Writers Guild Awards: ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ Win Screenplay Awards

Oscar frontrunners “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” came out on top at Sunday’s Writers Guild of America Awards, the final major guild ceremony before next Sunday’s Academy Awards.

“Sinners” won in the WGA’s Original Screenplay category, with writer-director Ryan Coogler topping a slate of nominees that included its fellow Oscar contender “Marty Supreme.”

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” was named the best adapted screenplay, beating “Hamnet,” “Bugonia,” “Frankenstein” and “Train Dreams” in a category that is identical to the Oscars’ adapted category.

The wins, both of which were expected, kept the two films on track for an epic Oscar-night showdown, in which “One Battle has the most precursor awards but “Sinners” might have some late momentum.

With the WGA’s Los Angeles ceremony canceled a week before the show because of labor issues, neither Coogler nor Anderson were on hand at the New York event to accept their awards. Costar Miles Caton accepted on behalf of Coogler, while Anderson sent a short statement expressing his thanks.

“2000 Meters to Andriivka” writer-director Mstyslav Chernov won the award for documentary screenplay.

The first season of “The Pitt” dominated the TV categories, winning awards for drama series, new series and individual episode.

In other television categories, “The Studio” won for comedy series, while “The Righteous Gemstones” won for its individual “Prelude” episode.

“Dying for Sex” won in the limited series category, in which the awards juggernaut “Adolescence” was not nominated.

Other TV winners included “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” “Deep Cover,” “Marc Maron: Panicked,” “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and “The Young and the Restless.”

The awards are a joint presentation of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East, two separate but affiliated guilds that normally give out the prizes in two simultaneous ceremonies, one in Los Angeles and one in New York City. This year, the WGA, West canceled its show because its staff is on strike, leaving the WGA, East ceremony to give out all the awards.

Since the Writers Guild Awards split into original and adapted categories in 1984, almost two-thirds of the guild winners in both categories have gone on to win screenplay Oscars. But one of the WGA winners has also won Best Picture less than half the time, though it has happened in three of the last four years and seems likely to happen again this year.

While the Adapted Screenplay nominees were identical to the Oscar nominees, the Original Screenplay category was significantly affected by WGA rules that limit eligibility to films written under the guild’s minimum basic agreement, or an agreement from an affiliated international guild. That restriction meant that three of the five Oscar nominees in the original category — “Blue Moon,” “It Was Just an Accident” and “Sentimental Value” — were ineligible at the WGA, leaving “Sinners” and “Marty Supreme” as the only Oscar nominees that qualified.

The ceremony took place at Edison Ballroom in New York City and was hosted by Roy Wood Jr. Honorary awards were given to Stephen Colbert (the Walter Bernstein Award), Terry George (the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement) and Diana Son (the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild).

The WGA, West will have an event to celebrate its nominees, winners and honorary recipients at a later date.

Here is the list of nominees. Winners are indicated by *WINNER.

Screenplay

Original Screenplay
“Black Bag,” Written by David Koepp; Focus Features
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Written by Mary Bronstein; A24
“Marty Supreme,” Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie; A24
“Sinners,” Written by Ryan Coogler; Warner Bros. Pictures *WINNER
“Weapons,” Written by Zach Cregger; Warner Bros. Pictures

Adapted Screenplay
“Bugonia,” Screenplay by Will Tracy, based on the film “Save the Green Planet” written and directed by Jang Joon Hwan and produced by Sidus; Focus Features
“Frankenstein,” screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, based on “Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley; Netflix
“Hamnet,” screenplay by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell, based on the novel written by Maggie O’Farrell; Focus Features
“One Battle After Another,” screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, screen story by Paul Thomas Anderson, inspired by the novel “Vineland” by Thomas Pynchon; Warner Bros. Pictures *WINNER
“Train Dreams,” screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, based on the novella by Denis Johnson; Netflix

Documentary Screenplay
“2,000 Meters to Andriivka,” Written by Mstyslav Chernov; Frontline Features *WINNER
“Becoming Led Zeppelin,” Written by Bernard MacMahon & Allison McGourty; Sony Pictures Classics
“White With Fear,” Written by Andrew Goldberg; Area23A

Television, Streaming and News

Drama Series
“Andor,” Written by Tom Bissell, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Beau Willimon; Disney+
“The Pitt,” Written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; HBO | Max *WINNER
“Pluribus,” Written by Vera Blasi, Jenn Carroll, Vince Gilligan, Jonny Gomez, Peter Gould, Ariel Levine, Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock; Apple TV
“Severance,” Written by Adam Countee, Mohamad El Masri, Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman, Anna Ouyang Moench, K.C. Perry, Megan Ritchie, Erin Wagoner, Beau Willimon, Wei-Ning Yu; Apple TV
“The White Lotus,” Written by Mike White; HBO | Max

