Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) tonight announced the winners of the 2021 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional categories during a first-time-ever joint, virtual ceremony.
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Promising Young Woman, Written by Emerald Fennell; Focus Features
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Screenplay by Sacha 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 by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel; Briarcliff Entertainment
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
The Crown, Written by Peter Morgan, Jonathan Wilson; 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+
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+
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
Mrs. America, Written by Tanya Barfield, Joshua Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi Waller; FX Networks
ADAPTED LONG FORM
The Queen’s Gambit, Written by Scott Frank, Allan Scott, Based on the novel by Walter Tevis; Netflix
ORIGINAL & ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
#FREERAYSHAWN, Written by Marc Maurino; Quibi
ANIMATION
“Xerox of a Xerox” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Nick Adams; Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Fire Pink” (Ozark), Written by Miki Johnson; Netflix
EPISODIC COMEDY
“The Great” (The Great), Written by Tony 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 Writers: Ariel 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 by Sarah Rothschild; Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Agents of Chaos, Part I,” Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer; HBO Documentary Films
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Opioids, Inc” (Frontline), Written by Tom Jennings; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Anger in America” (World News Tonight with David Muir), Written by Dave Bloch, David Muir, Karen Mooney, David Schoetz; ABC News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming,” Written by Dave Bloch; ABC News
DIGITAL NEWS
“The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd,” Written by Aymann Ismail; Slate.com
RADIO/AUDIO WINNERS
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT– REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
"Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett” (Slow Burn) Written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts
PROMOTIONAL WINNER
ON-AIR PROMOTION
“Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves,” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
The 2021 Writers Guild Awards virtual ceremony was hosted by actor-writer-producer Kal Penn (Clarice). Presenters included: Academy Award-nominated and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Academy Award-nominated, WGA-nominated, and Golden Globe-winning writer-actor-producer Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning actress Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), WGAE Walter Bernstein Award for Social Justice recipient and Emmy-nominated writer-correspondent Jelani Cobb (Frontline), Adweek and Streamy Award-winning comedian-writer Sarah Cooper (How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings), Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress and Grammy-nominated singer Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Grammy-winning and NAACP Image Award-nominated actor Daveed Diggs (The Good Lord Bird), Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-nominated writer-producer Ava DuVernay (When They See Us), Primetime Emmy Award-winning and WGA-nominated writer-late night host Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon), Black Reel and NAACP Image Award-nominated actress and playwright Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah), WGA and SAG Award-nominated writer-actor Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), WGA-winning and Primetime Emmy-nominated writer-actor Ryan O’Connell (Special), Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami), Primetime Emmy and WGA-nominated writer-late night host Amber Ruffin (The Amber Ruffin Show), Daytime Emmy-nominated and People’s Choice Award-winning writer-late night host Lilly Singh (A Little Late with Lilly Singh), and Daytime Emmy Award-nominated writer-podcaster Baratunde Thurston (How to be with Baratunde).
In addition, Will Berson & Shaka King and Keith Lucas & Kenny Lucas received WGAW’s Paul Selvin Award for Judas and the Black Messiah (Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas; Warner Bros). The Selvin Award is given to the script that best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.
*Writers Guild Awards show clip use for media rebroadcast is limited to a total of ten minutes maximum length.
- 2021 WGA show highlights on WGAE’s YouTube Channel.
- 2021 WGA show highlights on WGAW’s YouTube Channel.
The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, news, radio, and promotional categories. The 2021 Writers Guild Awards (73rd Annual) were presented during a virtual ceremony on Sunday, March 21, 2021.
For more information about the 2021 Writers Guild Awards, please visit: awards.wga.org or wgaeast.org/awards.
The 2021 Writers Guild Awards team this year includes Co-Executive Producers Bonnie Datt and Karen Harris, Associate Producer Shannon Walker, and Head Writer Ann Cohen, along with Writers Bill Scheft, Don Hooper, Timothy Michael Cooper, Shelly Goldstein, Zoe Marshall, Andrea Whipple, and Kaja Martin. Directed by Heather Arnson, The Writers Guild Awards 2021 is Executive Produced by Broadway Virtual. Spearheaded by Executive Producer Jim Kierstead and Creative Director Heather Arnson, Broadway Virtual is an all-inclusive one-stop-shop for virtual production, direction, design, management, and promotion to effectively create quality virtual programming that elevates quality and exceeds expectations. The company’s Technical Director, Asad Javed, and Production Manager, Claudia Marino round out the core team. Graphic design, branding, and social media promotion is provided by Rachel | Media.
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America West, visit www.wga.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org.
