News

After Writers Guild of America waged a protest regarding the Television Academy‘s decision to move the outstanding writing for a variety series or special categories out of the upcoming Emmy telecast, the TV Academy has reversed course.

In a joint release sent out today, the Television Academy, Fox and the WGA said they were “happy to announce they have reached an agreement to include the Writing for a Variety Series category in the 75th Emmy Awards telecast airing live on Fox on January 15, 2024, at 8pm Est / 5pm Pst.”

Because this year’s Primetime Emmys has moved the variety special (live) category into the telecast (it was on the Creative Arts show last year), the TV Academy was likely looking to keep the telecast capped at 25 awards, so something had to fall out. And in this case, it was the variety writing field that originally got pushed to the Creative Arts ceremony.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2023 Emmy Predictions:

Outstanding Talk Series

Weekly Commentary: Jon Stewart is facing off against his buddy Stephen Colbert in the talk series category, and it’s a race too close to call.

CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” could manage its first significant win against Apple TV’s “The Problem with Jon Stewart,...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Emmys Collective

Visit each category, per the individual awards show from The Emmys Hub

To see old predictions and commentary,...

The Amber Ruffin Show and A Black Lady Sketch Show have both secured Emmy writing noms for the first time – noticeably helping to improve the diversity of the category.

The Peacock series and the HBO show will compete in Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series against HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and NBC’s SNL.

A somewhat curious note of this category is that Ashley Nicole Black will compete against herself, having been involved in writing on both The Amber Ruffin Show and A Black Lady Sketch Show.

It marks The Amber Ruffin Show’s first Emmy nomination since the weekly show launched last year. However, it is not Ruffin herself’s first nom, having been nominated in this category for her work, alongside her head writer Jenny Hagel, on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

The Amber Ruffin Show is...

Stephen Colbert has expanded the circle of people helping to make the ultimate decision about what the funniest things are for him to say each night on CBS’ “Late Show.”

Three writers/producers who have been with Colbert for years will get new duties at his late-night program.

Ariel Dumas, a longtime writer for Colbert, has been elevated to a head writer of the program, where she will join Jay Katsir. Katsir will also take on new supervising producer duties. Opus Moreschi, a longtime head writer and supervising producer for Colbert’s programs, is also taking on new duties, including overseeing longer-lead projects at the show.

“I have worked with all three of these incredibly talented people since ‘The Colbert Report,’” said Colbert, in a statement. “I am thrilled that someone as funny and dedicated as Ariel will be my new head writer and that Opus and Jay will continue to be comedic Gibraltars,...

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” has promoted Ariel Dumas to head writer alongside Jay Katsir, the CBS late-night show announced on Thursday.

Katsir will take on supervising producer duties in addition to continuing to serve as head writer alongside Dumas. Supervising producer Opus Moreschi is also taking on new responsibilities, such as overseeing long lead projects for the show, while remaining an integral part of the writing staff.

All three are veteran “Late Show” writers who also worked with Colbert on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”

Also Read: Colbert Walks Viewers Through '5 Stages of Republican Impeachment Grief' (Video)

“I have worked with all three of these incredibly talented people since ‘The Colbert Report,'” Stephen Colbert said in a statement. “I am thrilled that someone as funny and dedicated as Ariel will be my new head writer and that Opus and Jay will continue to be comedic Gibraltars,...

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has made a change on its writing team. Jay Katsir, who currently serves as head writer, will be joined by Ariel Dumas, who has been promoted as head writer after serving as writer and digital producer of the show. Katsir has also been upped to supervising producer.

Katsir and Opus Moreschi had served as Late Show co-head writers since the program’s 2015 launch with Colbert as host.

Supervising producer Moreschi will remain part of the CBS late-night show’s writing staff and will take on additional responsibilities including overseeing long lead projects for the show.

“I have worked with all three of these incredibly talented people since The Colbert Report,” host Stephen Colbert said. “I am thrilled that someone as funny and dedicated as Ariel will be my new head writer and that Opus and Jay will continue to be comedic Gibraltars, on which I can lean,...

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is shaking up its writing staff, promoting Ariel Dumas to head writer alongside Jay Katsir.

Additionally, supervising producer Opus Moreschi will take on more responsibilities at the CBS late night show, such as overseeing long-lead projects while remaining part of the writing staff. Katsir, who was already serving as head writer, will also be a supervising producer.

