In what surely will help both films Oscar chances, Promising Young Woman and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm topped the 2021 Writers Guild Awards, winning best original and adapted screenplay, respectively.
Accepting the award for adapted screenplay, Borat‘s Sacha Baron Cohen commented on the running joking regarding the large size of the films many nominees,
“I can’t help but think that we won it because 60 percent of the Writers Guild worked on this movie.”
Promising Young Woman writer-director Emerald Fennell said in her speech,
“I wish I could be in the room and see everyone in person. As it is, I will say thank from my bleak writers room in England.”
Promising Young Woman and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm are nominated in the original and adapted screenplay categories, respectively, for the 2021 Oscars.
A complete list of this year’s winners follows.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Promising Young Woman, Written by Emerald Fennell; Focus Features (WINNER)
Judas and the Black Messiah, Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas; Warner Bros.
Palm Springs, Screenplay by Andy Siara, Story by Andy Siara & Max Barbakow; Hulu
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 (WINNER)
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
The Dissident, Written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel; Briarcliff Entertainment (WINNER)
All In: The Fight for Democracy, Written by Jack Youngelson; Amazon Studios
Herb Alpert Is…, Written by John Scheinfeld; Abramorama
Red Penguins, Written by Gabe Polsky; Universal Pictures
Totally Under Control, Written by Alex Gibney; Neon
DRAMA SERIES
The Crown, Written by Peter Morgan, Jonathan Wilson; Netflix (WINNER)
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 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
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+ (WINNER)
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
What We Do in the Shadows, Written by Jake Bender, Jemaine Clement, Zach Dunn, Joseph Furey, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms; FX Networks
NEW SERIES
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+ (WINNER)
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
Lovecraft Country, Written by Misha Green, Shannon Houston, Jonathan Kidd, Kevin Lau, Ihuoma Ofordire, Wes Taylor, Sonya Winton; HBO
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
Mrs. America, Written by Tanya Barfield, Joshua Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi Waller; FX Networks (WINNER)
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
Safety, Written by Nick Santora; Disney+
Uncle Frank, Written by Alan Ball; Amazon Studios
ADAPTED LONG FORM
The Queen’s Gambit, Written by Scott Frank, Allan Scott, Based on the novel by Walter Tevis; Netflix (WINNER)
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
ORIGINAL & ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
#FREERAYSHAWN, Written by Marc Maurino; Quibi (WINNER)
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, Story by Josh Harmon and Scott Elder; Quibi
* Per Writers Guild Awards submission rules, if there are insufficient entries in any category, those entries may be placed in another category.
ANIMATION
“Xerox of a Xerox” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Nick Adams; Netflix (WINNER)
“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
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Fire Pink” (Ozark), Written by Miki Johnson; Netflix (WINNER)
“Bad Choice Road” (Better Call Saul), Written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC
“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
“The Great” (The Great), Written by Tony McNamara; Hulu (WINNER)
“Grandma & Chill” (Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens), Written by Kyle Lau; Comedy Central
“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 (WINNER)
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; 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
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 (WINNER)
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
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 (WINNER)
How To With John Wilson, Writers: Michael Koman, John Wilson; HBO
The Amber Ruffin Show, Head Writer: Jenny Hagel Writers: Demi Adejuyigbe, Shantira Jackson, Dewayne Perkins, Amber Ruffin Additional Material by John Lutz; Peacock Originals
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
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 (WINNER)
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, Billy Wisse; ABC
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Celebrity Season, 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 (WINNER)
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
The Sleepover, Written by Sarah Rothschild; Netflix (WINNER)
“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
“Speaking of Cancer” (Alexa & Katie), Written by Leo Chu & Eric S. Garcia & Julia Miranda; Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Agents of Chaos, Part II,” Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer; HBO Documentary Films (WINNER)
“Agents of Chaos, Part I,” 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 (WINNER)
“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 (WINNER)
“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; CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming,” Written by Dave Bloch; ABC News (WINNER)
“Exhume the Truth” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News
“The African Basketball Trail” (60 Minutes), Written by Oriana Zill de Granados; CBS News
DIGITAL NEWS
“The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd,” Written by Aymann Ismail; Slate.com (WINNER)
“Pornhub Doesn’t Care,” Written by Samantha Cole and Emanuel Maiberg; Vice.com
“This Week Has Happened Before,” Written by Julia Craven; Slate.com
“Why Did the Government Separate This Family?” Written by Jeremy Stahl; Slate.com
RADIO/AUDIO NOMINEES
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio (WINNER)
“CBS News on the Hour with Norah O’Donnell, March 10, 2020,” Written by James Hutton; CBS New 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
“Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett” (Slow Burn) Written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts (WINNER)
“Instrument of Hope,” Written by Christopher Barry; ABC News Audio
“The Gist: Spiel, April 3, 2020,” Written by Mike Pesca; Slate Podcasts
PROMOTIONAL WRITING NOMINEES
ON AIR PROMOTION
“Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves,” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube (WINNER)
“Can You See It?” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook
“Launch Trailers,” Written by Molly Neylan; CBS All Access
