, alongside episodes of Succession and The Great. Hacks also won the New Series award while Succession also won Drama Series. Triple nominee Only Murders in the Building went home empty-handed.
Barry Jenkins received the Paul Selvin Award, given “to the member or members whose script best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere,” for Jenkins’ script for The Underground Railroad episode “Chapter 9: Indiana Winter.” The award was presented by Colman Domingo. Jenkins was a nominee tonight in Adapted Longform for television. Television legend Dick Cavett received the Evelyn F. Burkey Award, which was presented by Seth Meyers,“ and given to “someone who has brought honor and dignity to writers.”
Here is the complete list of winners from the 74th Writers Guild of America awards.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA, Screenplay by Siân Heder, Based on the Original Motion Picture La Famille Belier Directed by Eric Lartigau, Written by Victoria Bedos, Stanislas Carree de Malberg, Eric Lartigau and Thomas Bidegain; Apple – WINNER
Dune, Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth, Based on the novel Dune Written by Frank Herbert; Warner Bros. Pictures
Nightmare Alley, Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Kim Morgan, Based on the Novel by William Lindsay Gresham; Searchlight Pictures
tick…tick…BOOM!, Screenplay by Steven Levenson, Based on the play by Jonathan Larson; Netflix
West Side Story, Screenplay by Tony Kushner, Based on the Stage Play, Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Play Conceived, Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins; 20th Century Studios
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Being the Ricardos, Written by Aaron Sorkin; Amazon Studios
Don’t Look Up, Screenplay by Adam McKay, Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota; Netflix – WINNER
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, Screenplay by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola & Hugo Guinness & Jason Schwartzman; Searchlight Pictures
King Richard, Written by Zach Baylin; Warner Bros. Pictures
Licorice Pizza, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; United Artists
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Being Cousteau, Written by Mark Monroe & Pax Wasserman; National Geographic
Exposing Muybridge, Written by Marc Shaffer; Inside Out Media – WINNER
Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres, Written by Suzanne Joe Kai; StudioLA.TV
DRAMA SERIES
The Handmaid’s Tale, Written by Yahlin Chang, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Jacey Heldrich, John Herrera, Bruce Miller, Aly Monroe, Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman; Hulu
Loki, Written by Bisha K. Ali, Elissa Karasik, Eric Martin, Michael Waldron; Disney+
The Morning Show, Written by Jeff Augustin, Brian Chamberlayne, Kerry Ehrin, Kristen Layden, Erica Lipez, Justin Matthews, Adam Milch, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Torrey Speer, Scott Troy, Ali Vingiano; Apple TV+
Succession, Written by Jesse Armstrong, Jon Brown, Jamie Carragher, Ted Cohen, Francesca Gardiner, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Tony Roche, Susan Soon He Stanton, Will Tracy; HBO/HBO Max – WINNER
Yellowjackets, Written by Cameron Brent Johnson, Katherine Kearns, Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Liz Phang, Ameni Rozsa, Sarah L. Thompson, Chantelle M. Wells; Showtime
COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Larry David, Steve Leff, Carol Leifer, Jeff Schaffer, Nathaniel Stein; HBO/HBO Max
Hacks, Written by Lucia Aniello, Joanna Calo, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Cole Escola, Janis E. Hirsch, Ariel Karlin, Katherine Kearns, Andrew Law, Joe Mande, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Michael Schur, Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max – WINNER
Only Murders in the Building, Written by Thembi Banks, Matteo Borghese, Rachel Burger, Kirker Butler, Madeleine George, John Hoffman, Stephen Markley, Steve Martin, Kristin Newman, Ben Philippe, Kim Rosenstock, Ben Smith, Rob Turbovsky; Hulu
Ted Lasso, Written by Jane Becker, Ashley Nicole Black, Leann Bowen, Sasha Garron, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Michael Orton-Toliver, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel; Apple TV+
What We Do in the Shadows, Written by Jake Bender, Jemaine Clement, Zach Dunn, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms, Lauren Wells; FX Networks
NEW SERIES
Hacks, Written by Lucia Aniello, Joanna Calo, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Cole Escola, Janis E. Hirsch, Ariel Karlin, Katherine Kearns, Andrew Law, Joe Mande, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Michael H. Schur, Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max – WINNER
Loki, Written by Bisha K. Ali, Elissa Karasik, Eric Martin, Michael Waldron; Disney+
Only Murders in the Building, Written by Thembi Banks, Matteo Borghese, Rachel Burger, Kirker Butler, Madeleine George, John Hoffman, Stephen Markley, Steve Martin, Kristin Newman, Ben Philippe, Kim Rosenstock, Ben Smith, Rob Turbovsky; Hulu
Reservation Dogs, Written by Tazbah Rose Chavez, Sydney Freeland, Sterlin Harjo, Migizi Pensoneau, Tommy Pico, Taika Waititi, Bobby Wilson; FX Networks
Yellowjackets, Written by Cameron Brent Johnson, Katherine Kearns, Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Liz Phang, Ameni Rozsa, Sarah L. Thompson, Chantelle M. Wells; Showtime
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
American Horror Story: Double Feature, Written by Brad Falchuk, Manny Coto, Ryan Murphy, Kristen Reidel, Reilly Smith; FX Networks
Mare of Easttown, Written by Brad Ingelsby; HBO/HBO Max – WINNER
Midnight Mass, Written by James Flanagan, Mike Flanagan, Elan Gale, Jeff Howard, Dani Parker; Netflix
Them: Covenant, Written by Christina Ham, Little Marvin, David Matthews, Dominic Orlando, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, Francine Volpe; Prime Video
The White Lotus, Written by Mike White; HBO/HBO Max
ADAPTED LONG FORM
Halston, Written by Ian Brennan, Ted Malawer, Ryan Murphy, Tim Pinckney, Sharr White, Kristina Woo, Based on the book Simply Halston by Steven Gaines; Netflix
Impeachment: American Crime Story, Written by Flora Birnbaum, Sarah Burgess, Halley Feiffer, Daniel Pearle, Based on the book A Vast Conspiracy by Jeffrey Toobin; FX Networks
Maid, Written by Rebecca Brunstetter, Marcus Gardley, Michelle Denise Jackson, Colin McKenna, Molly Smith Metzler, Inspired by the book by Stephanie Land; Netflix – WINNER
The Underground Railroad, Written by Jihan Crowther, Allison Davis, Jacqueline Hoyt, Barry Jenkins, Nathan C. Parker, Adrienne Rush, Based on the novel by Colson Whitehead; Prime Video
WandaVision, Written by Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Chuck Hayward, Megan McDonnell, Jac Schaeffer, Cameron Squires, Based on the Marvel Comics; Disney+
ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
Calls, Written by Fede Alvarez, Nick Cuse, Aidan Fitzgerald, Noah Gardner, Rodo Sayagues; Apple TV+
Debunking Borat, Written by Robyn Adams, Paul Hogan, Jack Youngelson; Prime Video – WINNER
The Expanse: One Ship, Written by Wes Chatham, Julianna Damewood, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Glenton Richards; Prime Video
ANIMATION
“An Incon-Wheelie-ent Truth” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Dan Fybel; Fox
“Loft in Bedslation” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Jameel Saleem, Fox
“Must Love Dogs” (Family Guy), Written by Daniel Peck; Fox
“Planteau” (Tuca & Bertie), Written by Lisa Hanawalt; Cartoon Network – WINNER
“Portrait of a Lackey on Fire” (The Simpsons), Written by Rob LaZebnik & Johnny LaZebnik; Fox
“The Star of the Backstage” (The Simpsons), Written by Elisabeth Kiernen Averick; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“1883” (1883), Written by Taylor Sheridan; Paramount+
“Birth Mother” (This Is Us), Written by Eboni Freeman & Kay Oyegun; NBC
“La Amara Vita” (The Morning Show), Written by Kerry Ehrin & Scott Troy; Apple TV+
“The New Normal” (New Amsterdam), Written by David Schulner; NBC
“Retired Janitors of Idaho” (Succession), Written by Tony Roche & Susan Soon He Stanton; HBO/HBO Max – WINNER
“Testimony” (The Handmaid’s Tale), Written by Kira Snyder; Hulu
EPISODIC COMEDY
“All Sales Final” (Superstore), Teleplay by Jonathan Green & Gabe Miller, Story by Justin Spitzer; NBC
“Alone At Last” (The Great), Written by Tony McNamara; Hulu – WINNER
“Enlightened Dave” (Dave), Written by Luvh Rakhe & Lee Sung Jin; FX Networks
“Episode One: True Crime” (Only Murders in the Building), Written by Steve Martin & John Hoffman; Hulu
“F*ckin’ Rez Dogs” (Pilot) (Reservation Dogs), Written by Sterlin Harjo & Taika Waititi; FX Networks
“Pilot” (The Wonder Years), Written by Saladin K. Patterson; ABC
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Conan, Head Writer: Matt O’Brien Writers: Jose Arroyo, Glenn Boozan, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Skyler Higley, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney; TBS – WINNER
Desus & Mero, Writers: Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker, Josh Gondelman, Robert Kornhauser, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Robert A. McRae, Heben Nigatu, Mike Pielocik, Julia Young; Showtime
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Greg Iwinski, Mark Kramer, Daniel O’Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Chrissy Shackelford, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO/HBO Max
The Problem with Jon Stewart, Head Writer: Chelsea Devantez Writers: Kristen Acimovic, Henrik Blix, Rob Christensen, Jay Jurden, Alexa Loftus, Tocarra Mallard, Robby Slowik, Jon Stewart, Kasaun Wilson; Apple TV+
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
How To with John Wilson, Written by: Alice Gregory, Michael Koman, Conner O’Malley, Susan Orlean, John Wilson; HBO/HBO Max
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Writers: Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix – WINNER
PAUSE with Sam Jay, Writers: Emmy Blotnick, Ryan Donahue, Zack Fox, Megan Gailey, Robin M. Henry, Sam Jay, Langston Kerman, Jak Knight; HBO/HBO Max
Saturday Night Live, Head Writer: Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Colin Jost, Kent Sublette Senior Writer: Bryan Tucker Weekend Update Head Writer: Pete Schultz, Weekend Update Writers: Megan Callahan-Shah, Dennis McNicholas, Josh Patten, Mark Steinbach Supervising Writers: Alison Gates, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Streeter Seidell Writers: James Anderson, Dan Bulla, Steven Castillo, Mike DiCenzo, Billy Domineau, Alex English, John Higgins, Steve Higgins, Martin Herlihy, Vannessa Jackson, Sam Jay, Erik Kenward, Tesha Kondrat, Dan Licata, Lorne Michaels, Ben Marshall, Jake Nordwind, Jasmine Pierce, Gary Richardson, Ben Silva, Emily Spivey, Will Stephen, Celeste Yim; NBC
That Damn Michael Che, Head Writer: Michael Che; Writing Supervised by: Gary Richardson; Writers: Rosebud Baker, Reggie Conquest, Godfrey Danchimah Jr., Calise Hawkins, Kevin Iso, Sam Jay, Matt Richards, Wil Sylvince; HBO/HBO Max
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors, Written by Dave Boone; CBS
Drew Michael: Red Blue Green, Written by Drew Michael; HBO/HBO Max
Full Frontal Wants to Take Your Guns, Head Writers: Kristen Bartlett, Mike Drucker Writers: Samantha Bee, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Miles Kahn, Chris Thompson, Holly Walker, Alison Zeidman Writing Supervised by Joe Grossman, Sahar Rizvi Special Material by Michael Rhoa; TBS – WINNER
The Tony Awards Presents: Broadway’s Back!, Written by Dave Boone Special Material by Amber Ruffin, Marc Shaiman, Daniel J. Watts, Scott Wittman Opening Number by Amber Ruffin, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman; CBS
Yearly Departed, Head Writer: Bess Kalb Writers: Karen Chee, Akilah Green, Franchesca Ramsey, Jocelyn Richard; Prime Video
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Baking It, Writers: Neil Casey, Jessica McKenna, Zach Reino, Niccole Thurman; Peacock – WINNER
Capital One College Bowl, Head Writer: Scott Saltzburg Writers: Rosemarie DiSalvo, Ryan Hopak, Jon Macks, Karissa Noel, Todd Sachs, Doug Shaffer, Grant Taylor, Bennett Webber; NBC
The Chase, Head Writer: David Levinson Wilk Writers: Erik Agard, Eliza Bayne, Kyle Beakley, Megan Broussard, Robert King, Amy Ozols, Bobby Patton, Ellen Teitel, Ari Yolkut; ABC
Jeopardy!, Writers: Michael Davies, John Duarte, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Mike Richards, Billy Wisse; ABC
DAYTIME DRAMA
General Hospital, Head Writers: Chris Van Etten, Dan O’Connor Associate Head Writer: Anna T. Cascio Writers: Barbara Bloom, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Shannon Peace, David Rupel, Lisa Seidman, Scott Sickles; ABC