Comedy Series
“Abbott Elementary,” Written by Quinta Brunson, Ava Coleman, Lizzy Darrell, Riley Dufurrena, Justin Halpern, Joya McCrory, Chad Morton, Morgan Murphy, Brittani Nichols, Rebekka Pesqueira, Kate Peterman, Brian Rubenstein, Patrick Schumacker, Justin Tan, Jordan Temple, Garrett Werner; ABC
“The Chair Company,” Written by Zach Kanin, Gary Richardson, Tim Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schneider, John Solomon; HBO | Max
“Hacks,” Written by Genevieve Aniello, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jess Dweck, Ariel Karlin, Andrew Law, Carolyn Lipka, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Jen Statsky; HBO | Max
“The Rehearsal,” Written by Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; HBO | Max
“The Studio,” Written by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Frida Perez, Seth Rogen; Apple TV * WINNER

New Series
“The Chair Company,” Written by Zach Kanin, Gary Richardson, Tim Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schneider, John Solomon; HBO | Max
“The Pitt,” Written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; HBO | Max * WINNER
“Pluribus,” Written by Vera Blasi, Jenn Carroll, Vince Gilligan, Jonny Gomez, Peter Gould, Ariel Levine, Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock; Apple TV
“The Studio,” Written by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Frida Perez, Seth Rogen; Apple TV
“Task,” Written by Brad Ingelsby & David Obzud; HBO | Max

Limited Series
“The Beast in Me,” Written by Howard Gordon, C.A. Johnson, Ali Liebegott, Daniel Pearle, Gabe Rotter, Erika Sheffer, Mike Skerrett; Netflix
“Black Rabbit,” Written by Zach Baylin, Sarah Gubbins, Kate Susman, Andrew Hinderaker, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Carlos Rios; Netflix
“Death by Lightning,” Written by Mike Makowsky; Netflix
“Dying for Sex,” Written by Sheila Callaghan, Harris Danow, Madeleine George, Elizabeth Meriwether, Kim Rosenstock, Sasha Stewart, Sabrina Wu, Keisha Zollar; FX/Hulu *WINNER
“Sirens,” Written by Bekah Brunstetter, Dan LeFranc, Colin McKenna, Molly Smith Metzler; Netflix

TV & Streaming Motion Pictures
“The Best You Can,” Written by Michael J. Weithorn; Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
“Deep Cover,” Written by Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow; Prime Video *WINNER
“The Life List,” Screenplay by Adam Brooks, Based on the novel by Lori Nelson Spielman; Netflix
“Swiped,” Written by Bill Parker & Rachel Lee Goldenberg and Kim Caramele; Hulu

Animation
“Abe League of Their Moe” (“The Simpsons”), Written by Joel H. Cohen; Fox
“Don’t Worry, Be Hoopy” (“Bob’s Burgers”), Written by Lindsey Stoddart; Fox
“It’s a Beef-derful Life” (“The Great North”), Written by Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin & Wendy Molyneux; Fox
“Parahormonal Activity” (“The Simpsons”), Written by Loni Steele Sosthand; Fox
“Scared Screenless” (“Futurama”), Written by Bill Odenkirk; Hulu
“Shira Can’t Cook” (“Long Story Short”), Written by Mehar Sethi; Netflix *WINNER

Episodic Drama
“7:00 A.M.” (“The Pitt”), Written by R. Scott Gemmill; HBO | Max *WINNER
“A Still Small Voice” (“Task”), Written by Brad Ingelsby; HBO | Max
“Charm Offensive” (“Pluribus”), Written by Jonny Gomez; Apple TV
“Execution” (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Written by Eric Tuchman; Hulu
“Got Milk” (“Pluribus”), Written by Ariel Levine; Apple TV
“Reunion” (“Forever”), Written by Mara Brock Akil; Netflix

Episodic Comedy
“A Call from God” (“Mo”), Written by Mohammed Amer & Harris Danow; Netflix
“Pilot’s Code” (“The Rehearsal”), Written by Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; HBO | Max
“Prelude” (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Written by John Carcieri, Jeff Fradley, Danny R. McBride; HBO | Max *WINNER
“The Promotion” (“The Studio”), Written by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg & Peter Huyck & Alex Gregory & Frida Perez; Apple TV
“The Sleazy Georgian” (“Poker Face”), Written by Megan Amram; Peacock
“Worms” (“The Bear”), Written by Ayo Edebiri & Lionel Boyce; FX/Hulu

Comedy/Variety Series – Talk or Sketch
“The Daily Show,” Head Writer: Dan Amira; Comedy Central
“Have I Got News for You,” Head Writer: Mason Steinberg; CNN, HBO | Max
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” Senior Writers: Daniel O’Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali; HBO | Max *WINNER
“Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Head Writer: Alex Baze; NBC
“Saturday Night Live,” Head Writers: Alison Gates, Erik Kenward, Streeter Seidell, Kent Sublette; NBC
“They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce,” Writers: Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Jon Glaser, Tami Sagher; ESPN

Comedy/Variety Specials
“82nd Annual Golden Globes,” Written by Barry Adelman et al.; NBC
“The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation,” Written by Ian Berger et al.; Comedy Central
“Marc Maron: Panicked,” Written by Marc Maron; HBO | Max *WINNER
“Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor,” Written by Jon Macks et al.; Netflix
“SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” Written by James Anderson et al.; NBC

