The Writers Guild of America announced the winners of the 2017 Writers Guild Awards during ceremonies held on the East and West Coasts on February 19, 2017. Patton Oswalt hosted the West Coast ceremony while Lewis Black handled hosting duties on the East Coast. The WGAs honor the best in film, television, new media, radio, and video games, as well as honoring outstanding career achievements in writing with special awards.
This year’s special honorees included Oliver Stone (Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement), Aaron Sorkin (Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement), Susannah Grant (Paul Selvin Award), Richard Curtis (Valentine Davies Award), Abbas Kiarostami (posthumous winner of the Jean Renoir Award for International Screenwriting Achievement), and Dan Wilcox (Morgan Cox Award). Additional honorees included John Waters (Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement), Steve O’Donnell (Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence), Courtney Simon (Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild), and Jelani Cobb (Walter Bernstein Award).
Writers Guild Film Awards Winners:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Moonlight, Screenplay by Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; A24
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – Arrival, Screenplay by Eric Heisserer; Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang; Paramount Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY – Command and Control, Telescript by Robert Kenner & Eric Schlosser, Story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts; Based on the book Command and Control by Eric Schlosser; American Experience Films
Writers Guild Television and New Media Winners:
DRAMA SERIES – The Americans, Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX
COMEDY SERIES – Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
NEW SERIES – Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
ORIGINAL LONG FORM – Confirmation, Written by Susannah Grant; HBO
ADAPTED LONG FORM – The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Written by Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski, Wally Wolodarsky, Based on the book The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin; FX
ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – “The Party” (The Commute), Written by Linsey Stewart & Dane Clark; youtube.com
ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – “Part 4” (Fear the Walking Dead: Passage), Written by Lauren Signorino & Mike Zunic; amc.com
ANIMATION – “Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA – “The Trip” (This Is Us), Written by Vera Herbert; NBC
EPISODIC COMEDY – “Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix
COMEDY / VARIETY TALK SERIES – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO
COMEDY / VARIETY SKETCH SERIES – Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Fred Armisen, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Jim Downey, Tina Fey, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Paul Masella, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Dave Sirus, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette; NBC
COMEDY / VARIETY SPECIALS – Triumph The Primary Election Special 2016, Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, Raj Desai, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, David Taylor, Andrew Weinberg; Additional Materials by Ray James, Jesse Joyce, Jason Reich, Alex Scordelis; Hulu
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION – Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
DAYTIME DRAMA – General Hospital, Writers: Shelly Altman, Anna Theresa Cascio, Andrea Archer Compton, Suzanne Flynn, Janet Iacobuzio, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Jean Passanante, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC – “Mel vs. The Night Mare of Normal Street” (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street), Written by Laurie Parres; Amazon Studios
CHILDREN’S LONG FORM – Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, Written by Geri Cole & Ken Scarborough; HBO
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS – “The Choice 2016” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS (TIE)
“Inside Assad’s Syria” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS (TIE)
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS – “Jackie Robinson, Part One,” Written by David McMahon & Sarah Burns; PBS
TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT – “Muhammad Ali: Remembering A Legend” (48 Hours), Written by Jerry Cipriano, John Craig Wilson; CBS News
TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY – “CBS Sunday Morning Almanac” June 12, 2016 (CBS Sunday Morning), Written by Thomas A. Harris; CBS
Additional Category Winners:
RADIO DOCUMENTARY – “Chernobyl: 30 Years Later,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT – “World News This Week” August 26, 2016, Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY – “Morley Safer: A Journalist’s Life,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WINNERS – ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO) – “CBS On-Air Reel,” Written by Brian Retchless; CBS On-Air Promotion
TELEVISION GRAPHIC ART AND ANIMATION – “The Real History of Cinco de Mayo” (Gawker Media Group), Graphic Animation by Elisa Solinas; Lifehacker.com
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Written by Neil Druckmann, Josh Scherr; Additional Writing Tom Bissell, Ryan James; Naughty Dog