"I have worked with all three of these incredibly talented people since The Colbert Report," said Colbert. "I am thrilled that someone as funny and dedicated as Ariel will be my new head writer and that ...

They’re the names that fly by when the credits roll. But every member of the production staff on a late-night talk show is a foot soldier waging a daily battle against time and limited resources to make the show come alive.

Whether the series is a freight train that runs Monday through Friday or a weekly effort to synthesize and satirize the news, production values in late-night have come a long way since the days of overflowing ashtrays on Johnny Carson’s desk.

Today, there are video packages that need to be assembled, stunts that need testing, sketches that need costumes and moments of Zen to conjure. The topicality of these shows also means coordinating a small army to complete an endless series of creative and technical tasks under punishing deadlines. The unpredictability of the President Trump-era news cycle only adds to the pressure.

For executive producers and showrunners,...

The Writers Guild of America has just announced the nominations for their annual awards for Best Screenplays (by writers who are guild signatories). That’s right, before you get nervous thinking that your favorite may have been left off the list, you must remember that the WGA is the group that is not all-inclusive and leaves out several of the top contenders each year due to them not being part of the guild or not following their very specific rules. For this reason, you won’t see Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina in the Original Screenplay category or Room, Brooklyn, or Anomalisa in the Adapted screenplay category.

Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...

The Writers Guild of America announced some of its nominees for its 2015 awards on Thursday, including television, new media, and radio, and among the TV nominees are series both new and old, and all beloved.

In the comedy series category, freshman Netflix show "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" scored a nomination for best series, as well as an overall best new series nod. "The Last Man on Earth" also landed in that latter category, and was singled out for its pilot episode writing, too.

On the drama side of the equation, lauded "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" also got best series and best new series nominations, in addition to a an episode writing nod. Newly-minted Emmy winner "Game of Thrones" also scored a best drama citation, as well as an episodic writing nomination.

The full list of nominees released this week are below. Nominations in the theatrical and documentary categories will...

Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" won the Original Screenplay honor at the recently concluded Writers Guild Awards while Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game" took home the Adapted Screenplay trophy. "The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swarts" written by Brian Knappenberger won Documentary Screenplay award. The film is not nominated for an Academy award.

In TV land, HBO's "True Detective" won the Drama Series award and FX's "Louie" received the Comedy Series trophy.

Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2015 Writers Guild Awards:

Feature Film

Original Screenplay

Boyhood, Written by Richard Linklater; IFC Films

Foxcatcher, Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman; Sony Pictures Classics

The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight Winner

Nightcrawler, Written by Dan Gilroy; Open Road Films

Whiplash, Written by Damien Chazelle; Sony Pictures Classics

Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper,...

The Writers Guild of America announced the TV nominees for the 2015 WGA Awards on Thursday (December 4) morning and several new shows broke into the fields in a big way. And, of course, there were a number of big WGA Award nomination head-scratchers. Specifically, where the heck was FX's "Fargo"? The answer is below. Making perhaps the biggest splash was "Transparent," which earned three nominations and, since "Orange Is The New Black" earned two nods and "House of Cards" pick up one, that meant that Amazon Prime and Netflix are, at least for one award-giving organization, on equal footing as creators of original programming. The Jill Soloway-created "Transparent" is nominated for New Series, where it will go against "The Affair," "The Knick," "Silicon Valley" and "True Detective." "Transparent" and "Silicon Valley" are also up for Comedy Series, going against "Louie," "Veep" and "Orange Is The New Black." Lest you panic...

Her, Stories We Tell and Captain Phillips took home top honors on Saturday night as the big winners of the 2014 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen. Television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing were also recognized at simultaneous ceremonies at the Jw Marriott L.A. Live in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City. It’s the final precursor guild award leading up to the Oscars.

Below is a complete list of the winners.

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay (matched up with the Academy Awards nominations)

Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.

Nominees included American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Her and Nebraska.

Adapted Screenplay (3 for 5 Oscar nominations)

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures

In addition to Captain Phillips,...

Spike Jonze’s philosophical sci-fi love story Her, and Billy Ray’s harrowing true-life hostage saga Captain Phillips earned best original and adapted screenplays, respectively, from the Writers Guild Awards on Saturday.

In the original category, Her was facing its four rivals for the Oscar: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, and Nebraska, so its victory can be seen as a strong harbinger of where the Academy Award could go on March 2. In anecdotal sampling of Academy members, EW’s Prize Fighter has also determined that Her is far and away the front-runner for this category.

