2024 WGA Awards: “The Holdovers” & “American Fiction” Among Winners

Jeffrey Wright in "American Fiction"
Jeffrey Wright in "American Fiction"

The WGA Awards were significantly delayed in the face of the writers’ strike, but they finally announced the winners this past weekend. The Holdovers and American Fiction stole the show in the movie categories, while Succession, The Bear, and Beef dominated the TV field.

Despite losing the Academy Award for best original screenplay at the Oscar to Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers won over the WGA Awards voters. David Hemingson won the trophy for writing this film, beating Air, Barbie, May December, and Past Lives.

Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction replicated its Oscars success, winning another trophy for the best original screenplay. It defeated tough competition in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Killers of the Flower Moon, Nyad, and Oppenheimer.

Winners in the TV categories were pretty easy to predict, and the three main awards went to TV shows that dominated the entire award season. Succession won best drama series, The Bear was named the best comedy series, while Beef was crowned the best limited series. The Last of Us collected the trophy for the best new series, despite losing in the best drama field.

The Writers Guild of America Awards took place on April 14, after being delayed by several months in the face of the writers’ strike.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS AT THE 2024 WGA AWARDS:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Holdovers, Written by David Hemingson; Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Fiction, Screenplay by Cord Jefferson, Based upon the novel Erasure by Percival Everett; Amazon MGM Studios

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Pigeon Tunnel, Written by Errol Morris; Apple Original Films

DRAMA SERIES
Succession, Written by Will Arbery, Jesse Armstrong, Miriam Battye, Jon Brown, Jamie Carragher, Ted Cohen, Nate Elston, Francesca Gardiner, Callie Hersheway, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Tony Roche, Susan Soon He Stanton, Will Tracy; HBO | Max

COMEDY SERIES
The Bear, Written by Karen Joseph Adcock, Joanna Calo, Kelly Galuska, Rene Gube, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Alex Russell, Catherine Schetina, Christopher Storer; FX Networks

LIMITED SERIES
Beef, Written by Joanna Calo, Bathsheba Doran, Jean Kyoung Frazier, Niko Gutierrez-Kovner, Lee Sung Jin, Alice Ju, Carrie Kemper, Mike Makowsky, Marie Hanhnhon Nguyen, Kevin Rosen, Alex Russell; Netflix

NEW SERIES
The Last of Us, Written by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, Craig Mazin, Bo Shim; HBO | Max

ANIMATION
“Carl Carlson Rides Again” (The Simpsons), Written by Loni Steele Sosthand; Fox 

EPISODIC DRAMA
“Living+” (Succession), Written by Georgia Pritchett & Will Arbery; HBO | Max

EPISODIC COMEDY
“Escape From Shit Mountain” (Poker Face), Written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman; Peacock

COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES  
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers Daniel O’Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali Writers Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofia Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, Chrissy Shackelford; HBO | Max

COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love, Written by Sarah Silverman; HBO | Max

COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES 
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Writers Tim Robinson, Zach Kanin, John Solomon, Gary Richardson, Reggie Henke, Brendan Jennings, Patti Harrison; Netflix

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
The Chase, Head Writer David Levinson Wilk Writers Erik Agard, Kyle Beakley, Micki Boden, Megan Broussard, Jonathan Daly, Brian Greene, Robert King, Jason Lundell, Sierra Mannie, Amy Ozols, Bobby Patton, Ellen Teitel, Ari Yolkut; NBC

CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“Romance Dawn” (One Piece), Written by Matt Owens & Steven Maeda; Netflix

DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives, Head Writer Ron Carlivati Creative Consultant Ryan Quan Writers Sonja Alar, Jazmen Darnell Brown, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Cheryl Davis, Kirk Doering, Christopher Dunn, Jamey Giddens, David Kreizman, Henry Newman, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock; Peacock

TV & NEW MEDIA MOTION PICTURES
Quiz Lady, Written by Jen D’Angelo; Hulu

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
Carpool Karaoke, Written by Casey Stewart, David Young; Apple TV+

NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Healing and Hope” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Nicole Young, Kristin Steve; CBS News

NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT 
“Surprise Attack!” (CBS Weekend News), Written by J. Craig Wilson, Ambrose Raferty; CBS News

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT
“Episode One: Blood Memory” (The American Buffalo), Written by Dayton Duncan; PBS

DIGITAL NEWS
“The Persuaders: A 5-Part Investigation into the Union-Busting Industry,” Written by Dave Jamieson; HuffPost

RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
“The Call” (This American Life), Written by Mary Harris; Slate

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“World News This Week – Week of March 17, 2023,” Written by Joy Piazza; ABC News Radio

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Diagnosis Was Fatal. She Couldn’t Get an Abortion” (What Next), Written by Madeline Ducharme and Mary Harris; Slate

ON AIR PROMOTION
“WCBS AM Promos,” Written by Bill Tynan; WCBS Newsradio 880