The Young and the Restless, Head Writer: Amanda L. Beall Writers: Susan Banks, Jeff Beldner, Sara A. Bibel, Brent Boyd, Susan Dansby, Christopher Dunn, Sara Endsley, Janice Ferri Esser, Marin Gazzaniga, Lynn Martin, Natalie Minardi Slater, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS
Days of Our Lives, Head Writer: Ron Carlivati Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Jamey Giddens, David Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock, Elizabeth Snyder; NBC – WINNER
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“A Big Favor for Grampy/A Fair Way to Bounce” (Donkey Hodie), Written by Adam Rudman & David Rudman, Joey Mazzarino; PBS KIDS/pbskids.org
“Park Ranger Percy / Lizard Lizzy” (Helpsters) Written by Annabeth Bondor-Stone, Connor White, Liz Hara; Apple TV+
“Rice” (Waffles + Mochi), Written by Lyric Lewis; Netflix
“The Tale of the Midnight Magic” (Are You Afraid of the Dark?), Written by JT Billings, Alex Ebel; Nickelodeon – WINNER
“Which Witch?” (Just Beyond), Written by Mitali Jahagirdar; Disney+
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“The Healthcare Divide” (Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS – WINNER
“The Jihadist” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith & Marcela Gaviria; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“A Writer” (Hemingway), Written by Geoffrey C. Ward; PBS
“Citizen” (Amend: The Fight for America), Written by Sasha Stewart and Robe Imbriano; Netflix
“Citizen Hearst, Part One” (American Experience), Written by Gene Tempest; PBS – WINNER
“Round One” (Muhammad Ali), Written by David McMahon & Sarah Burns; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Against All Enemies” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News
“Democracy Lost” (60 Minutes), Written by Oriana Zill de Granados, Sharyn Alfonsi; CBS News
“The Unequal Recession” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News – WINNER
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Fall of Kandahar” (Vice News Tonight), Written by Amel Guettatfi, Ben C. Solomon, Vice News
“Handcuffed to the Truth” (60 Minutes) Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News – WINNER
“Unpacking How Child Welfare and Foster Care Fails Black Children” (Unpack That), Written by Joel Kahn, Felice León; The Root
“The Unstudied Link Between the COVID Vaccine and Periods” (Vice News Tonight), Written by Caitlin Bladt; Vice News
“Woman in Motion: Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols and The Transformation of NASA” (CBS Sunday Morning), Written by Daniel Elias, Michelle Miller; CBS
DIGITAL NEWS
“An Oral History of the Longest-Ever Broadway Shutdown,” Written by Madeline Ducharme; Slate.com
“Knives Out: Why ‘Hacks’ Works,” Written by Katie Baker; TheRinger.com
“Men’s Rights Asians” Think This Is Their Moment,” Written by Aaron Mak; Slate.com – WINNER
“We Get to Hear Them Training to Kill Us,” Written by Christina Cauterucci; Slate.com
“What if the Unorthodox Arizona Audit Declares Trump Won?” Written by Jeremy Stahl; Slate.com
RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
“One Year: 1977 ‘The Miracle Cure’” Written by Evan Chung; Slate Podcast – WINNER
“Our Year” (What Next), Written by Mary Harris; Slate Podcast
“That Seattle Muzak Sound” (Decoder Ring), Written by Benjamin Frisch; Slate Podcast
“Who Killed the Segway?” (Decoder Ring), Written by Dan Kois, Slate Podcast
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Silence the Mics: Tributes to Some Famous Broadcasters,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio
“Surfside Condo Collapse” (CBS World News Roundup Late Edition), Written by Kathleen M. Biggins; CBS News Radio – WINNER
“World News This Week – Week of August 16, 2021,” Written by Robert Hawley; ABC Audio
“World News This Week – Week of January 8, 2021,” Written by Joy Piazza; ABC Audio
“World News This Week – Week of September 3, 2021,” Written by Joan B. Harris; ABC Audio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Tasmanian Devil Tattoo” (Decoder Ring), Written by Benjamin Frisch; Slate Podcast – WINNER
“When the Culture War Comes for Your Job” (What Next), Written by Mary Harris; Slate Podcast
ON AIR PROMOTION
“Celebrating Powerful Female Leads: Trailers for The Equalizer & Why Women Kill,” Written by Molly Neylan; CBS – WINNER
“CSI: Vegas Trailers,” Written by Erial Tompkins; CBS
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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