awards

Here’s a Look at the WGA TV Nominations, and Why Fargo Got Snubbed

FARGO
Photo: Chris Large/FX

The Writers Guild of America unveiled its list of nominees for TV, new media, news, radio, and promo writing earlier today. Perhaps unsurprisingly, HBO led the TV pack with 16 nominations, and Fox dominated the animation category. Accordingly, the nominees list contains many other familiar and expected names, but FX’s Fargo and Showtime’s Homeland did not make the cut.

After what was initially described as a snub, FX released a statement explaining why its Emmy-winning miniseries was absent:

When the WGA Award nominations were announced this morning, several news outlets commented about the notable omission of FX’s award-winning miniseries Fargo. The network initially submitted Fargo in the longform category based on the fact that the 10 one-hour scripts — all written by Noah Hawley — tell a single, close-ended story and therefore Fargo is a miniseries. The WGA does not recognize Fargo as a miniseries because Noah Hawley was accorded a ‘Created for Television By’ credit and said that Fargo could only be considered in the drama series category. Fargo won the Emmy Award this year for Outstanding Miniseries. It has been submitted as a miniseries for this year’s Golden Globe Awards. Since Fargo is not in fact a drama series, and it is in fact a miniseries, FX made the decision not to submit Noah Hawley and his brilliant scripts for WGA Awards consideration.

Here’s the full list of nominations for the awards, which will take place in L.A. and New York on February 14:

Drama Series:

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss (HBO)
The Good Wife
, Written by Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Matthew Hodgson, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Erica Shelton Kodish, Matthew Montoya, Luke Schelhaas, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Craig Turk, Julia Wolfe (CBS)
House of Cards
, Written by Bill Cain, Laura Eason, Sam R. Forman, William Kennedy, Kenneth Lin, John Mankiewicz, David Manson, Beau Willimon (Netflix)
Mad Men
, Written by Heather Jeng Bladt, Semi Chellas, Jonathan Igla, David Iserson, Erin Levy, Matthew Weiner, Carly Wray (AMC)
True Detective
, Written by Nic Pizzolatto (HBO)

Comedy Series:

Louie, Written by Louis CK (FX)
Orange Is the New Black
, Written by Stephen Falk, Sian Heder, Tara Herrmann, Sara Hess, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Lauren Morelli, Alex Regnery, Hartley Voss (Netflix)
Silicon Valley
, Written by John Altschuler, Alec Berg, Matteo Borghese, Jessica Gao, Mike Judge, Dave Krinsky, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Rob Turbovsky, Ron Weiner (HBO)
Transparent
, Written by Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway (Amazon)
Veep
, Written by Simon Blackwell, Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Tony Roche, Will Smith (HBO)

New Series:

The Affair, Written by Dan LeFranc, Hagai Levi, Melanie Marnich, Eric Overmyer, Kate Robin, Sarah Treem (Showtime)
The Knick
, Written by Jack Amiel, Michael Begler, Steven Katz (Cinemax)
Silicon Valley
, Written by John Altschuler, Alec Berg, Matteo Borghese, Jessica Gao, Mike Judge, Dave Krinsky, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Rob Turbovsky, Ron Weiner (HBO)
Transparent
, Written by Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway (Amazon)
True Detective
, Written by Nic Pizzolatto (HBO)

Longform Original: 

Deliverance Creek, Written by Melissa Carter (Lifetime)
Return to Zero
, Written by Sean Hanish (Lifetime)

Longform Adapted:

Houdini, Written by Nicholas Meyer; Based on the book Houdini: A Mind in Chains: A Psychoanalytic Portrait by Bernard C. Meyer, M.D. (History)
Klondike
, Parts One, Three and Six, Teleplay by Paul T. Scheuring, Parts Two, Four and Five, Teleplay by Josh Goldin & Rachel Abramowitz, Based on the book Gold Diggers by Charlotte Gray (Discovery)
The Normal Heart
, Teleplay by Larry Kramer, Based on his play The Normal Heart (HBO)
Olive Kitteridge
, Teleplay by Jane Anderson, Based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout (HBO)
“Pilot” (The Leftovers), Teleplay by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta, Based on the book by Tom Perrotta (HBO)

Shortform New Media — Original:

“Apocalypse No” (Bad Shorts), Written by Ben Zelevansky (luckybirdsmedia.com)
“City of Angels” (Caper), Written by Amy Berg & Mike Sizemore (Hulu)
“Episode 1 – Nature” (F To 7th), Written by Ingrid Jungermann (YouTube)
“Episode 113: Rachel” (High Maintenance), Written by Katja Blichfeld & Ben Sinclair (helpingyoumaintain.com)
“Episode 204” (Vicky and Lysander), Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker (YouTube)
“Episode 207” (Vicky and Lysander), Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker (YouTube)

Animation:

“Bob and Deliver” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Greg Thompson (Fox)
“Brick Like Me” (The Simpsons), Written by Brian Kelley (Fox)
“Covercraft” (The Simpsons), Written by Matt Selman (Fox)
“Pay Pal” (The Simpsons), Written by David Steinberg (Fox)
“Steal This Episode” (The Simpsons), Written by J. Stewart Burns (Fox)
“Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Nora Smith (Fox)

Episodic Drama: 

