• Judas and the Black Messiah, Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas; Warner Bros.
• Palm Springs, Screenplay by Andy Siara, Story by Andy Siara & Max Barbakow; Hulu
• Promising Young Woman, Written by Emerald Fennell; Focus Features
• Sound of Metal, Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder, Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance; Amazon Studios
• The Trial of the Chicago 7, Written by Aaron Sorkin; Netflix

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OSCAR? Judas and the Black Messiah should probably be happiest about this one given that it just emerged. But the Oscar list almost never repeats this list exactly usually hitting 3 or 4 of the same films; the last exact match was back in 2013. This is terrible news for Never Rarely Sometimes Always which could have used this mainstream movie industry acknowledgement and was looking like a prime candidate for the 'critical darling' slot (not that there is always one) and in fact "Original Screenplay" had seemed like its best bet for an Oscar nod. This is also bad news for Best Picture hopeful Da 5 Bloods.  Obviously all five of the films nominated are threats for the nomination but only Trial of the Chicago 7 and Promising Young Woman feel like locks given the strength of the films that weren't eligible. Speaking of...

THE KEY TITLES THAT WEREN'T ELIGIBLE: Anything international (Another Round in particular), anything animated (Soul first and foremost since Oscar's writing branch likes Pixar), and Best Picture hopefuls Mank and Minari which are both surely major threats for this particular Oscar glory.

my personal ballot in case you missed it

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
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Based on the Play Written by August Wilson; Netflix
• News of the World, Screenplay by Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies, Based upon the Novel by Paulette Jiles; Universal Pictures
• One Night in Miami, Screenplay by Kemp Powers, Based on the Stage Play "One Night in Miami" by Kemp Powers; Amazon Studios
• The White Tiger, Screenplay by Ramin Bahrani, Based on the Book "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga; Netflix

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OSCAR: As with the Original category (and even slighly moreso) this list almost never lines up with Oscar's, the last time being in 2017. Sometimes it's been as low as 2 crossovers. Nevertheless, this lineup is great news for the lower profile White Tiger (recency bias and the fact that it feels like such a writers picture with constant narration might have helped there) but it's bad news for First Cow as this was its best shot for Oscar recognition. Though the original Borat was nominated for the Oscar I still doubt that the sequel will have the same luck with the writers. Am I crazy?

KEY TITLES THAT WEREN'T ELIGIBLE: Chloe Zhao's Nomadland based on a non-fiction book and Florian Zeller's The Father based on his own Tony-winning play both have to be considered major threats for the Oscar nomination and maybe even the win here. Two other titles that could still show up with Oscar as this prize is no reflection on how much the industry enjoys them, especially if Oscar voters would like something happier in the mix: Emma and The Personal History of David Copperfield.

my personal ballot in case you missed it

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

• All In: The Fight for Democracy, Written by Jack Youngelson; Amazon Studios
• The Dissident, Written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel; Briarcliff Entertainment
• Herb Alpert Is…, Written by John Scheinfeld; Abramorama
• Red Penguins, Written by Gabe Polsky; Universal Pictures
• Totally Under Control, Written by Alex Gibney; Neon

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA NOMINEES

DRAMA SERIES

• Better Call Saul, Written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Ariel Levine, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock; AMC
• The Boys, Written by Eric Kripke, Ellie Monahan, Anslem Richardson, Craig Rosenberg, Michael Saltzman, Rebecca Sonnenshine; Amazon Studios
• The Crown, Written by Peter Morgan, Jonathan Wilson; Netflix
• The Mandalorian, Written by Rick Famuyiwa, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni; Disney+
• Ozark, Written by Laura Deeley, Bill Dubuque, Paul Kolsby, Miki Johnson, Chris Mundy, John Shiban, Ning Zhou, MartinZimmerman; Netflix

Curiously the WGA has two separate prizes for each of the main series as individual episodes have their own category. In the individual episode category Better Call Soul hogs 50% of the category and of these other nominees only Ozark repeats.

COMEDY SERIES

• Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Larry David, Justin Hurwitz, Steve Leff, Carol Leifer, Jeff Schaffer; HBO
• The Great, Written by Vanessa Alexander, Tony McNamara, Tess Morris, Amelia Roper, Gretel Vella, James Wood; Hulu
• PEN15, Written by; Alyssa DiMari, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Josh Levine, Gabe Liedman, Rachele Lynn, Vera Santamaria, Diana Tay, Sam Zvibleman; Hulu
• 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+
• What We Do in the Shadows, Written by Jake Bender, Jemaine Clement, Zach Dunn, Joe Furey, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms; FX Networks

So happy for the totally brilliant PEN15 and What We Do in the Shadows.  Of these five shows only The Great  and Tedd Lasso  show up in the individual episode category.

