One of the biggest indicators in determining the Writing nominees at the Oscars, the Writers Guild of America announced their nominations today. Some predicted entries were there, like “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “One Night In Miami,” but there were plenty surprises. Many were hoping for “Promising Young Woman” to make it and it did, as did “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Sound Of Metal.” Also, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “News of the World” solidified their upcoming presence at the Oscars. But the jawdroppers, in the best of ways, were “Palm Springs,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” and Netflix’s “The White Tiger.”
Which of those final three will make it to the Oscars, is anyone’s guess. Personally, I’ve got my fingers crossed for “Palm Springs” making it to the big show. The biggest omissions have to be Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” which I think can still find its way into the Oscars and “Da 5 Bloods.” Also, “The Father,” “Mank,” “Minari,” and “Nomadland” were all ineligible to compete, though any of them could land at the Academy Awards.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King
Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
Warner Bros. Pictures
“Palm Springs”
Screenplay by Andy Siara
Story by Andy Siara & Max Barbakow
Hulu
“Promising Young Woman”
Written by Emerald Fennell
Focus Features
“Sound Of Metal”
Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder
Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
Amazon Studios
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Netflix
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern
Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad
Based on Characters Created by Sacha Baron Cohen
Amazon Studios
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Based on the Play Written by August Wilson
Netflix
“News of the World”
Screenplay by Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies
Based upon the Novel by Paulette Jiles
Universal Pictures
“One Night In Miami”
Screenplay by Kemp Powers
Based on the Stage Play “One Night in Miami” by Kemp Powers
Amazon Studios
“The White Tiger”
Screenplay by Ramin Bahrani
Based on the Book “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga
Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
“All In: The Fight for Democracy”
Written by Jack Youngelson
Amazon Studios
“The Dissident”
Written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel
Briarcliff Entertainment
“Herb Alpert Is…”
Written by John Scheinfeld
Abramorama
“Red Penguins”
Written by Gabe Polsky
Universal Pictures
“Totally Under Control”
Written by Alex Gibney
Neon
TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA, AND NEWS NOMINEES
DRAMA SERIES
“Better Call Saul”
Written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Ariel Levine, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock
AMC
“The Boys”
Written by Eric Kripke, Ellie Monahan, Anslem Richardson, Craig Rosenberg, Michael Saltzman, Rebecca Sonnenshine
Amazon Studios
“The Crown”
Written by Peter Morgan, Jonathan Wilson
Netflix
“The Mandalorian”
Written by Rick Famuyiwa, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni
Disney+
“Ozark”
Written by Laura Deeley, Bill Dubuque, Paul Kolsby, Miki Johnson, Chris Mundy, John Shiban, Ning Zhou, Martin Zimmerman
Netflix
COMEDY SERIES
“Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Written by Larry David, Justin Hurwitz, Steve Leff, Carol Leifer, Jeff Schaffer
HBO
“The Great”
Written by Vanessa Alexander, Tony McNamara, Tess Morris, Amelia Roper, Gretel Vella, James Wood
Hulu
“PEN15”
Written by; Alyssa DiMari, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Josh Levine, Gabe Liedman, Rachele Lynn, Vera Santamaria, Diana Tay, Sam Zvibleman
Hulu
“Ted Lasso”
Written by Jane Becker, Leann Bowen, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel
Apple TV+
“What We Do In The Shadows”
Written by Jake Bender, Jemaine Clement, Zach Dunn, Joe Furey, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms
FX Networks
NEW SERIES
“Dave”
Written by Dave Burd, Vanessa McGee, Saladin Patterson, Luvh Rakhe, Alex Russell, Jeff Schaffer, Max Searle, Yamara Taylor
FX Networks
“The Flight Attendant”
Written by Kara Lee Corthron, Michael Foley, Ryan Jennifer Jones, Ticona S. Joy, Meredith Lavender, Jess Meyer, Daniele Nathanson, Marcie Ulin, Ian Weinreich, Steve Yockey
HBO Max
“The Great”
Written by Vanessa Alexander, Tony McNamara, Tess Morris, Amelia Roper, Gretel Vella, James Wood
Hulu
“Lovecratft Country”
Written by Misha Green, Shannon Houston, Jonathan Kidd, Kevin Lau, Ihuoma Ofordire, Wes Taylor, Sonya Winton
HBO
“Ted Lasso”
Written by Jane Becker, Leann Bowen, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel
Apple TV+
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
“Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story”
Written by Aaron Carew, Alexandra Cunningham, Lex Edness, Kevin J. Hynes, Juliet Lashinsky-Revene, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Katherine B. McKenna
USA
“Hollywood”
Written by Ian Brennan, Janet Mock, Ryan Murphy, Reilly Smith
Netflix
“Mrs. America”
Written by Tanya Barfield, Joshua Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi Waller
FX Networks
“Safety”
Written by Nick Santora
Disney+
“Uncle Frank”
Written by Alan Ball
Amazon Studios
