Winners of the 2018 Writers Guild of America Awards were revealed on Feb. 11 in ceremonies held simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York. As only screenplays written under the guild’s guidelines or those of several international partners are eligible for consideration, these kudos, which are celebrating their 70th anniversary, have not been the most reliable barometer of the Oscars.
Indeed, one of this year’s leading contenders for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars — Martin McDonagh for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” — was ruled out of the running by the guild. However, that WGA race does include four of the other Academy Awards nominees — “The Big Sick,” “Get Out,” “Lady Bird” and “The Shape of Water.” It is rounded out by “I, Tonya.” Jordan Peele won for “Get Out” edging out Greta Gerwig, who had been predicted to win for “Lady Bird.”
All five of the Oscar contenders for Best Adapted Screenplay — “Call Me by Your Name,” “The Disaster Artist,” “Logan,” “Molly’s Game” and “Mudbound” — are also vying for the equivalent WGA Award: James Ivory, who won here for his adaptation of Andre Aciman.’s novel “Call Me by Your Name,” is the overwhelming favorite at the Oscars as well.
On the television side, Hulu’s “The Handmaids Tale” won both the drama and new series award. while AMC’s “Better Call Saul” claimed the individual drama episode award. “Veep” won best comedy for the third time in five years.
David E. Kelly took home his first competitive WGA Award with his long-form adaptation of HBO’s “Big Little Lies” while Lifetime’s “Flint” pulled off a shocker in long-form original with its win over “Feud.”
NBC had a good night as the reboot of “Will & Grace” claiming the individual comedy episode category while “Saturday Night Live” repeated in the variety sketch race and “Hollywood Game Night” won the quiz show prize again.
Other encore winners include: Netflix’s “Bojack Jackman” (Animation), ABC’s “General Hospital” (Daytime Drama) and HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (Variety Talk).
DISCUSS All the Oscar contenders with Hollywood insiders in our notorious forums
FILM
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Big Sick”
Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
X – “Get Out”
Written by Jordan Peele
“I, Tonya”
Written by Steven Rogers
“Lady Bird”
Written by Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water”
Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor; Story by Guillermo del Toro
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
X – “Call Me by Your Name”
Screenplay by James Ivory
Based on the Novel by André Aciman
“The Disaster Artist”
Screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Based on the Book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell
“Logan”
Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold;
Based on Characters from the X-Men Comic Books and Theatrical Motion Pictures
“Molly’s Game”
Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Based on the Book by Molly Bloom
“Mudbound”
Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees;
Based on the Novel by Hillary Jordan
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
“Betting on Zero”
Written by Theodore Braun
X – “Jane”
Written by Brett Morgen
“No Stone Unturned”
Written by Alex Gibney
“Oklahoma City”
Written by Barak Goodman
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
TELEVISION
DRAMA SERIES
The Americans
Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson
Better Call Saul
Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Glatzer, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith
Game of Thrones
David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D.B. Weiss
X – The Handmaid’s Tale
Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman
Stranger Things
Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock
EPISODIC DRAMA
“The Book of Nora” (The Leftovers), Teleplay by Tom Perrotta & Damon Lindelof, Story by Tom Spezialy & Damon Lindelof
X – “Chicanery” (Better Call Saul), Written by Gordon Smith
“The Heart Attack is the Best Way” (Good Behavior), Written by Chad Hodge
“Homecoming” (The OA), Written by Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij
“Slip” (Better Call Saul), Written by Heather Marion
“The Soviet Decision” (The Americans), Written by Joe Weisberg & Joel Fields
COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David, Jon Hayman, Justin Hurwitz, Jeff Schaffer
GLOW
Kristoffer Diaz, Liz Flahive, Tara Herrmann, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Carly Mensch, Emma Rathbone, Sascha Rothchild, Rachel Shukert
Master of None
Aziz Ansari, Andrew Blitz, Zoe Jarman, Cord Jefferson, Sarah Peters, Sarah Schneider, Michael Schur, Leila Strachan, Gene Stupnitsky, Lakshmi Sundaram, Lena Waithe, Jason Woliner, Alan Yang
Silicon Valley
Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver; Aaron Zelman
X – Veep
Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, Dave Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson
EPISODIC COMEDY
“The Burglary” (Grace and Frankie), Brendan McCarthy & David Budin
“Intervention” (The Carmichael Show), Willie Hunter
“Judge” (Veep), Ted Cohen
X – “Rosario’s Quinceanera” (Will & Grace),Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally
“The Verdict” (Trial & Error), Jeff Astrof
NEW SERIES
American Vandal
Seth Cohen, Lauren Herstik, Dan Lagana, Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, Jessica Meyer, Dan Perrault, Amy Pocha, Mike Rosolio, Tony Yacenda
The Deuce
Megan Abbott, Marc Henry Johnson, Lisa Lutz, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, Will Ralston, David Simon, Chris Yakaitis
GLOW
Kristoffer Diaz, Liz Flahive, Tara Herrmann, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Carly Mensch, Emma Rathbone, Sascha Rothchild, Rachel Shukert
X – The Handmaid’s Tale
Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman
Ozark
Whit Anderson, Bill Dubuque, Ryan Farley, Alyson Feltes, Paul Kolsby, David Manson, Chris Mundy, Mark Williams, Ning Zhou, Martin Zimmerman