NEW SERIES

• Dave, Written by Dave Burd, Vanessa McGee, Saladin Patterson, Luvh Rakhe, Alex Russell, Jeff Schaffer, Max Searle, Yamara Taylor; FX Networks
• The Flight Attendant, Written by Kara Lee Corthron, Michael Foley, Ryan Jennifer Jones, Ticona S. Joy, Meredith Lavender, Jess Meyer, Daniele Nathanson, Marcie Ulin, Ian Weinreich, Steve Yockey; HBO Max
• The Great, Written by Vanessa Alexander, Tony McNamara, Tess Morris, Amelia Roper, Gretel Vella, James Wood; Hulu
• Lovecraft Country, Written by Misha Green, Shannon Houston, Jonathan Kidd, Kevin Lau, Ihuoma Ofordire, Wes Taylor, Sonya Winton; HBO
• 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

• Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, Written by Aaron Carew, Alexandra Cunningham, Lex Edness, Kevin J. Hynes, Juliet Lashinsky-Revene, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Katherine B. McKenna; USA
• Hollywood, Written by Ian Brennan, Janet Mock, Ryan Murphy, Reilly Smith; Netflix
• Mrs. America, Written by Tanya Barfield, Joshua Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi Waller; FX Networks
• Safety, Written by Nick Santora; Disney+
• Uncle Frank, Written by Alan Ball; Amazon Studios

Nice to see Uncle Frank here since it didn't generate much conversation in the holiday glut of releases but is worth watching. 

ADAPTED LONG FORM

• Bad Education, Written by Mike Makowsky, Based on the New York Magazine article " The Bad Superintendent" by Robert Kolker; HBO
• Clouds, Screenplay by Kara Holden; Story by Casey La Scala & Patrick Kopka and Kara Holden, Based on the book entitled “Fly A Little Higher’ by Laura Sobiech; Disney+
• The Good Lord Bird, Written by Jeff Augustin, Ethan Hawke, Erika L. Johnson, Mark Richard, Kristen SaBerre, Lauren Signorino, Based on the Novel by James McBride; Showtime
• Little Fires Everywhere, Written by Harris Danow, Rosa Handelman, Shannon Houston, Attica Locke, Raamla Mohamed, Amy Talkington, Liz Tigelaar, Nancy Won, Based on the book by Celeste Ng; Hulu
• The Queen’s Gambit, Written by Scott Frank, Allan Scott, Based on the novel by Walter Tevis; Netflix

Continue to be a bit mystified at how well Little Fires did with all awards bodies.

ORIGINAL & ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA

• #FREERAYSHAWN, Written by Marc Maurino; Quibi
• Better Call Saul Employee Training: Legal Ethics with Kim Wexler, Written by Ariel Levine; AMC Digital on YouTube
• Most Dangerous Game, Written by Nick Santora, Josh Harmon, Scott Elder; Quibi

* Per Writers Guild Awards submission rules, if there are insufficient entries in any category, those entries may be placed in another category.

ANIMATION

• “A Springfield Summer Christmas For Christmas” (The Simpsons), Written by Jessica Conrad; Fox
• “Bart The Bad Guy” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Vebber; Fox
• “I, Carumbus” (The Simpsons), Written by Cesar Mazariegos; Fox
• “Prank You for Being A Friend” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Katie Crown; Fox
• “Three Dreams Denied” (The Simpsons), Written by Danielle Weisberg; Fox
• “Xerox of a Xerox” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Nick Adams; Netflix

EPISODIC DRAMA

• “Bad Choice Road” (Better Call Saul), Written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC
• “Fire Pink” (Ozark), Written by Miki Johnson; Netflix
• “JMM” (Better Call Saul), Written by Alison Tatlock; AMC
• “Raised by Wolves” (Raised by Wolves), Written by Aaron Guzikowski; HBO Max
• “Something Unforgivable” (Better Call Saul), Written by Peter Gould & Ariel Levine; AMC
• “Trouble Don’t Last Always” (Euphoria), Written by Sam Levinson; HBO

EPISODIC COMEDY

• “Grandma & Chill” (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens), Written by Kyle Lau; Comedy Central
• “The Great” (The Great), Written by Tony McNamara; Hulu
• “It’s Not You, It’s Me” (Dead to Me), Written by Liz Feldman & Kelly Hutchinson; Netflix
• “Pilot” (Ted Lasso), Teleplay by Jason Sudeikis & Bill Lawrence, Story by Jason Sudeikis & Bill Lawrence & Brendan Hunt & Joe Kelly; Apple TV+
• “The Tank” (Grace & Frankie), Written by Alex Kavallierou; Netflix
• “Trick” (High Maintenance), Written by Isaac Oliver; HBO

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
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Writers: Kristen Bartlett, Samantha Bee, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Joe Grossman, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi, Chris Thompson, Holly Walker, Alison Zeidman, Special Materials by: Michael Rhoa; TBS
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Greg Iwinski, Mark Kramer, Daniel O'Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Chrissy Shackelford, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO
• Late Night with Seth Meyers, Head Writer: Alex Baze Writing Supervised by: Seth Reiss Closer Look Writing Supervised by: Sal Gentile Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Karen Chee, Bryan Donaldson, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovsky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, John Mulaney, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Jeff Wright; NBC
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Head Writers: Ariel Dumas, Jay Katsir Writers: Delmonte Bent, Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Nicole Conlan, Stephen T. Colbert, 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; CBS

COMEDY / VARIETY SPECIALS

• 30 Rock: A One-Time Special, Written by Tina Fey & Robert Carlock; NBC
• Father of the Bride Part 3 (ish), Written by Nancy Meyers; YouTube
• 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
• Yearly Departed, Head Writer: Bess Kalb Writers: Karen Chee, Akilah Green, Franchesca Ramsey, Jocelyn Richard; Amazon Studios

COMEDY / VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

• At Home with Amy Sedaris, Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Cole Escola, Peter Grosz, Amy Sedaris; truTV
• How To with John Wilson, Writers: Alice Gregory, Michael Koman, John Wilson; HBO
• The Amber Ruffin Show, Head Writer: Jenny Hagel Writers: Demi Adejuyigbe, Shantira Jackson, Dewayne Perkins, Amber Ruffin Additional Material by John Lutz; Peacock Originals

QUIZ & AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

• Hollywood Game Night, Head Writers: Ann Slichter, Grant Taylor Writers: Michael Agbabian, Allie Kokesh, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
• Jeopardy!, Writers: Matthew Caruso, John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Mike Richards, Billy Wisse; ABC
• 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
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Celebrity Season, Head Writer: Bobby Patton Writers: Alan Bailey, Josh Halloway, Seth Harrington, Shawn Kennedy; Disney/ABC Syndication

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
• General Hospital, Head Writers: Dan O'Connor, Christopher Van Etten Associate Head Writer: Anna Theresa Cascio Writers: Barbara Bloom, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, David Rupel, Lisa Seidman, Donny Sheldon, Scott Sickles; ABC

CHILDREN'S EPISODIC, LONG FORM & SPECIALS

• “Countdown” (The Astronauts), Written by Dan Knauf; Nickelodeon
• “Mo Willems And The Storytime All Stars Present: Don't Let The Pigeon Do Storytime,” Written by Mo Willems, Based on the children's books and published by Hyperion: Leonard the Terrible Monster; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale; A Busy Creature's Day Eating!; Elephant and Piggy's Waiting is Not Easy!; and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus; HBO Max
• “The Not Too Late Show with Elmo,” Writers: Geri Cole, Scott Gray, Benjamin Lehmann, Wendy Marston, Andrew Moriarty, Ken Scarborough, Moujan Zolfaghari; HBO Max
• “The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special,” Written by Geri Cole; HBO Max
• “The Sleepover,” Written by Sarah Rothschild; Netflix
• “Speaking of Cancer” (Alexa & Katie), Written by Leo Chu & Eric S. Garcia & Julia Miranda; Netflix

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT - CURRENT EVENTS

• “Agents of Chaos, Part I,” Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer; HBO Documentary Films
• “Agents of Chaos, Part II,” Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer; HBO Documentary Films
• “The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
• “Whose Vote Counts” (Frontline), Written by Jelani Cobb, June Cross & Tom Jennings; PBS

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT - OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

• “Opioids, Inc” (Frontline), Written by Tom Jennings; PBS
• “The Poison Squad” (American Experience), Written by John Maggio; PBS
• “The Violence Paradox” (Nova), Written by Michael Bicks and Anna Lee Strachan; 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
• “Critical Condition” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News
• “Gale Sayers Obit,” Written by Joe McLaughlin; WCBS-TV
• “The Wild West of Covid Testing” (60 Minutes), Written by Sharyn Alfonsi, Oriana Zill de Granados, Emily Gordon; CBS News

NEWS SCRIPT - ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

• “Exhume the Truth” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Joe Schanzer, Nicole Young; CBS News
• “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming,” Written by Dave Bloch; ABC News
• “The African Basketball Trail” (60 Minutes), Written by Oriana Zill de Granados, Emily Gordon; CBS News

DIGITAL NEWS

• “Pornhub Doesn't Care,” Written by Samantha Cole and Emanuel Maiberg; Vice.com
• “This Week Has Happened Before,” Written by Julia Craven; Slate.com
• “The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd,” Written by Aymann Ismail; Slate.com
• “Why Did the Government Separate This Family?” Written by Jeremy Stahl; Slate.com

RADIO / AUDIO NOMINEES

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

• “CBS News on the Hour with Norah O'Donnell, March 10, 2020,” Written by James Hutton; CBS New Radio
• “Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
• “World News This Week, November 13, 2020,” Written by Joan Harris; ABC News Radio/WNTW Podcasts

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

• “Instrument of Hope,” Written by Christopher Barry; ABC News Audio
• "Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett” (Slow Burn) Written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts
• “The Gist: Spiel, April 3, 2020,” Written by Mike Pesca; Slate Podcasts

ON AIR PROMOTION

• “Can You See It?” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook
• “Get Out The Vote - Check Out Those Moves,” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
• “Launch Trailers,” Written by Molly Neylan; CBS All Access