On The Scene: 2020 Writers Guild Awards [Video]

Parasite’s Bong Joon-Ho said during his acceptance speech, as he won the best original screenplay honor at the 2020 Writer’s Guild awards. The South Korean film director and screenwriter was up against 1917, Booksmart, Knives Out, and Marriage Story.

“There are some people who make barriers higher but we writers love to destroy barriers.”

The 72^nd annual Writers Guild Awards hosted by Ana Gasteyer in Los Angeles and John Fugelsang in New York had Hollywood stars like Amy Poehler, Kevin Bacon, and FX’s Pose Dominique Jackson presenting the awards to the winners of the night. Director Bong Joon-Ho wasn’t the only one who spoke about breaking down barriers. Dominique Jackson mentioned to The Knockturnal, ahead of the New York ceremony on the red carpet, about the importance of tearing down walls and bringing history to television through amazing writers.

On the TV side, HBO swept most of the big awards winning best drama for Succession, best new series for Watchmen, and the comedy category for Barry. The WGA East presented other honorary awards such as the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence and Mentorship to longtime Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

SCREENPLAY

Original Screenplay

Parasite
Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Story by Bong Joon Ho; Neon

Adapted Screenplay

Jojo Rabbit
Screenplay by Taika Waititi, Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens; Searchlight

Documentary Screenplay

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films

TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA, AND NEWS

Drama Series

Succession
Written by Jesse Armstrong, Alice Birch, Jon Brown, Jonathan Glatzer, Cord Jefferson, Mary Laws, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Tony Roche, Gary Shteyngart, Susan Soon He Stanton, Will Tracy; HBO

Comedy Series

Barry
Written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade, Elizabeth Sarnoff; HBO

New Series

Watchmen
Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Janine Nabers, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO

Original Long Form

Chernobyl
Written by Craig Mazin; HBO

Adapted Long Form

Fosse/Verdon
Written by Debora Cahn, Joel Fields, Ike Holter, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Charlotte Stoudt, Tracey Scott Wilson; Based on the book Fosse by Sam Wasson; FX Networks

Original Short Form New Media

Special
Written by Ryan O’Connell; Netflix

Animation

“Thanksgiving of Horror” (The Simpsons)
Written by Dan Vebber; Fox

Episodic Drama

“Tern Haven” (Succession)
Written by Will Tracy; HBO

Episodic Comedy

“Pilot” (Dead to Me)
Written by Liz Feldman; Netflix

Comedy/Variety Talk Series

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Senior Writers: Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner Writers: Tim Carvell, Daniel O’Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO

Comedy/Variety Specials

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Part 2
Head Writer: Melinda Taub; Writing Supervised by: Joe Grossman, Nicole Silverberg; Writers: Samantha Bee, Kristen Bartlett, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Lewis Friedman, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi. Special Material by: Allison Silverman; TBS

Comedy/Variety Sketch Series

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix

Quiz And Audience Participation

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Head Writer: Bret Calvert; Writers: Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo; Nickelodeon

Daytime Drama

The Young and the Restless
Writers: Amanda L. Beall, Jeff Beldner, Sara Bibel, Matt Clifford, Annie Compton, Christopher Dunn, Sara Endsley, Janice Ferri Esser, Mellinda Hensley, Lynn Martin, Anne Schoettle, Natalie Minardi Slater, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS

Children’s Episodic, Long Form And Specials

“Remember Black Elvis?” (Family Reunion)
Written by Howard Jordan, Jr.; Netflix

Documentary Script – Current Events

“Trump’s Trade War” (Frontline)
Written by Rick Young; PBS

Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events

“Right To Fail” (Frontline)
Written by Tom Jennings; PBS

News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, Or Breaking Report

“Terror in America: The Massacres in El Paso and Dayton” (Special Edition of the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell)
Written by Jerry Cipriano, Joe Clines, Bob Meyer; CBS News

News Script – Analysis, Feature, Or Commentary

“Fly Like An Eagle” (60 Minutes)
Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News

Digital News

“Stories About My Brother”
Written by Prachi Gupta, Jezebel.com

RADIO/AUDIO

Radio Audio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, Or Breaking Report

“Hail and Farewell: Remembering Some Headline Makers”
Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

Radio Audio News Script – Analysis, Feature, Or Commentary

“The Enduring Legacy of Jackie Kennedy Onassis”
Written by Dianne E. James, Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

PROMOTIONAL WRITING

On Air Promotion

Star Trek: Picard and All Rise Promos
Written by Jessica Katzenstein; CBS