LONG FORM ORIGINAL
American Horror Story: Cult
Brad Falchuk, John J. Gray, Joshua Green, Todd Kubrak, Crystal Liu, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Adam Penn, James Wong
Feud: Bette and Joan
Jaffe Cohen, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Gina Welch, Michael Zam
X – Flint
Barbara Stepansky
Godless
Scott Frank
Manhunt: Unabomber
Jim Clemente, Tony Gittelson, Max Hurwitz, Steven Katz, Nick Schenk, Andrew Sodroski, Nick Towne
LONG FORM ADAPTED
X – Big Little Lies, Teleplay by David E. Kelley, Based on the Novel by Liane Moriarty
Fargo, Written by Monica Beletsky, Bob DeLauren, Noah Hawley, Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Based on the film Fargo
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Teleplay by Peter Landesman and Alexander Woo and George C. Wolfe, Based on the book written by Rebecca Skloot
The Wizard of Lies, Teleplay by Sam Levinson and John Burnham Schwartz and Samuel Baum, Based on the Book Written by Diane B. Henriques and Truth and Consequences by Laurie Sandell
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Conan
Head Writer: Matt O’Brien, Writers: Jose Arroyo, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Leah Krinsky, Stephen Kutner, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Paul Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Writers: Samantha Bee, Ashley Nicole Black, Pat Cassels, Eric Drysdale, Mathan Erhardt, Travon Free, Joe Grossman, Jo Miller, Jason Reich, Melinda Taub
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Writers: Jimmy Kimmel, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Gonzalo Cordova, Devin Field, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jesse Joyce, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, CeCe Pleasants, Danny Ricker, Joe Strazzullo
X – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Writers: Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner, Ben Silva, Seena Vali
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovsky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit
Real Time with Bill Maher
Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Bob Oschack, Danny Vermont
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Kashana Cauley, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Trevor Noah, Joseph Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parsons, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver-Means, Michelle Wolf
The Jim Jefferies Show
Head Writer: Jason Reich, Writers: Jim Jefferies, Subhah Agarwal, Kevin Avery, Curtis Cook, Lucas Kavner, Matt Kirshen, Bryan Olsen, Laura Willcox, JJ Whitehead, Scott Y. Zabielski; Comedy Central
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Nathan For You
Writers: Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Michael Koman, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola
Portlandia
Writers: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Karen Kilgariff, Jonathan Krisel, Graham Wagner
X – Saturday Night Live
Head Writers: Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Bryan Tucker, Writers: James Anderson, Kristen Bartlett, Jeremy Beiler, Neal Brennan, Zack Bornstein, Joanna Bradley, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Nick Kocher, Michael Koman, Dave McCary, Brian McElhaney, Dennis McNicholas, Drew Michael, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette, Julio Torres
The President Show
Writers: Emily Altman, Anthony Atamanuik, Emmy Blotnick, Neil Casey, Mike Drucker, Noah Garfinkel, John Gemberling, Peter Grosz, Mitra Jouhari, John Knefel, Alison Leiby, Christine Nangle, John Reynolds, Jason Ross, Rae Sanni, Evan Waite
Weekend Update Summer Edition
Writers: Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Dennis McNicholas, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Kent Sublette, Brian Tucker
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
X – 39th Annual Kennedy Center Honors
Dave Boone
89th Annual Academy Awards
Billy Kimball, Jon Macks; Special Material Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Gonzalo Cordova, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Bess Kalb, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Joe Strazzullo
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Diane Keaton
Bob Gazzale, Jon Macks
Michael Bolton’s Big, Sexy, Valentine’s Day Special
Scott Aukerman, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis, Joe Saunders, Akiva Schaffer; Additional Material Written by Zach Kanin, Claudia O’Doherty, Tim Robinson
Nathan For You: A Celebration
Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Michael Koman, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
X – Hollywood Game Night
Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith
Jeopardy!
Written by Matthew Caruso, John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Deborah Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse
DAYTIME DRAMA
X – General Hospital
Head Writers: Shelly Altman, Jean Passanante; Writers: Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Christopher Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell
Days of Our Lives
Writers: Ron Carlivati, Sheri Anderson, Lorraine Broderick, David Cherrill, Lisa Connor, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Cydney Kelley, David Kreizman, David A. Levinson, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Elizabeth Snyder, Tyler Topits
ANIMATION
“Brunchsquatch” (Bob’s Burgers) – Lizzie Molyneux & Wendy Molyneux
“A Father’s Watch” – (The Simpsons) – Simon Rich
“Ruthie” – (BoJack Horseman ) – Joanna Calo
“The Serfsons” – (The Simpsons) – Brian Kelley
X – “Time’s Arrow” – (BoJack Horseman) – Kate Purdy
CHILDRENS
X – “American Girl – Ivy & Julie” – (American Girl) – May Chan
“American Girl – Knowledge is Power” – (American Girl) – Alison McDonald and Caron Tschampion
“Just Add 1965” – (Just Add Magic ) – Lauren Thompson
“Meet Julia” – (Sesame Street) – Belinda Ward
“The Magical Wand Chase: A Sesame Street Special” – Raye Lankford, Jessica Carleton, Ken Scarborough