Quiz and Audience Participation
“Celebrity Jeopardy!,” Head Writer: Robert Patton; ABC *WINNER
“Jeopardy!,” Writers: Marcus Brown et al.; ABC

Daytime Drama
“Beyond the Gates,” Writers: Sara A. Bibel et al.; CBS
“General Hospital,” Head Writers: Elizabeth Korte, Chris Van Etten; ABC
“The Young and the Restless,” Associate Head Writers: Jeff Beldner, Marla Kanelos, Dave Ryan; CBS/Paramount+*WINNER

Children’s Episodic, Long Form and Specials
“The First Snow of Fraggle Rock,” Written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson; Apple TV
“Stay Out of the Basement: Part I” (“Goosebumps”), Written by Rob Letterman, Hilary Winston; Disney+
“Merry Giftmas,” Written by Halcyon Person; Netflix\
“I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals” (“Percy Jackson and the Olympians”), Written by Craig Silverstein, Rick Riordan; Disney+
“When We Lose Someone” (“Tab Time”), Written by Sean Presant; YouTube *WINNER

Short Form Streaming
“The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel,” Writers: Jimmy Kimmel & Jesse Joyce; YouTube *WINNER
“Sesame Street YouTube: Take a Moment with Jonathan Bailey,” Written by Andrew Moriarty; YouTube

Documentary Script – Current Events
“Syria After Assad” (“Frontline”), Written by Martin Smith; PBS
“The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram” (“Frontline”), Written by Thomas Jennings and A.C. Thompson; PBS
“The Rise of RFK Jr.” (“Frontline”), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
“Trump’s Power & the Rule of Law” (“Frontline”), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS *WINNER

Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events
“Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act” (“American Experience”), Written by Chana Gazit; PBS
“Clearing the Air: The War on Smog” (“American Experience”), Written by Peter Yost & Edna Alburquerque; PBS
“Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP” (“American Experience”), Written by Rob Rapley; PBS *WINNER
“Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer’s,” Written by Jason Sussberg; PBS
“Mr. Polaroid” (“American Experience”), Written by Gene Tempest; PBS

News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report
“Devastating Flooding in Texas” (“World News Tonight with David Muir”), Written by David Muir et al.; ABC News
“The L.A. Wildfires” (“World News Tonight with David Muir”), Written by David Muir et al.; ABC News *WINNER

News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary
“Eye on America: Coldwater Creek,” Written by Cait Bladt; CBS News
“Gaza, Hannah Arendt, and The Banality of Evil,” Written by Basel Hamdan; MSNBC
“Mysterious Russian Deaths” (“60 Minutes”), Written by Michael Rey et al.; CBS News
“Remembering Palestinian Journalists Killed by Israeli Forces,” Written by Lisa Salinas; MSNBC *WINNER
“Uphill Battle” (“CBS News Sunday Morning”), Written by Richard Buddenhagen et al.; CBS News

Digital News
“Altadena Residents Know Their Community Is Worth Rebuilding. Can They Protect Its Legacy?,” Written by Taiyler Mitchell; HuffPost
“American Siberia,” Written by Alexander Sammon; Slate
“An Isolated Boarding School Promised to Help Troubled Girls. Former Students Say They Were Abused.,” Written by Sebastian Murdock and Taiyler Mitchell; HuffPost *WINNER
“How Cassie’s Lawsuit Against Diddy Galvanized A Movement of Survivors,” Written by Njera Perkins and Taiyler Mitchell; HuffPost
“Trump Sent Them to Hell. Now He’s Erasing Them Altogether.,” Written by Matt Shuham and Jessica Schulberg; HuffPost

Radio / Audio

Radio/Audio Documentary
“Episode 2: A Game of Telephone” (“Camp Swamp Road”), Written by Heather Rogers et al.; Spotify
“Jerry Lewis’ Lost Holocaust Clown Movie” (“Decoder Ring”), Written by Max Freedman; Slate *WINNER
“Why Women Kill” (“What Next”), Written by Mary Harris and Elena Schwartz; Slate

Radio/Audio News Script – Regularly Scheduled
“ABC News Radio Top of the Hour News,” Written by Robert Hawley; ABC News Radio *WINNER
“CBS World News Roundup,” Written by Paul Farry and Steve Kathan; CBS News
“Hasan Piker Knew Charlie Kirk” (“What Next”), Written by Mary Harris and Madeline Ducharme; Slate

Radio/Audio News Script – Analysis
“How Will We Feed Our Neighbors?,” Written by Mary Harris and Anna Phillips; Slate
“The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio *WINNER
“We Made a Memecoin,” Written by Lizzie O’Leary et al.; Slate

Promotional Writing

Promotional Writing Nominees – On-Air Promotion
“Behind the Crown: King & Conqueror EPK,” Written by Molly Neylan; CBS
“CBS Comedy,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS *WINNER

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