Writers Guild of America Awards 2021: ‘Borat’ and ‘Promising Young Woman’ take top honors
“Promising Young Woman” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” led the way at the 73rd annual Writers Guild of America Awards on Sunday.
With the Oscars next month, these films are already standing out among the rest. When it came to television, Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” took the award for top comedy series and best new series.
See below for a full list of winners.
Original Screenplay
“Promising Young Woman,” written by Emerald Fennell; Focus Features. *Winner
“Judas and the Black Messiah,” screenplay by Will Berson and Shaka King, story by Will Berson and Shaka King and Kenny Lucas and Keith Lucas; Warner Bros.
“Palm Springs,” screenplay by Andy Siara, story by Andy Siara and Max Barbakow; Hulu.
“Sound of Metal,” screenplay by Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, story by Darius Marder and 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 and Anthony Hines and Dan Swimer and Peter Baynham and Erica Rivinoja and Dan Mazer and Jena Friedman and Lee Kern, story by Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Dan Swimer and 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 of the same name by Kemp Powers; Amazon Studios.
“The White Tiger,” screenplay by Ramin Bahrani, based on the book 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 and Patrick Kopka and Kara Holden, based on the book “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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and Kelly Hutchinson; Netflix.
“Pilot” (Ted Lasso), teleplay by Jason Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence, story by Jason Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence and Brendan Hunt and Joe Kelly; Apple TV+.
“The Tank” (Grace and Frankie), written by Alex Kavallierou; Netflix
“Trick” (High Maintenance), written by Isaac Oliver; HBO.
Comedy/Variety Talk Series
“Desus and 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 and “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 and 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.
