WGA Winners: CODA, Don't Look Up, Succession, Hacks...
Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 9:23PM by Nathaniel R
The Writers Guild of America has revealed their winners for the 2021 film and television year and it's good news for Adapted CODA and Original Don't Look Up as they head towards Oscar night a week from now. But their competitive pool is different at the Oscars of course since different things are eligible at the WGA each year. Complete list of winners and a few comments after the jump...
Adapted Screenplay: CODA
Though this is an impressive show of general love and momentum considering the writing is hardly the film's chief strength, CODA has different competitors at the Oscars where it will face off with Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car, Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter, and Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, none of which were eligible at the WGAs.
Original Screenplay: Don't Look Up
At the Oscars it will be up against Belfast and Worst Person in the World neither of which was eligible for the WGA.
Documentary Screenplay Exposing Muybridge
None of the WGA's Documentary nominees were nominated for the Documentary Feature Oscar.
television prizes
Drama Series: Succession
Comedy Series: Hacks
Comedy Talk Series: Conan
Comedy Sketch Series: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Comedy Variety Special: Full Frontal Wants To Take Your Guns
Quiz and Audience Participation: Baking It
Daytime Drama: Days of Our Lives
New Series: Hacks
Original Long Form: Mare of Easttown
Adapted Long Form: Maid
Original or Adapted Short Form New Media: Debunking Borat
It's the usual suspects / Emmy frontrunners here. Which makes you wonder if anything might change in the next few months before the eligibility period ends for the next set of Emmy nominees.
single episodes & misc
Animation: Tuca & Bertie "Planteau"
Episode Drama: Succession "Retired Janitors of Idaho"
Episodic Comedy: The Great "Alone at Last"
Children's Episodic: Are You Afraid of the Dark "The Tale of Midnight Magic"
Documentary Script - Current Events: Frontline "The Healthcare Divide"
Documentary Script - Other Than Current Events: American Experience "Citizen Hearst, Part One"
News Script - Regularly Scheduled: 60 Minutes "The Unequal Recession"
News Script - Analysis: 60 Minutes "Handcuffed to the Truth"
Digital News: Slate "Men's Rights Asians' Think This is Their Moment"
On -Air Promotion CBS "Celebrating Powerful Female Leads: Trailers for The Equalizer and Why Women Kill"
radio/audio winners
Radio/Audio Documentary: One Year: 1977 "The Miracle Cure"
Radio/Audtio News Script Regularly Scheduled: CBS World News Roundup Late Edition "Surfside Condo Collapse"
Radio/Audio Newscript - Analysis: Decoder Ring: "The Tasmanian Devil Tattoo"
Reader Comments (7)
That is such a perfect picture choice up top. I'm preparing myself for some mighty disappointing Oscar winners after a season of mostly agreeable choices.
Yeah, let's ruin the whole season in the last stretch. Well done, Hollywood!
Hmph. WGA not exactly doing itself favors with those screenplay choices.
Also, this seems to put a dent in Licorice Pizza's chances for an Oscar win. If it couldn't even beat Don't Look Up...
Lynn Lee - except Licorice Pizza did beat Don't Look Up at the BAFTAs, which has a strong overlap in membership with the Academy (stronger than the WGA, I believe), so I wouldn't count out Licorice Pizza just yet. I'll still be predicting Belfast to take Original Screenplay after this (honestly, this feels a lot like a "we're awarding you because the frontrunner was absent" choice that WGA makes often).
I'm with Cláudio in fearing for a very disappointing batch of winners.
This past week has been a rough go for the Oscar race. Bleh.
We shouldn't be surprised and yes, some of the year's best were not eligible, but my god this sucks. In a year as rich as 2021 we end with CODA and Don't Look Up as the BEST screenplays!? I still have hope the Academy will give us different winners, but that hope is fading
Adam McKay has done a lot of work in tv, creating jobs for writers and such, and tv writers are eligible to vote for this award. I'm choosing to believe that influenced this win.
I can deal with every other possibility this award season, but he absolutely does not need a second Oscar, not when so many truly great writer-directors (like PTA) have never won.