DGA Nominees Unveiled For TV Movies & Ltd Series, Documentary, Variety/Talk/News/Sports Programs, Kids Shows
Jharrel Jerome in "When They See Us," the limited series which has earned Ava DuVernay a DGA Award nomination (photo by Atsushi Nishijima/courtesy of Netflix)
Comedy Series, Dramatic Series, Variety/Talk/News Specials nominations won’t be announced until Friday due to a re-vote
  • LOS ANGELES
  • --

The Directors Guild of America has announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series; Variety/Talk/News/Sports–-Regularly Scheduled Programming; Reality Programs; Children’s Programs; Commercials; and Documentary for 2019.

Among the highlights is the field of nominees in the Movies for TV and Limited Series category, which consists of Ava DuVernay for When They See Us (Netflix), Vince Gilligan for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix), Johan Renck for Chernobyl (HBO), and three directors for respective episodes of Fosse/Verdon (FX Networks)--Thomas Kail for “Nowadays,” Minkie Spiro for “All I Care About Is Love,” and Jessica Yu for the “Glory” episode.”

Nominated in the Documentary competition are Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert for American Factory (Netflix), Feras Fayyad for The Cave (National Geographic Documentary Films), Alex Holmes for Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics), Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska for Honeyland (Neon), and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang for One Child Nation (Amazon Studios).

The nominees for Best Commercial Director were also announced (see rundown below as well as separate story here).

The winners will be revealed and honored at the 72nd Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, January 25, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

Nomination announcements for the Comedy Series, Dramatic Series and Variety/Talk/News/Sports--Specials categories will be announced on Friday, January 10, due to a re-vote related to a newly implemented electronic entry submissions process.

Nomination announcements for the Theatrical Feature Film and First-Time Feature Film will be announced on Tuesday, January 7.

Here’s a category-by-category rundown of the DGA Award nominees unveiled today:

MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series for 2019 are (in alphabetical order):

AVA DuVERNAY
When They See Us
(Netflix)
Ms. DuVernay’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: John P. Fedynich, Amy Kaufman
First Assistant Director: H.H. Cooper
Second Assistant Director: Jamiyl Campbell
Second Second Assistant Director: Amrita Kundu
Additional Second Assistant Director: Kyler Griffin
Location Manager: Charlynne J. Hopson

VINCE GILLIGAN
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
(Netflix)
Mr. Gilligan’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Robin Le Chanu, Charles Newirth
First Assistant Director: John Wildermuth
Second Assistant Director: Katy Galow
Second Second Assistant Director: Nathan E. Davis
Additional Second Assistant Directors: Melissa Bosco-Laude, Chad Goyette

THOMAS KAIL
Fosse/Verdon, “Nowadays”
(FX Networks)
Mr. Kail’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Erica Kay
First Assistant Director: Deanna Leslie Kelly
Second Assistant Director: Brad Robinson
Second Second Assistant Directors: Billy Brennan, Findlay Zotter
Location Manager: Ryan Smith

JOHAN RENCK
Chernobyl
(HBO)

MINKIE SPIRO
Fosse/Verdon, “All I Care About Is Love”
(FX Networks)
Ms. Spiro’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Erica Kay
First Assistant Director: Marcos González Palma
Second Assistant Director: Steven Lafferty
Second Second Assistant Directors: Billy Brennan, Findlay Zotter
Location Manager: Ryan Smith

JESSICA YU
Fosse/Verdon, “Glory”
(FX Networks)
Ms. Yu’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Erica Kay
First Assistant Director: Deanna Leslie Kelly
Second Assistant Director: Brad Robinson
Second Second Assistant Directors: Billy Brennan, Findlay Zotter
Location Manager: Ryan Smith

VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming for 2019 are (in alphabetical order):

PAUL G. CASEY
Real Time With Bill Maher, “1730”
(HBO)
Mr. Casey’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Stacy Talbot
Stage Managers: Patrick Whitney, Brian Anderson

NORA S. GERARD
CBS Sunday Morning, “40th Anniversary”
(CBS)
Ms. Gerard’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Jessica Frank, Kate D’Arcy Coleman, Patricia Long Finnegan, Jyll
Phillips-Friedman, Catherine Liberatore Kay
Stage Managers: Mark Dicso, Brian McGuire

JIM HOSKINSON
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “A. Ocasio-Cortez; Incubus”
(CBS)
Mr. Hoskinson’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Yvonne De Mare, Karen Yaeger
Stage Managers: Mark McKenna, Jeff Leib

DON ROY KING
Saturday Night Live, “E. Murphy; Lizzo”
(NBC)
Mr. King’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Michael Mancini, Mike Poole
Stage Managers: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly

PAUL PENNOLINO, CHRISTOPHER WERNER
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, “SLAPP Suits”
(HBO)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Elliot Mendelson
Stage Managers: Mark McKenna, Craig Spinney, John Scott Wilson

REALITY PROGRAMS

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs for 2019 are (in alphabetical order):

HISHAM ABED
Queer Eye, “Black Girl Magic”
(Netflix)

JASON COHEN
Encore!, “Annie”
(Disney+)
Mr. Cohen’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Daniel Shultz

JON FAVREAU
The Chef Show, “Hog Island”
(Netflix)
Mr. Favreau’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Annie Johnson

ASHLEY S. GORMAN
First Responders Live, “103”
(FOX)
Mr. Gorman’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Jamie Marshall Bennett, Don Frillici, Ryan Neary
Stage Manager: Roy Friedland

PATRICK McMANUS
American Ninja Warrior, “1116 Las Vegas National Finals Night 4”
(NBC)
Mr. McManus’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: David Massey, Sean Galvin
Stage Managers: Joseph R. Osborne, Wolfgang Delgado

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs for 2019 are (in alphabetical order):

DEAN ISRAELITE
Are You Afraid of the Dark?, “Part One: Submitted for Your Approval”
(Nickelodeon)
Mr. Israelite’s Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Pete Whyte

JACK JAMESON
Sesame Street’s 50th Anniversary Special
(HBO Documentary Films)
Mr. Jameson’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Yori Tondrowski, Ken Diego
Stage Managers: Frank Campagna, Phyllis Digilio-Kent, Shawn Havens

LUKE MATHENY
Ghostwriter, “Ghost in Wonderland, Part 1”
(Apple TV+)

AMY SCHATZ
Song of Parkland
(HBO Documentary Films)

BARRY SONNENFELD
A Series of Unfortunate Events, “Penultimate Peril: Part 1”
(Netflix)

COMMERCIALS

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for 2019 are (in alphabetical order):

FREDRIK BOND
(MJZ)
Lighter Than Air, HP Elite Dragonfly - Media Monks
Unit Production Manager: Line Postmyr
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn

Take it Lightly, Coca-Cola Light - Ingo

Nap, iPhone - Apple
Unit Production Manager: Line Postmyr
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Heather Anderson

SPIKE JONZE
(MJZ)
Dream It, Squarespace – Squarespace
First Assistant Director: Thomas Smith

The New Normal, Medmen – Mekanism
First Assistant Director: Thomas Smith
Second Assistant Directors: David Marnell, Jeff Tavani

MARK MOLLOY
(Smuggler)
Underdogs, Apple – Apple

RIDLEY SCOTT
(RSA Films)
The Seven Worlds, Hennessy X.O. - DDB Paris

DOUGAL WILSON
(Furlined)
Train, AT&T - BBDO NY
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Aaron Fitzgerald

DOCUMENTARY

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2019 are (in alphabetical order):

STEVEN BOGNAR and JULIA REICHERT
American Factory
(Netflix)

FERAS FAYYAD
The Cave
(National Geographic Documentary Films)

ALEX HOLMES
Maiden
(Sony Picture Classics)

LJUBOMIR STEFANOV & TAMARA KOTEVSKA
Honeyland
(Neon)

NANFU WANG and JIALING ZHANG
One Child Nation
(Amazon Studios)

Category: 

MySHOOT Company Profiles