“A Day’s Work” (Mad Men), Written by Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner (AMC)
“Devil You Know” (Boardwalk Empire), Written by Howard Korder (HBO)
“Donald the Normal” (Rectify), Written by Kate Powers & Ray McKinnon (Sundance)
“Friendless Child” (Boardwalk Empire), Written by Riccardo DiLoreto & Cristine Chambers and Howard Korder (HBO)
“The Last Call” (The Good Wife), Written by Robert King & Michelle King (CBS)
“The Lion and the Rose” (Game of Thrones), Written for Television by George R.R. Martin (HBO)

Episodic Comedy: 

“The Cold” (Modern Family), Written by Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz (ABC)
“Landline” (New Girl), Written by Rob Rosell (Fox)
“Low Self Esteem City” (Orange Is the New Black), Written by Nick Jones (Netflix)
“So Did the Fat Lady” (Louie), Written by Louis C.K. (FX)
“Three Dinners” (Modern Family), Written by Abraham Higginbotham & Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman (ABC)
“The Wilderness” (Transparent), Written by Ethan Kuperberg (Amazon)

Comedy/Variety — Series:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Writers: Rory Albanese, Dan Amira, Steve Bodow, Tim Carvell, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, Elliott Kalan, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parsons, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver, Jon Stewart, Delaney Yeager (Comedy Central)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner (HBO)
Inside Amy Schumer
, Head Writer: Jessi Klein Writers: Emily Altman, Jeremy Beiler, Neil Casey, Kyle Dunnigan, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Dan Powell, Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
The Colbert Report
, Writers: Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Sam Kim, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Meredith Scardino, Max Werner (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live
, Head Writers: Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Gary Greenberg Writers: Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Bess Kalb, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Loveness, Bryan Paulk, Rick Rosner, Bridger Winegar (ABC)
Saturday Night Live
, Head Writers: Seth Meyers, Colin Jost, Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Alex Baze, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Steve Higgins, Leslie Jones, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, Claire Mulaney, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, John Solomon, Kent Sublette, Lakendra Tookes (NBC)
Real Time with Bill Maher
, Head Writer: Billy Martin Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Danny Vermont (HBO)

Comedy/Variety — Music, Awards, Tributes — Specials:

The 68th Annual Tony Awards, Written by Dave Boone; Special Material by Jon Macks (CBS)
71st Annual Golden Globe Awards
, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material by Alex Baze, Dave Boone, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Jon Macks, Sam Means, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Mike Shoemaker (NBC)
2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards
, Written by Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman, Patton Oswalt, Erik Weiner (IFC)
Bill Maher: Live from D.C.
, Written by Bill Maher (HBO)
Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles
, Written by Sarah Silverman (HBO)

Quiz and Audience Participation:

Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter (NBC)
Jeopardy!
, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse (ABC)

Daytime Drama:

Days of Our Lives, Written by Lorraine Broderick, David Cherrill, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Christopher Dunn, Janet Iacobuzio, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Melissa Salmons, Christopher Whitesell (NBC)
General Hospital
, Written by Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Elizabeth Page, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten (ABC)

Children’s Script — Episodic and Specials:

“Girl Meets 1961” (Girl Meets World), Written by Matthew Nelson (Disney)
“Haunted Heartthrob” (Haunted Hathaways), Written by Bob Smiley (Nick)
“Haunted Sisters” (Haunted Hathaways), Written by Boyce Bugliari & Jamie McLaughlin (Nick)

Documentary Script — Current Events:

“Losing Iraq” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser (PBS)
“United States of Secrets: Privacy Lost (Part Two)” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith (PBS)
“United States of Secrets: The Program (Part One)” (Frontline); PBS; Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser (PBS)

Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events:

“Episode Five: The Rising Road (1933-1939)” (The Roosevelts: An Intimate History), Written by Geoffrey C. Ward (PBS)
“League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser (PBS)
“Standing Up in the Milky Way (Episode 1)” (COSMOS: A Space Time Odyssey), Written by Ann Druyan and Steven Soter (Fox)

TV News Script — Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report:

“50th Anniversary of JFK’s Assassination” (CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley), Written by Jerry Cipriano, Joe Clines (CBS)
CBS This Morning
, Written by Duane Tollison, Chip Sorrentino, Bruce Meyer, Bill Crowley (CBS)
“Nelson Mandela: A Man Who Changed the World” (World News with Diane Sawyer), Written by Diane Sawyer, Lisa Ferri, Dave Bloch (ABC)

TV News Script — Analysis, Feature, or Commentary:

“Nowhere to Go” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Oriana Zill de Granados & Michael Rey (CBS)

Radio Documentary:

“Three Shots Rang Out: The JFK Assassination 50 Years Later,” Written by Darren Reynolds (ABC News Radio)

Radio News Script — Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report:

“6AM News,” Written by Philip Pilato (1010 WINS Radio)
“8PM Hour,” Written by Robert Hawley (WCBS-AM)
“New York City Loses a Radio News Legend,” Written by Bill Spadaro (CBS Radio/1010 WINS)
“World News This Week,” Written by Andrew Evans (ABC News Radio)

Radio News Script — Analysis, Feature, or Commentary:

“Civil Rights at 50,” Written by Jane Tillman Irving (WCBS Radio)
“Remembering Nelson Mandela,” Written by Gail Lee (CBS Radio News)

On-Air Promotion:

“How I Met Your Mother,” Written by Dan Greenberger (CBS)
“WABC-TV On-Air Promos,” Written by Brandon Nelson (WABC-TV)

The WGA TV Noms, and Why Fargo Got Snubbed