The WGA’s...

Tonight, the Writers Guild of America presented their awards for excellence in film and television for 2013. All eyes were on their top two categories, Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay, and while the former went to Spike Jonze’s incredible Her as expected, the latter went to Billy Ray’s Captain Phillips, which was completely out of the blue.

Her was widely expected to win due to its immense popularity throughout awards season, taking 20 screenplay wins from groups such as the HFPA and Bfca. However, Captain Phillips was a complete surprise given that it had not managed to win a single screenplay award prior to tonight, but as I’ve said before, it was going to be hard to tell which nominee was the favorite given the fact that the disqualified 12 Years a Slave has been the clear frontrunner throughout the season. However, it’s still quite shocking that Before Midnight...

The best and the brightest in TV came together at the Nokia Theatre this evening (September 22) for the 65th Annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

Neil Patrick Harris held down the fort as the year’s Mc, entertaining the star-studded crowd with show-stopping performances and hilarious skits with “How I Met Your Mother” cast members and former Emmy hosts.

As for the winners, Claire Danes scored a big win, taking home a trophy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while Jeff Daniels took home the prize in the Lead Actor category.

Meanwhile, Jim Parsons won his third Emmy for Lead Actor in a comedy for his role in “Big Bang Theory,” and Julia Louis-Dreyfus scored the prize for her lead role in “Veep.”

And last but not least, the cast of "Modern Family" and "Breaking Bad" were honored with Outstanding Comedy and Drama Series, respectively.

Check out the...

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were upset in their respective acting categories, but Breaking Bad won the night’s top prize, taking home its first Emmy for Best Drama. It was an unpredictable night in several major categories: In addition to The Newsroom’s Jeff Daniels taking home the trophy for Best Actor in a Drama and Boardwalk Empire’s Bobby Cannavale winning for Supporting Actor, Veep’s Tony Hale and Nurse Jackie’s Merritt Wever were surprise winners — Wever was so shocked that she practically ran off the stage without delivering an acceptance speech.

Not every category yielded a stunner,...

The Sopranos was named the best-written show in television history by the Writers Guild of America, edging out an eclectic collection of some of the most beloved and admired series. Members of the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) voted online for the 101 Best Written TV Series, with David Chase’s iconic “family” drama topping Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All in the Family, and M*A*S*H*.

“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers...

What do Walter White and Phil Dunphy have in common? They’re both at the center of the TV shows most honored by the Writers Guild of America today. The group just announced the nominees for its annual awards, which will be handed out Feb. 17 at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Breaking Bad garnered five nods; Modern Family drew four. Here’s a list of all the primetime and late night series in contention for the event’s biggest prizes:

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki,...

Well you don't have to tell me twice, after Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash were awarded the USC Libraries Scripter Award on Saturday I got a feeling the Writers Guild would be going the same way, and just that has happened. Last night the WGA awarded The Descendants for Best Adapted Screenplay while also awarding Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris for Best Original Screenplay. As a result I have had to change my Oscar predictions in the Best Adapted Screenplay category as it would appear all heat was on the adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings's novel and not on Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian's script for Moneyball. You can see those updated predictions right here. In the Original category I have had Allen's script at the top since the beginning and I see no reason to change that now. Granted, The Artist is expected to...

The Descendants, Breaking Bad, and the other winners for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.”

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards winners is below.

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Adapted Screenplay:The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

Documentary Screenplay: Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films

Television Winners

Drama Series: Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison,...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.

Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win,...

Midnight in Paris and The Descendants, along with Showtime’s Homeland and ABC’s Modern Family, were among the big winners at the annual Writers Guild Awards, held Sunday at ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City. The WGA honors achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, and news, among for other forms.

The night’s big winners were:

Original Screenplay Midnight in Paris, written by Woody Allen

Adapted Screenplay The Descendants, screenplay by by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Documentary Screenplay Better This World, written by Katie Galloway...

Midnight in Paris, Young Adult, and the other nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.” The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on February 19, 2012.

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2011 season. The winners will be honored at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

Television Nominees

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO

The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell,...

Who’s honoring Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart now?

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences! “The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” received four Daytime Emmy® Nominations from the Academy, Including:

Outstanding Special Class SpecialOutstanding Special Class WritingOutstanding Achievement in Live & Direct To Tape Sound MixingOutstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control

Well, technically, Jon and Stephen aren’t nominees for the the last two, but are listed as producers, hosts and writers on the Special Class Special and Writing categories. And, coincidentally, Comedy Central’s total number of nominees this year is exactly 4.

