Winners were announced for the 2021 Writers Guild Awards during a virtual ceremony held on March 21, 2021. Kal Penn hosted this year’s awards show which honored outstanding writing in films, television, new media, and radio/audio.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, earned the WGA’s adapted screenplay award and Promising Young Woman‘s Emerald Fennell won the guild’s Original Screenplay award. Both films will be competing for screenplay awards at the 2021 Academy Awards.
In addition to the competitive honors, Will Berson & Shaka King and Keith Lucas & Kenny Lucas were awarded the Paul Selvin Award for Judas and the Black Messiah (screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas; Warner Bros.). Per the WGA, 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.”
This year’s presenters included Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Sacha Baron Cohen, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Jelani Cobb (Frontline writer), Sarah Cooper (How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings), Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Daveed Diggs (The Good Lord Bird), Ava DuVernay (When They See Us), and Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon). Actress/playwright Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah), writer/actor Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), writer/actor Ryan O’Connell (Special), actor/singer Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami), Amber Ruffin (The Amber Ruffin Show), Lilly Singh (A Little Late with Lilly Singh), and writer/podcaster Baratunde Thurston (How to be with Baratunde) also presented.
In addition to the competitive honors, Will Berson & Shaka King and Keith Lucas & Kenny Lucas received the Writers Guild of America West’s Paul Selvin Award for Judas and the Black Messiah (Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas; Warner Bros.). Per the WGA, 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.”
2021 Writers Guild Awards 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 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,” Written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts - ON-AIR PROMOTION
“Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves,” Written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
