“Promising Young Woman” lived up to her potential Sunday evening at the Writers Guild of America Awards, garnering the prize for best original screenplay.
The adapted screenplay honor was given to Kazakhstan’s number-two import (behind potassium, of course), Borat. Sacha Baron Cohen and a team of scribes earned the WGA award for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”
The WGA Awards was presented in a virtual format in a bi-coastal ceremony hosted by actor Kal Penn. Among those set to appear in the ceremony were Riz Ahmed, Sacha Baron Cohen, Rachel Brosnahan, Andra Day, Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr., Ava DuVernay and Jimmy Fallon.
During the ceremony, “Judas and the Black Messiah” writers Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas and Keith Lucas received the guild’s Paul Selvin Award, which honors a script that “best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.”
Here is a complete list of 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
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 NOMINEES
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 WRITING NOMINEES
ON AIR PROMOTION
— “Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves,” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube