Writers Guild Awards 2021 Winners Include ‘Promising Young Woman’, ‘Ted Lasso’, ‘Borat 2’, And More
The winners of theWriters Guild of America Awardsfor 2021 were announced over the weekend, and the line-up includes several titles that have become awards season mainstays at this point – we’re talkingPromising Young Woman,Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,The Crown, and everyone’s new favorite,TedLasso.Other winners include the quiz showWeakest Link, which is somehow still on the air,Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020, and Netflix’sThe Queen’s Gambit.
I guess I’ll continue to bang this drum all awards season, but doesBorat Subsequent Moviefilmreally deserve writing awards? I guess it does, because it keeps winning them! I just find that rather odd since so much of the film is improvised. But hey, good for thetencreditedBoratwriters who took home a WGA award for adapted screenplay over the weekend. Meanwhile, one of the biggest awards season winners continues to bePromising Young Woman, which has several Oscar nominations and took home the prize for original screenplay at the Writers Guild Awards 2021. Then there’sThe Dissident, a documentary that’s been curiously absent from awards season even though it deserves more attention, which took home an award for documentary screenplay. And it’s worth noting that the now-defunct Quibi scored a win too, for#FREERAYSHAWN.
The full list of winners for the Writers Guild Awards 2021 is below.
Film Winners
Original Screenplay:Promising Young Woman, Written byEmerald Fennell; Focus Features
Adapted Screenplay:Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Screenplay bySacha 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
Documentary Screenplay:The Dissident, Written byMark MonroeandBryan Fogel; Briarcliff Entertainment
Television and New Media Winners
Drama Series:The Crown, Written byPeter Morgan,Jonathan Wilson; Netflix
Comedy Series:Ted Lasso, Written byJane Becker,Leann Bowen,Brett Goldstein,Brendan Hunt,Joe Kelly,Bill Lawrence,Jamie Lee,Jason Sudeikis,Phoebe Walsh,Bill Wrubel; Apple TV+
New Series:Ted Lasso, Written byJane Becker,Leann Bowen,Brett Goldstein,Brendan Hunt,Joe Kelly,Bill Lawrence,Jamie Lee,Jason Sudeikis,Phoebe Walsh,Bill Wrubel; Apple TV+
Original Long Form:Mrs. America, Written byTanya Barfield,Joshua Griffith,Sharon Hoffman,Boo Killebrew,Micah Schraft,April Shih,Dahvi Waller; FX Networks
Adapted Long Form:The Queen’s Gambit, Written byScott Frank,Allan Scott, Based on the novel byWalter Tevis; Netflix
Original & Adapted Short Form New Media:#FREERAYSHAWN, Written byMarc Maurino; Quibi
Animation: “Xerox of a Xerox” (BoJack Horseman), Written byNick Adams; Netflix
Episodic Drama: “Fire Pink” (Ozark) Written byMiki Johnson; Netflix
Episodic Comedy: “The Great” (The Great), Written byTony McNamara; Hulu
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
Comedy/Variety Specials:Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand: Building Back America Great Again Better 2020, Head WritersAriel 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
Comedy/Variety Sketch Series:At Home with Amy Sedaris, Writers:Jeremy Beiler,Cole Escola,Peter Grosz,Amy Sedaris; truTV
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
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
Children’s Episodic, Long Form and Specials: “The Sleepover,” Written bySarah Rothschild.; Netflix
Documentary Script – Current Events: “Agents of Chaos, Part I,” Written byAlex Gibney&Michael J. Palmer; HBO Documentary Films
Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events: “Opioids, Inc” (Frontline), Written byTom Jennings; PBS
News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report: “Anger in America” (World News Tonight with David Muir), Written byDave Bloch,David Muir,Karen Mooney,David Schoetz; ABC News
News Script – Analysis, Feature, or Commentary: “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming,” Written byDave Bloch; ABC News
Digital News: “The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd,” Written byAymann Ismail, Slate.com
Radio/Audio Winners
Radio/Audio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report: “Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference,” Written byGail Lee; CBS News Radio
Radio/Audio News Script – Analysis, Feature, or Commentary: “Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett,” Written byJoel Anderson,Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts
Promotional Winner
On-Air Promotion: “Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves,” Written byMeghana ReddyandAngad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
