Patton Oswalt Returning To Host WGA Awards In L.A.
From coast to coast, the WGA Awards will have both Patton Oswalt and Amber Ruffin hosting and presiding over the evening’s ceremonies in LA and NYC respectively next year.
With both of them doing it, it might be worth considering doing more than just have some spare clips of it on YouTube.
Of the writers on Late Night with Seth Meyers, odds are that you’ve probably seen Amber Ruffin in sort of bit or segment on Late Night the most throughout 2017. She even has her own recurring solo segment where she lets loose because the Internet has responded to Ruffin so well.
That’s probably she has just been tapped to host the WGA Awards next year in NYC on February 11th.
This will be Ruffin’s first big hosting gig and we have no doubt that she’ll picked more often if all goes well.
Last night’s 2017 Writers Guild Awards opened with host Patton Oswalt and two “special” escorts. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.
Then, after a reference to James Woods in a joke, Woods, who just happened to be sitting up front, engaged in a bit (or a lot more) mischief than your average WGA Awards show attendee.
Strangely, though it didn’t seem planned, nothing seemed to get too out of hand and Oswalt closed strong.
2017 WGA Awards Winners for Comedy Include Atlanta, Last Week Tonight, and BoJack Horseman
Comedy Series-Atlanta
New Series-Atlanta
Episodic Comedy-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Comedy/Variety Talk Series-Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
ComedyVariety Sketch Series-SNL
Comedy/Variety Special-Trumph: The Primary Election Special 2016
Animation-BoJack Horseman
Last Week Tonight, BoJack Horseman, and, with a renewed jolt from the election and Trump Administration, SNL winning WGA Awards seem to be expected.
However, Atlanta nabbing both honors for both Comedy Series and New Series is a really nice, big win for Donald Glover’s freshman series as well as FX, the rare basic cable network that can run with premium cable networks and streaming services when it comes to prestige programming.
FYI, their show The Americans won an award for Drama too.
Get the full list of winners for last night’s WGA Award winners here.
Deadpool Nominated for a WGA Award
Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick’s adapted screenplay for Deadpool has gotten a WGA nomination next to the likes of the normal, critically acclaimed dramatic fare such as Arrival, Fences, and Moonlight.
For an R-rated, big budget action comedy to get recognized here is kind of a big deal as action, comedy, and a R-rating on top of either of those usually don’t garner attention from the various academies and guilds of the entertainment industry.
Try thinking of the last time an R-rated comedy got a nomination for this kind of award. Keep in mind that Armando Iannucci’s In The Loop, which made waves during its awards season, was ‘Not Rated’. Perhaps, this will pave the way for more comedy, if it is award worthy, to get nominated in the years to come.
The perennial prestige comedy of HBO is alive and well, but upstarts at FX (Atlanta and Better Things) are also riding high for this year’s Writers Guild Awards TV nominations.
That being said, there’s one very noticeable snub: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
It didn’t get nominated next to Last Week Tonight, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. We certainly hope that won’t happen elsewhere this awards season.
*Comedy nominees are in italics
COMEDY SERIES
-Atlanta
Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
-Silicon Valley
Written by Megan Amram, Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Ron Weiner; HBO
-Transparent
Written by Arabella Anderson, Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Jessi Klein, Stephanie Kornick, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Our Lady J, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Studios
-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Written by Emily Altman, Robert Carlock, Azie Mira Dungey, Tina Fey, Lauren Gurganous, Sam Means, Dylan Morgan, Marlena Rodriguez, Dan Rubin, Meredith Scardino, Josh Siegal, Allison Silverman, Leila Strachan; Netflix
-Veep
Written by Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Eric Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, David Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson; HBO
NEW SERIES
-Atlanta
Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
-Better Things
Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Cindy Chupack, Gina Fattore; FX
-Stranger Things
Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix
-This Is Us
Written by Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, Bekah Brunstetter, Dan Fogelman, Vera Herbert, Joe Lawson, Kay Oyegun, Aurin Squire, K.J. Steinberg, Donald Todd; NBC
-Westworld
Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO
ANIMATION
-“Barthood” (The Simpsons)
Written by Dan Greaney; Fox
-“First Day of Rule” (Elena of Avalor)
Written by Craig Gerber; Disney Channel
-“Fish Out of Water” (BoJack Horseman)
Written by Elijah Aron & Jordan Young; Netflix
-“A Princess on Lothal” (Star Wars Rebels)
Written by Steven Melching; Disney XD
-“Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman)
Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix
EPISODIC COMEDY
-“Kimmy Finds Her Mom!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Written by Tina Fey & Sam Means; Netflix
-“Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix
-“Pilot” (One Mississippi)
Written by Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; Amazon Studios
-“R-A-Y-C-Ray-Cation” (Speechless)
Written by Carrie Rosen & Seth Kurland; ABC
-“Streets on Lock” (Atlanta)
Written by Stephen Glover; FX
-“A Taste of Zephyria” (Son of Zorn)
Written by Dan Mintz; Fox
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES
-The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Lauren Sarver Means, Trevor Noah, Joe Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parson, Daniel Radosh, Michelle Wolf; Comedy Central
-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
-Late Night with Seth Meyers
Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, Andrew Law, John Lutz, Aparna Nancherla, Chioke Nassor, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Conner O’Malley, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Michelle Wolf; NBC
-The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Writers: Mike Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack; NBC
COMEDY / VARIETY – SKETCH SERIES
-Documentary Now!