Here’s the list of nominated shows in these four categories. I’ve included the nominees for the “Rally” – nice to see Paul Dinello on the lists!

Outstanding Special Class Special84th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC)New Orleans: Getting Back to Normal (American Public Television)The Rally To Restore...

G’day Zoners! I don’t know about you, but I am still stuck in a post Ben & Jerry’s brain freeze of joy. Only Stephen could make chocolate coated potato chips and salty caramel swirl sound tasty. But I digress. In this week’s Six Degrees round-up; “Earth (The Audio Book)” receives more award nominations, Kristen Schaal features in a new “The National’s” film clip, Jimmy Fallon appears at The Paley Center, Allison Silverman appears on “This American Life”, and Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart and Lewis Black are to be featured in Comedy Central’s tribute to the late Greg Giraldo.

The Daily Show

The Daily Show

“Earth (The AudioBook)” has been nominated for an Audie Award in the “Humour” Category.

John Oliver (Correspondant/Writer)

The second season of “John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show” premiere’s on Thursday, March 24th.John talks to the Houtson...

G’day Zoners! I hope you’ve all had a good week, I’ve spent my final week of freedom before the new Uni year starts by relaxing and admiring Stephen’s new “Project Magazine” cover (so much less scary than the alternate version!!), and to help you all relax, I’ve got the latest round up of Six Degrees news. This week Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and John Legend add Grammy’s to their trophy cabinets, John Oliver has a special edition of his “New York Stand-Up Show”, Allison Silverman’s new series has been picked up for a second season, and Movits! and The Moutain Goats have a new albums on the way.

The Colbert Report

Allison Silverman (Former Head Writer & Executive Producer)

IFC has picked up “Portlandia” for a second season.

Rev. James Martin (Tcr Chaplin)

“An Evening with Rev. James Martin, Sj” in which the Rev.

As soon as we thought we could predict the outcome of the Oscars, here comes another surprise! This one's brought to you by the Writers Guild of America. Picked for Best Original Screenplay was Christopher Nolan's "Inception." The director, famously dissed for not getting a Best Director Oscar nomination, may just win the Best Original Screenplay come Oscar night. Oscar front-runner, "The King's Speech" was not nominated because it didn't quality under union rules which prompted Nolan to say during his WGA acceptance award that he looked forward to a time when he could accept the award "without qualification."

That could be the beginning of a great script Mr. Nolan, go write it :happy

For adapted screenplay, I'm happy to report that Aaron Sorkin's fantastic script won! Based on "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, "The Social Network" was the only film last year that I predicted to win this very category.

Congratulations to The Colbert Report writers on winning a Writers Guild of America award last night for Best Comedy/Variety Series! The Tcr writers previously won this award in 2008; this year, they were up against Penn & Teller, Saturday Night Live, and The Daily Show. Well done, Team Colbert!

Comedy / Variety – (Including Talk) Series

The Colbert Report, Writers: Barry Julien, Dan Guterman, Eric Drysdale, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Jay Katsir, Max Werner, Meredith Scardino, Michael Brumm, Opus Moreschi, Peter Gwinn, Rich Dahm, Rob Dubbin, Scott Sherman, Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell, Peter Grosz, Paul Dinello; Comedy Central

For more details on all the winners, check out The Envelope’s Awards Tracker column for a full write-up.

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) tonight announced the winners of the 2011 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel-Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles and the Axa Equitable Center in New York City.

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay

Inception, Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.

Adapted Screenplay

The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures

Documentary Screenplay

Inside Job, Written by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Sony Pictures Classic

Television Winners

Drama Series

Mad Men, Written by Jonathan Abrahams, Lisa Albert, Keith Huff, Jonathan Igla,Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy,

Tracy McMillan, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC

Comedy Series

Modern Family, Written by Jerry Collins,...

G’day Zoners!! and welcome to the latest Six Degrees round up. This week we have some exciting new projects from the Tcr writers, interviews with Amy and David Sedaris and Jon Stewart joins the 9/11 Memorial Board.

The Colbert Report

Jay Katsir and Rob Dubbin (Writers)

The popular children’s educational program “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego”, written by Jay, Rob and gaming/music journalist Chris Dahlen will be released as a Facebook game on February 9th.

