Quendrith Johnson

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by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

While it is the longest-ever Award Season, with delays and reschedules during these trying times, there are still some surprises to behold on the Award Show front. CODA, about a 17 year old named Ruby in a coastal Massachusetts town who is the only "hearing" member of her family, has truly become a darling of 2022 with a another big win tonight at the 74th Writers Guild Awards.(Last night's PGA Awards named this charmer Best Picture.) Even more of a surprise from the WGA was DON'T LOOK UP in the Original Screenplay category against a tough field. 

We saved you a seat at the show, and here's a recap from Screenmancer in LA...

NEWS: Adam McKay and Siân Heder took home top prizes when the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2022 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional categories during a joint, virtual ceremony tonight. Ashley Nicole Black opened the ceremony, and there were delights all around, indicated by the final list below, as the finest writing of the year was feted.

Host Ashley Nicole Black Show Opener

FILM WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Don’t Look Up, Screenplay by Adam McKay, Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota; Netflix

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

CODA, Screenplay by Siân Heder, Based on the Original Motion Picture La Famille Belier Directed by Eric Lartigau, Written by Victoria Bedos, Stanislas Carree de Malberg, Eric Lartigau and Thomas Bidegain; Apple

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Exposing Muybridge, Written by Marc Shaffer; Inside Out Media

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS

DRAMA SERIES

Succession, Written by Jesse Armstrong, Jon Brown, Jamie Carragher, Ted Cohen, Francesca Gardiner, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Tony Roche, Susan Soon He Stanton, Will Tracy; HBO/HBO Max

COMEDY SERIES

Hacks, Written by Genevieve Aniello, Lucia Aniello, Joanna Calo, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Jess Dweck, Cole Escola, Janis Hirsch, Ariel Karlin, Katherine Kearns, Andrew Law, Joe Mande, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Michael Schur, Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max

NEW SERIES

Hacks, Written by Genevieve Aniello, Lucia Aniello, Joanna Calo, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Jess Dweck, Cole Escola, Janis Hirsch, Ariel Karlin, Katherine Kearns, Andrew Law, Joe Mande, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Michael Schur, Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max

ORIGINAL LONG FORM

Mare of Easttown, Written by Brad Ingelsby; HBO/HBO Max

ADAPTED LONG FORM

Maid, Written by Bekah Brunstetter, Marcus Gardley, Michelle Denise Jackson, Colin McKenna, Molly Smith Metzler, Inspired by the book by Stephanie Land; Netflix

ORIGINAL & ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA

Debunking Borat, Written by Robyn Adams, Paul Hogan, Jack Youngelson; Prime Video

ANIMATION

“Planteau” (Tuca & Bertie), Written by Lisa Hanawalt; Cartoon Network

EPISODIC DRAMA

“Retired Janitors of Idaho” (Succession), Written by Tony Roche & Susan Soon He Stanton; HBO/HBO Max

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Alone At Last” (The Great), Written by Tony McNamara; Hulu

Presenters included George Takei of STAR TREK franchise fame.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Actor George Takei presents Adapted Screenplay Award at the 2022 Writers Guild Awards virtual ceremony hosted by the Writers Guilds of America, East and West on Sunday, March 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Writers Guild)

COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES

Conan, Head Writer: Matt O’Brien Writers: Jose Arroyo, Glenn Boozan, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Skyler Higley, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney; TBS

COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Writers: Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix

COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS

Full Frontal Wants to Take Your Guns, Head Writers: Kristen Bartlett, Mike Drucker Writers: Samantha Bee, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Miles Kahn, Chris Thompson, Holly Walker, Alison Zeidman Writing Supervised by Joe Grossman, Sahar Rizvi Special Material by Michael Rhoa; TBS

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Baking It, Writers: Neil Casey, Jessica McKenna, Zach Reino, Niccole Thurman; Peacock

DAYTIME DRAMA

Days of Our Lives, Head Writer: Ron Carlivati Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Jamey Giddens, David Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock, Elizabeth Snyder; NBC

CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS

“The Tale of the Midnight Magic” (Are You Afraid of the Dark?), Written by JT Billings and Alex Ebel; Nickelodeon

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS

“The Healthcare Divide” (Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“Citizen Hearst, Part One” (American Experience), Written by Gene Tempest; PBS

NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“The Unequal Recession” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News

NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Handcuffed to the Truth” (60 Minutes) Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News