Writers: Bill Hader, John Mulaney, Seth Meyers; IFC
-Inside Amy Schumer
Writers: Kim Carmele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jessi Klein, Michael Lawrence, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Claudia O’Doherty, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central
-Maya and Marty in Manhattan
Head Writers: Mikey Day, Matt Roberts, Bryan Tucker Writers: Eli Bauman, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Hallie Cantor, David Feldman, R J Fried, Melissa Hunter, Paul Masella, Tim McAuliffe, John Mulaney, Diallo Riddle, Maya Rudolph, Bashir Salahuddin, Marika Sawyer, Streeter Seidell, Martin Short; Emily Spivey, Steve Young; NBC
-Nathan For You
Written by Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central
-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 – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS
-68th Primetime Emmy Awards
Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Robert Cohen, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Jon Macks, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Jeff Stilson, Joe Strazzullo, Alexis Wilkinson; ABC
-73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards
Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material Written by Dave Boone, Ricky Gervais, Jon Macks, Matthew Robinson; NBC
-88th Annual Academy Awards
Written by Dave Boone, Billy Kimball; Special Material Written by Scott Aukerman, Rodney Barnes, Neil Campbell, Matthew Claybrooks, Lance Crouther, Mike Ferrucci, Langston Kerman, Jon Macks, Steve O’Donnell, Nimesh Patel, Vanessa Ramos, Chris Rock, Frank Sebastiano, Chuck Sklar, Jeff Stilson, Michelle Wolf; CBS
-Triumph’s Election Special
Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, Andrew Weinberg; Hulu
Get full list of WGA TV nominees here.
Patton Oswalt Will Host WGA Awards for Second Time
We’re glad to see that Patton is back.
Come February 19th, Patton Oswalt will once again take up duties as host of the Writers Guild of America Awards. This particular awards ceremony affords a little more latitude since it’s not televised, which should make for some damn fine jokes from Patton.
(via Deadline)
HBO is on a roll per usual.
Between, Silicon Valley, Veep, and Real Time with Bill Maher, HBO garnered four Writers Guild of America Awards this year. This is probably one of the few awards this awards season where the premium cable network didn’t have a streaming service like Netflix or Amazon challenging its critical acclaim supremacy.
Also, Inside Amy Schumer makes yet another victory lap with its win for “Comedy/Variety-Sketch Series”.
Here are the rest of the comedy winners announced last night:
Adapated Screenplay–The Big Short-Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures
Comedy Series–Veep-Written by Simon Blackwell, Jon Brown, Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Peter Fellows, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Sean Gray, Callie Hersheway, Armando Iannucci, Sean Love, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Tony Roche, Will Smith
Episodic Comedy–Silicon Valley-Clay Tarver
Animation–Bob’s Burgers-Dan Fybel
Comedy/Variety (including Talk)-Series–Real Time with Bill Maher-Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Danny Vermont; HBO
Comedy/Variety-Music, Awards, Tributes-Specials-Jimmy Kimmel Live: 10th Annual After The Oscars Special-Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Greg Dorris, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Joe Strazzullo, Bridger Winegar; ABC
Comedy/Variety-Sketch Series–Inside Amy Schumer-Head Writer: Jessi Klein Writers: Hallie Cantor, Kim Caramele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jon Glaser, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy Centraland Jimmy Kimmel Live: 10th Annual After The Oscars Special won for Comedy/Variety Special.
Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement-Elaine May
The full list of WGA Awards winners are here.
(via Deadline)
Of all the nominations that have been announced in this current awards season, it seems the Writers Guild Awards has gone a somewhat different and refreshing direction. Already, they have Transparent, Last Week Tonight, and Inside Amy Schumer nominated for TV.
Grand Budapest Hotel is an awards front runner and gets a nod here, but Guardians of The Galaxy, a big budget studio comic book space adventure with plenty of comedy injected throughout, also gained a nomination from the WGA for Adapted Screenplay today.
Guardians of The Galaxy isn’t nominated in such a category in any other awards so far. Maybe, that will change now and other movies that are more readily described as “fun” will be taken more seriously by various academies and associations?
The Colbert Report and Veep Win at WGA Awards
Amidst everything else that was happening over the past few days, The WGA Awards were presented and The Colbert Report and Veep took home prizes for comedy.
So, we’re sure if you’re team lost yesterday and you were really into it, be glad about two of the funniest shows on TV getting writing honors.