Max Werner (Writer)

Max’s script “Fun Size” has been picked up by Paramount Pictures, and will make the directorial debute of “Chuck” creator Josh Schwartz.The Daily Show

Jon Stewart (Host/Writer)

Jon has been appointed to the board of National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Aasif Mandvi (Correspondant)

Aasif talks to Al Jazerea about diversity in Hollywood and cultural stereotypes in the Us film industry.

Elliott Kalan (Writer)

As part...

"I Love You Phillip Morris" came out of nowhere and secured a nod for the 2011 Writers Guild Awards. Based on the book by Steven McVicker, the film starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGRegor as prisoners in love received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.

"Phillip Morris" will be competing with awards-favorites "127 Hours" (screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy), "The Social Network" (screenplay Aaron Sorkin), "The Town" (screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard), and True Grit (screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen).

In the Original Screenplay category, critics-darlings "Black Swan" (screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin), "The Fighter" (screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson), "Inception" (Christopher Nolan), and "The Kids Are All Right" (written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg) will be competing with "Please Give" by Nicole Holofcener. Much like "I Love You Phillip Morris," "Please Give," a family dramedy set in New York,...

Congrats to the writing staff of the ‘Colbert Report’, who have been nominated for the fourth straight year for a Writer’s Guild of America award for Comedy/Variety (including talk) Series. First nominated in 2007, the ‘Colbert Report’ writers won the award that first year out, but lost in 2008 to ‘Saturday Night Live’ and lost in 2009 to ‘Saturday Night Live’/'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ (dual winners in 2009). ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ was nominated this year as well in the Comedy Variety (including talk) series category.

Congratulations on your nominations, Team Colbert and Team Stewart, and good luck! Here is the full list of nominated shows in the Comedy/Variety (including talk) Series:

Comedy / Variety – (Including Talk) Series

Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Writers: Penn Jillette, Teller, Star Price, David Wechter, Michael Goudeau, Steve Melcher, Tom Kramer, Rich Nathanson; Showtime

Saturday Night Live, Head Writer: Seth Meyers; Writers: Doug Abeles,...

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2010 season to be honored at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards on February 5, 2011, in Los Angeles and New York.

Television Nominees

Dramatic Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Tom Schnauz, John Shiban, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

Dexter, Written by Scott Buck, Manny Coto, Charles H. Eglee, Lauren Gussis, Chip Johannessen, Jim Leonard, Clyde Phillips, Scott Reynolds, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattmann, Wendy West; Showtime

Friday Night Lights, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Ron Fitzgerald, Etan Frankel, Monica Henderson, David Hudgins, Rolin Jones, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Derek Santos Olson, John Zinman; NBC

Mad Men,...

As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, someone (or someones) actually sits down and writes a movie or TV show before you end up seeing it at your local multiplex or on your favorite TV network. The people who do the sitting and the writing are, surprisingly, called writers and, like the Directors, the Golden Globes and the Oscars, they have their own awards show.

This week, the Writers Guild of America, which is the trade group and advocate for writers, announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in feature film and television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2009 season to be honored at the upcoming 2010 Writers Guild Awards on February 20, 2010, in Los Angeles and New York.

We realize that these nominations may not be as glamorous as the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but we kinda like writers around here and think they do a pretty important job.

Awards heavyweights "Mad Men," "30 Rock" and "The Office" and buzzed-about newcomer "Modern Family" led the TV field for the 2010 Writers Guild Awards with three nominations each.

AMC's "Mad Men" and NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office" are in the running for best drama/comedy series, and each received two nominations for episodic writing. "Family" made the cut for best comedy series, best new series and best episodic writing for a comedy series.

ABC's "Family" was one of two new shows to break into the best series categories along with Fox's quirky high-school dramedy "Glee," which faces "Family" in the best comedy series and best new series fields.

While the WGA Awards are still in its nomination phase, Fox's "The Simpsons" can already uncork the champagne. The veteran series is assured to win the animation category after landing all five nomination slots.

The biggest surprise among the series nominees was HBO's low-key baseball comedy "Eastbound & Down,...