DIGITAL NEWS

“‘Men’s Rights Asians’ Think This Is Their Moment,” Written by Aaron Mak; Slate.com

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Comedian Hannah Einbinder presents Comedy/Variety Talk Series Award at the 2022 Writers Guild Awards virtual ceremony hosted by the Writers Guilds of America, East and West on Sunday, March 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Writers Guild)[/caption]  

RADIO/AUDIO WINNERS

RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY

“One Year: 1977 ‘The Miracle Cure,’” Written by Evan Chung; Slate Podcast

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT—REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Surfside Condo Collapse” (CBS World News Roundup Late Edition), Written by Kathleen M. Biggins; CBS News Radio

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“The Tasmanian Devil Tattoo” (Decoder Ring), Written by Benjamin Frisch; Slate Podcast

Legendary late night host, writer, and comedian Dick Cavett received WGAE’s Evelyn F. Burkey Award, awarded to a person or organization whose contributions have brought honor and dignity to writers everywhere.

Seth Meyers presents the 2022 Evelyn F. Burkey Award to Dick Cavett

PROMOTIONAL WINNER

 ON-AIR PROMOTION

“Celebrating Powerful Female Leads: Trailers for The Equalizer & Why Women Kill,” Written by Molly Neylan; CBS

The 2022 Writers Guild Awards virtual ceremony was hosted by comedian-writer-producer Ashley Nicole Black (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Ted Lasso). Presenters included: SAG Award-nominated actor and comedian Diedrich Bader (Space Force, Veep), Young Artists Award-nominated actress Jaylen Barron (Blindspotting, Shameless), Primetime Emmy-nominated comedian and actress Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Primetime Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actor Nicholas Braun (Succession, Zola), comedian-writer-actor Eugene Cordero (Loki, Star Trek: Lower Decks), Academy Award-nominated and SAG Award-winning actress and singer Ariana DeBose (West Side Story, The Prom), Tony Award-winning and NAACP Award-winning actor, writer, and director Colman Domingo (Euphoria, If Beale Street Could Talk), Hollywood Critics Association TV Award-winning and Primetime Emmy-nominated actress and comedian Hannah Einbinder (Hacks), Primetime Emmy-winning writer-actor-comedian Dana Gould (The Simpsons, Stan Against Evil) SAG Award-wining and Primetime Emmy-winning actor Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development), Emmy Award-winning journalist and news anchor Chris Hayes (All In with Chris Hayes), MTV Movie Award-nominated actor and comedian David Koechner (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The Office), Writers Guild Award-winning and Primetime Emmy-winning comedian, writer, and late night host Seth Meyers (Late Night with Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live), NAACP Image Award-nominated and Daytime Emmy-nominated actor and comedian Kel Mitchell (Kenan & Kel), SAG Award-nominated and Primetime Emmy Award-nominated actor and comedian Paul Reiser (The Kominsky Method, Mad About You), GLAAD Vito Russo Award-winning actor and activist George Takei (Star Trek), Behind the Voice Actors Award-winning actress Alanna Ubach (Euphoria, Legally Blonde), and comedian, creator, writer and actress Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah).

In addition, Barry Jenkins received WGAW’s Paul Selvin Award for the episode “Chapter 9: Indiana Winter” of the series The Underground Railroad (Teleplay by Barry Jenkins). 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.

PAUL SELVIN Award - Barry Jenkins

Hugh Fink was the Executive Producer of the 2022 Writers Guild Awards. The show was Produced by Joselyn Allen. Kelly Brock was a Co-Producer on the show. Head writers are Ann Cohen and Joe O’Brien. Additional writers include Timothy Cooper, Bonnie Datt, Hugh Fink, Don Hooper, Danielle Koenig, Ed Lee, and Bill Scheft. Host writers are Kristen Bartlett and Mike Drucker.

WGAW Awards Committee members are Patric M. Verrone (chair), Steve Chivers, Patrick Doody, Elias Davis, Shelly Goldstein, Zoe Marshall, Scott Saltzburg, and Betsy Thomas. WGAE Awards Committee members are Bonnie Datt (chair), Ann Cohen, Timothy Cooper, Don Hooper, Lily-Hayes Kaufman, Gail Lee, Bill Scheft, Shannon Walker, and Caroline Waxler

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, news (broadcast and digital), radio/audio, and promotional categories. The 2022 Writers Guild Awards (74th Annual) was held on Sunday, March 20, 2022.

Until next year… For more information about the 2022 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.

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