The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio, and promotional writing during 2016. Winners will be honored at the 2017 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2017, at concurrent ceremonies in New York City and Los Angeles.
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA NOMINEES
DRAMA SERIES
The Americans, Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX
Better Call Saul, Written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Glatzer, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith; AMC
Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D.B. Weiss; HBO
Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix
Westworld, Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter; Dan Dietz, Halley Gross; Lisa Joy; Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO
COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
Silicon Valley, Written by Megan Amram, Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Ron Weiner; HBO
Transparent, Written by Arabella Anderson, Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Jessi Klein, Stephanie Kornick, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Our Lady J, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Studios
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Written by Emily Altman, Robert Carlock, Azie Mira Dungey, Tina Fey, Lauren Gurganous, Sam Means, Dylan Morgan, Marlena Rodriguez, Dan Rubin, Meredith Scardino, Josh Siegal, Allison Silverman, Leila Strachan; Netflix
Veep, Written by Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Eric Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, David Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson; HBO
NEW SERIES
Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
Better Things, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Cindy Chupack, Gina Fattore; FX
Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix
This Is Us, Written by Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, Bekah Brunstetter, Dan Fogelman, Vera Herbert, Joe Lawson, Kay Oyegun, Aurin Squire, K.J. Steinberg, Donald Todd; NBC
Westworld, Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO
LONG FORM ORIGINAL
American Crime, Written by Julie Hébert, Sonay Hoffman, Keith Huff, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Kirk A. Moore, Davy Perez, Diana Son; ABC
Confirmation, Written by Susannah Grant; HBO
Harley and the Davidsons, Written by Seth Fisher, Nick Schenk, Evan Wright; Discovery Channel
Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le, Written by Dianne Houston; Lifetime
LONG FORM ADAPTED
11.22.63, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Brigitte Hales, Joe Henderson, Brian Nelson, Quinton Peeples, Based on the novel by Stephen King; Hulu
American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, Written by Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski, Wally Wolodarsky, Based on the book The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin; FX
Madoff, Written by Ben Robbins, Inspired by the Book The Madoff Chronicles: Inside the Secret World of Bernie and Ruth by Brian Ross; ABC
The Night Of, Written by Richard Price, Steve Zaillian, Based on the BBC Series Criminal Justice Created by Peter Moffat; HBO
Roots, Written by Lawrence Konner, Alison McDonald, Charles Murray, Mark Rosenthal, Based upon the Book by Alex Haley; History Channel
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL
“Episode 101” (Now We’re Talking), Written by Tug Coker, Tommy Dewey; go90.com
“Escape the Room” (Life Ends at 30), Written by Michael Field; vimeo.com
“Itsy Bitsy Spider” Episode 1 (Thug Passion), Written by Motrya Tomycz; vimeo.com
“The Party” (The Commute), Written by Linsey Stewart & Dane Clark; youtube.com
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ADAPTED
“Passage” Part 4 (Fear the Walking Dead), Written by Lauren Signorino & Mike Zunic; amc.com
“Under Siege” (The Strain), Written by Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, Based on the novels by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan; fxnetworks.com
ANIMATION
“Barthood” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Greaney; Fox
“First Day of Rule” (Elena of Avalor), Written by Craig Gerber; Disney Channel
“Fish Out of Water” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Elijah Aron & Jordan Young; Netflix
“A Princess on Lothal” (Star Wars Rebels), Written by Steven Melching; Disney XD
“Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Gloves Off” (Better Call Saul), Written by Gordon Smith; AMC
“I Am a Storm” (Shameless), Written by Sheila Callaghan; Showtime
“Klick” (Better Call Saul), Written by Heather Marion & Vince Gilligan; AMC
“Switch” (Better Call Saul), Written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC
“The Trip” (This Is Us), Written by Vera Herbert; NBC
“The Winds of Winter” (Game of Thrones), Written for Television by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Kimmy Finds Her Mom!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Tina Fey & Sam Means; Netflix
“Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix
“Pilot” (One Mississippi), Written by Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; Amazon Studios
“R-A-Y-C-Ray-Cation” (Speechless), Written by Carrie Rosen & Seth Kurland; ABC
“Streets on Lock” (Atlanta), Written by Stephen Glover; FX
“A Taste of Zephyria” (Son of Zorn), Written by Dan Mintz; Fox
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Lauren Sarver Means, Trevor Noah, Joe Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parson, Daniel Radosh, Michelle Wolf; Comedy Central
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO
Late Night with Seth Meyers, Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, Andrew Law, John Lutz, Aparna Nancherla, Chioke Nassor, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Conner O’Malley, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Michelle Wolf; NBC