So the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards took place last night... did you tune in? I hear it was a good show even though a lot of the winners were pretty much a given. 30 Rock and Mad Men both took home the big awards, but the hardware was spread out a bit more among other shows than in previous years. At any rate, just in case you missed it, we've got the full list of major award winners right here for you to review. Do you agree with the majority of the choices? For those who did watch the show, what were some of your favourite moments? What did you think of Neil Patrick Harris as the host? Check out the list of winners after the jump. Comedy Series "Entourage" "Family Guy "Flight of the Conchords" "How I Met Your Mother" "The Office" Winner: "30 Rock" "Weeds" Drama Series "Big Love" "Breaking Bad...

So another year has passed and its time for another round of awards for the people who make the television shows we like to watch.

Television is interesting these days. Never before have we seen such great, creative output. Never before have we been subjected to such drivel. It all gets paraded before us tonight, as we watch the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (handed out, it should be noted, by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) on CBS, CTV in Canada.

8:00

Interesting that the Emmys chose to introduce the 2009 edition of the Primetime awards by harkening back to the early days of television. Especially as the business of television has never been closer to a complete collapse. Oh, announcer who is trying so hard to sound like a TV host from the '50s. You don't sound at all like you're a three pack-a-day smoker.

8:01

Okay, here comes Neil Patrick Harris,...

"The Dark Knight," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Doubt," "Frost/Nixon," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are among the nominees in the Adapted Screenplay category for the WGA's (Writers Guild Awards) 61st Anniversary awards show.

Winners will be announced February 7th, and will be held simultaneously between two ceremonies -- West Coast at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and the East Coast at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

What about "Milk" or "The Wrestler?" Click Read More to see full list of nominees!

Original Screenplay

Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features

Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company

The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films

The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay...

Below is a list of the 60th Annual Emmy Award Winners... Outstanding Drama Series "Mad Men" Outstanding Comedy Series "30 Rock" Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality - Competition Program Jeff Probst for "Survivor" Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Tina Fey for "30 Rock" Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Glenn Close for "Damages" Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Paul Giamatti for "John Adams" Outstanding Miniseries "John Adams" Outstanding Reality Competition Program "The Amazing Race" Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Eileen Atkins for "Cranford" Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Tom Wilkinson for "John Adams" Outstanding Made for Television Movie Recount Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series "The Daily Show" Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or...

Diablo Cody's "Juno" took the prize for original screenplay, and Ethan and Joel Coen's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel "No Country for Old Men" was the winner in the adapted screenplay category as the WGA, West and the WGA, East announced their annual awards Saturday night.

Because of the strike, the WGA, West did not hold its customary awards dinner, while the WGA, East held a scaled-back reception at the Hudson Theatre in New York.

Having also picked up awards from the DGA and the PGA, the Coens' "No Country" is now the front-runner heading toward the Academy Awards on Feb. 24.

The writers also recognized Alex Gibney?'s "Taxi to the Dark Side", an investigation into interrogation techniques, as best documentary screenplay.

On the TV side, the dramatic series honors went to HBO's "The Wire", written by Ed Burns, Chris Collins, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon and William F. Zorzi, while the comedy series kudos went to NBC's "30 Rock", written by Brett Baer, Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Dave Finkel, Daisy Gardner, Donald Glover, Matt Hubbard, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher and Ron Weiner.

Other winners:

New series: AMC's "Mad Men", written by Lisa Albert, Bridget Bedard, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Tom Palmer, Chris Provenzano, Robin Veith and Matthew Weiner;

Episodic drama, "The Second Coming" episode of "The Sopranos", by Terence Winter;

Episodic comedy, "The Job" from "The Office", by Paul Lieberstein & Michael Schur;

Long form orginal: "Pandemic", by Bryce Zabel & Jackie Zabel;

Long form adaptation, "The Company: A Story of the CIA, teleplay by Ken Nolan, based on the novel by Robert Littell;

"Kill Gil Volumes 1&2," from "The Simpsons", ? by Jeff Westbrook;

Comedy/variety: "The Colbert Report", written by Bryan Adams, Michael Brumm, Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Glenn Eichler, Peter Grosz, Peter Gwinn, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Laura Krafft, Frank Lesser, Tom Purcell and Allison Silverman

Daytime serial: "The Young & The Restless," written by Lynn Marie Latham, Scott Hamner, Jeff Gottesfeld & Cherie Bennet, Bernard Lechowick, James Stanley, Natalie Minardi Slater, Lynsey Dufour, Marina Alburger, Sara Bibel, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald & Linda Schreiber, Joshua McCaffrey and Sandra Weintraub;

Children's episodic & specials: "Look Whose Not Talking" from "Flight 29 Down", by D.