ADAPTED LONG FORM
“Bad Education”
Written by Mike Makowsky
Based on the New York Magazine article ” The Bad Superintendent” by Robert Kolker
HBO
“Clouds”
Screenplay by Kara Holden
Story by Casey La Scala & Patrick Kopka and Kara Holden
Based on the book entitled “Fly A Little Higher’ by Laura Sobiech
Disney+
“The Good Lord Bird”
Written by Jeff Augustin, Ethan Hawke, Erika L. Johnson, Mark Richard, Kristen SaBerre, Lauren Signorino
Based on the Novel by James McBride
Showtime
“Little Fires Everywhere”
Written by Harris Danow, Rosa Handelman, Shannon Houston, Attica Locke, Raamla Mohamed, Amy Talkington, Liz Tigelaar, Nancy Won
Based on the book by Celeste Ng
Hulu
“The Queen’s Gambit”
Written by Scott Frank, Allan Scott
Based on the novel by Walter Tevis
Netflix
ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
“#FREERAYSHAWN”
Written by Marc Maurino
Quibi
“Better Call Saul Employee Training: Legal Ethics with Kim Wexler”
Written by Ariel Levine
AMC Digital on YouTube
“Most Dangerous Game”
Written by Nick Santora, Josh Harmon, Scott Elder
Quibi
ANIMATION
“A Springfield Summer Christmas For Christmas”
“The Simpsons”
Written by Jessica Conrad
Fox
“Bart The Bad Guy”
“The Simpsons”
Written by Dan Vebber
Fox
“I, Carumbus”
“The Simpsons”
Written by Cesar Mazariegos
Fox
“Prank You for Being A Friend”
“Bob’s Burgers”
Written by Katie Crown
Fox
“Three Dreams Denied”
“The Simpsons”
Written by Danielle Weisberg
Fox
“Xerox of a Xerox”
“BoJack Horseman”
Written by Nick Adams
Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Bad Choice Road”
“Better Call Saul”
Written by Thomas Schnauz
AMC
“Fire Pink”
“Ozark”
Written by Miki Johnson
Netflix
“JMM”
“Better Call Saul”
Written by Alison Tatlock
AMC
“Raised by Wolves”
“Raised by Wolves”
Written by Aaron Guzikowski
HBO Max
“Something Unforgivable”
“Better Call Saul”
Written by Peter Gould & Ariel Levine
AMC
“Trouble Don’t Last Always”
“Euphoria”
Written by Sam Levinson
HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Grandma & Chill”
“Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens”
Written by Kyle Lau
Comedy Central
“The Great”
“The Great”
Written by Tony McNamara
Hulu
“It’s Not You, It’s Me”
“Dead To Me”
Written by Liz Feldman & Kelly Hutchinson
Netflix
“Pilot”
“Ted Lasso”
Teleplay by Jason Sudeikis & Bill Lawrence
Story by Jason Sudeikis & Bill Lawrence & Brendan Hunt & Joe Kelly
Apple TV+
“The Tank”
“Grace & Frankie”
Written by Alex Kavallierou
Netflix
“Trick”
“High Maintenance”
Written by Isaac Oliver
HBO
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
“Desus & Mero”
Writers: Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Josh Gondelman, Robert Kornhauser, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Heben Nigatu, Mike Pielocik, Julia Young
Showtime
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”
Writers: Kristen Bartlett, Samantha Bee, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Joe Grossman, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi, Chris Thompson, Holly Walker, Alison Zeidman
Special Materials by: Michael Rhoa
TBS
“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
“Late Night with Seth Meyers”
Head Writer: Alex Baze
Writing Supervised by: Seth Reiss
Closer Look Writing Supervised by: Sal Gentile
Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Karen Chee, Bryan Donaldson, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovsky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, John Mulaney, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Jeff Wright
NBC
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
Head Writers: Ariel Dumas, Jay Katsir
Writers: Delmonte Bent, Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Nicole Conlan, Stephen T. Colbert, Paul Dinello, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Michael Cruz Kayne, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Felipe Torres Medina, Opus Moreschi, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux, Steve Waltien
CBS
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
“30 Rock: A One-Time Special”
Written by Tina Fey & Robert Carlock
NBC
“Father of the Bride Part 3 (ish)”
Written by Nancy Meyers
YouTube
“Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand: Building Back America Great Again Better 2020”
Head Writers: Ariel Dumas, Jay Katsir Writers: Delmonte Bent, Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Stephen T. Colbert, Nicole Conlan, Paul Dinello, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Michael Cruz Kayne, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Felipe Torres Medina, Opus Moreschi, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux, Steve Waltien
Showtime
“Yearly Departed”
Head Writer: Bess Kalb Writers: Karen Chee, Akilah Green, Franchesca Ramsey, Jocelyn Richard
Amazon Studios
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
“At Home with Amy Sedaris”
Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Cole Escola, Peter Grosz, Amy Sedaris
truTV
“How To with John Wilson”
Writers: Alice Gregory, Michael Koman, John Wilson
HBO
“The Amber Ruffin Show”
Head Writer: Jenny Hage
Writers: Demi Adejuyigbe, Shantira Jackson, Dewayne Perkins, Amber Ruffin
Additional Material by John Lutz
Peacock Originals
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
“Hollywood Game Night”
Head Writers: Ann Slichter, Grant Taylor
Writers: Michael Agbabian, Allie Kokesh, Dwight D. Smith
NBC
“Jeopardy!”