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Writers: Mike Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack; NBC
COMEDY / VARIETY – SKETCH SERIES
Documentary Now!, Writers: Bill Hader, John Mulaney, Seth Meyers; IFC
Inside Amy Schumer, Writers: Kim Carmele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jessi Klein, Michael Lawrence, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Claudia O’Doherty, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central
Maya and Marty in Manhattan, Head Writers: Mikey Day, Matt Roberts, Bryan Tucker Writers: Eli Bauman, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Hallie Cantor, David Feldman, R J Fried, Melissa Hunter, Paul Masella, Tim McAuliffe, John Mulaney, Diallo Riddle, Maya Rudolph, Bashir Salahuddin, Marika Sawyer, Streeter Seidell, Martin Short; Emily Spivey, Steve Young; NBC
Nathan For You, Written by Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central
Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Fred Armisen, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Jim Downey, Tina Fey, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Paul Masella, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Dave Sirus, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette; NBC
COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS
68th Primetime Emmy Awards, Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Robert Cohen, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Jon Macks, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Jeff Stilson, Joe Strazzullo, Alexis Wilkinson; ABC
73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material Written by Dave Boone, Ricky Gervais, Jon Macks, Matthew Robinson; NBC
88th Annual Academy Awards, Written by Dave Boone, Billy Kimball; Special Material Written by Scott Aukerman, Rodney Barnes, Neil Campbell, Matthew Claybrooks, Lance Crouther, Mike Ferrucci, Langston Kerman, Jon Macks, Steve O’Donnell, Nimesh Patel, Vanessa Ramos, Chris Rock, Frank Sebastiano, Chuck Sklar, Jeff Stilson, Michelle Wolf; CBS
Triumph’s Election Special, Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, Andrew Weinberg; Hulu
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
Jeopardy!, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Deborah Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC
DAYTIME DRAMA
General Hospital, Writers: Shelly Altman, Anna Theresa Cascio, Andrea Archer Compton, Suzanne Flynn, Janet Iacobuzio, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Jean Passanante, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC
CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – EPISODIC AND SPECIALS
“Girl Meets Commonism” (Girl Meets World), Written by Joshua Jacobs & Michael Jacobs; Disney Channel
“Just Add Mom” (Just Add Magic), Written by John-Paul Nickel; Amazon Studios
“Mel vs. The Night Mare of Normal Street” (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street), Written by Laurie Parres; Amazon Studios
“Mucko Polo, Grouch Explorer” (Sesame Street), Written by Belinda Ward; HBO
CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL
Dance Camp, Teleplay by Nick Turner & Rex New and Cameron Fay, Story by Nick Turner & Rex New; youtube.com
Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, Written by Geri Cole & Ken Scarborough; HBO
R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet Of Souls, Written by Billy Brown & Dan Angel; Freeform
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Chasing Heroin” (Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria; PBS
“The Choice 2016” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
“Inside Assad’s Syria” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“American Reds,” Written by Richard Wormser; WPTS Dayton
“Jackie Robinson, Part One,” Written by David McMahon & Sarah Burns; PBS
“Netanyahu at War” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Ambush In Dallas” (World News Tonight With David Muir), Written by David Bloch, Karen Mooney, David Muir, David Schoetz; ABC News
“Brussels Under Attack” (World News Tonight With David Muir), Written by David Bloch, Karen Mooney, David Muir, David Schoetz; ABC News
“Muhammad Ali: Remembering A Legend” (48 Hours), Written by Jerry Cipriano, John Craig Wilson; CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“CBS Sunday Morning Almanac” June 12, 2016 (CBS Sunday Morning), Written by Thomas A. Harris; CBS
RADIO NOMINEES
RADIO DOCUMENTARY
“Chernobyl: 30 Years Later,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio
“Summer of 2016,” Written by David Shapiro; CBS News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT—REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“6:40am News” November 13, 2015, Written by Philip Pilato; CBS Radio Network/1010 WINS
“Legends of the Game,” Written by Thomas A. Sabella; CBS News Radio
“Muhammad Ali: A Tribute to Greatness,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio Network
“World News This Week” August 26, 2016, Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Dishin Digital on WCBS-AM,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBS-AM Radio
“Morley Safer: A Journalist’s Life,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio Network
“Vin Scully”, Written by Jerry Edling; CBS News Radio
“Vin Scully Hangs Up The Mic,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WRITING NOMINEES
ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)
“Big Brother Over The Top Launch & NCIS: Special Agent Tony Dinozzo’s Top Moments,” Written by Erial Tompkins; CBS
“CBS On-Air Reel,” Written by Brian Retchless; CBS On-Air Promotion
“The Dollmaker, Halloween,” Written by Jennifer H. Kaas; NBC
“Limitless Promos 15/16” (CBS), Written by Jessica Katzenstein; CBS On-Air Promotion
“Mom,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS
TELEVISION GRAPHIC ART AND ANIMATION
“The Real History of Cinco de Mayo,” (Gawker Media Group), Graphic Animation by Elisa Solinas
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More