Writers: Matthew Caruso, John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Mike Richards, Billy Wisse
ABC
“Weakest Link”
Head Writer: Ann Slichter
Writers: Chip Dornell, Paul Greenberg, Joyce Ikemi, Stuart Krasnow, Jon Macks, Mona Mira, Scott Saltzburg, Aaron Solomon, Chris Sturgeon, Grant Taylor
NBC
“Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”
Head Writer: Bobby Patton Writers: Alan Bailey, Josh Halloway, Seth Harrington, Shawn Kennedy
Disney/ABC Syndication
DAYTIME DRAMA
“Days of Our Lives”
Head Writer: Ron Carlivati
Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, David Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock, Elizabeth Snyder
NBC
“General Hospital”
Head Writers: Dan O’Connor, Christopher Van Etten
Associate Head Writer: Anna Theresa Cascio
Writers: Barbara Bloom, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, David Rupel, Lisa Seidman, Donny Sheldon, Scott Sickles
ABC
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“Countdown”
“The Astronauts”
Written by Dan Knauf
Nickelodeon
“Mo Willems And The Storytime All Stars Present: Don’t Let The Pigeon Do Storytime”
Written by Mo Willems
Based on the children’s books and published by Hyperion: Leonard the Terrible Monster; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale; A Busy Creature’s Day Eating!; Elephant and Piggy’s Waiting is Not Easy!; and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
HBO Max
“The Not Too Late Show with Elmo”
Writers: Geri Cole, Scott Gray, Benjamin Lehmann, Wendy Marston, Andrew Moriarty, Ken Scarborough, Moujan Zolfaghari
HBO Max
“The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special”
Written by Geri Cole
HBO Max
“The Sleepover”
Written by Sarah Rothschild
Netflix
“Speaking of Cancer”
“Alexa & Katie”
Written by Leo Chu & Eric S. Garcia & Julia Miranda
Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Agents of Chaos, Part I”
Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer
HBO Documentary Films
“Agents of Chaos, Part II”
Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer
HBO Documentary Films
“The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden”
“Frontline”
Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser
PBS
“Whose Vote Counts”
“Frontline”
Written by Jelani Cobb, June Cross & Tom Jennings
PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Opioids, Inc”
“Frontline”
Written by Tom Jennings
PBS
“The Poison Squad”
“American Experience”
Written by John Maggio
PBS
“The Violence Paradox”
“NOVA”
Written by Michael Bicks and Anna Lee Strachan
PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
Anger In America”
“World News Tonight with David Muir”
Written by Dave Bloch, David Muir, Karen Mooney, David Schoetz
ABC News
“Critical Condition”
“60 Minutes”
Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young
CBS News
“Gale Sayers Obit“
Written by Joe McLaughlin
WCBS-TV
“The Wild West of Covid Testing“
“60 Minutes”
Written by Sharyn Alfonsi, Oriana Zill de Granados, Emily Gordon
CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Exhume the Truth”
“60 Minutes”
Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Joe Schanzer, Nicole Young
CBS News
“Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming“
Written by Dave Bloch
ABC News
“The African Basketball Trail”
“60 Minutes”
Written by Oriana Zill de Granados, Emily Gordon
CBS News
DIGITAL NEWS
“Pornhub Doesn’t Care”
Written by Samantha Cole and Emanuel Maiberg
Vice.com
“This Week Has Happened Before”
Written by Julia Craven
Slate.com
“The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd”
Written by Aymann Ismail
Slate.com
“Why Did the Government Separate This Family?”
Written by Jeremy Stahl
Slate.com
RADIO/AUDIO
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“CBS News on the Hour with Norah O’Donnell, March 10, 2020”
Written by James Hutton
CBS New Radio
“Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference“
Written by Gail Lee
CBS News Radio
“World News This Week, November 13, 2020”
Written by Joan Harris
ABC News Radio/WNTW Podcasts
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT — ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Instrument of Hope”
Written by Christopher Barry
ABC News Audio
“Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett”
“Slow Burn”
Written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson
Slate Podcasts
“The Gist: Spiel, April 3, 2020”
Written by Mike Pesca
Slate Podcasts
PROMOTIONAL WRITING
ON AIR PROMOTION
“Can You See It?”
Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla
Facebook
“Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves”
Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
“Launch Trailers”
Written by Molly Neylan
CBS All Access
