Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Documentary Script – Current Events
| Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Documentary Script – Current Events | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Writing in Documentaries – Current Events |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Writers Guild of America |
| First awarded | 1988 |
| Currently held by | Rick Young for "The Healthcare Divide" (Frontline) - 2021 |
| Website | www |
The Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Documentary Script – Current Events is an award presented by the Writers Guild of America to the best writing in a documentary about current events. It was first awarded at the 41st Writers Guild of America Awards, being the episode "Apartheid Part 5: 1987" from the American program Frontline the inaugural winner of the category.
Winners and nominees
[edit]1980s
[edit]| Year | Program | Episode | Writer(s) | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988
(41st) |
Frontline | "Apartheid Part 5: 1987" | Irv Drasnin | PBS | |
1989
(42nd) |
Secret Intelligence | Joseph Angier and Blaine Baggett | PBS | ||
1990s
[edit]| Year | Program | Episode | Writer(s) | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990
(43rd) |
Frontline | "Seven Days in Bensonhurst" | Thomas Lennon and Shelby Steele | PBS | |
1991
(44th) |
Power in the Pacific | Joseph Angier and Carl Byker | PBS | ||
1992
(45th) |
No award given | ||||
1993
(46th) |
Frontline | "The Choice '92" | Richard Ben Gramer, Thomas Lennon and Michael Epstein | PBS | |
1994
(47th) |
No award given | ||||
1995
(48th) |
The Human Quest | "The Nature of Human Nature" | Roger Bingham and Carl Byker | PBS | |
| 48 Hours | "The Rage Over Welfare" | Greg Kandra | CBS | ||
| Frontline | "Rush Lumbaugh's America" | Stephen Talbot | PBS | ||
| "Currents of Fear" | Jon Palfreman | ||||
1996
(49th) |
Frontline | "The Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson" | Marshall Frady and Mark Zwonitzer | PBS | [1] |
| Primetime Live | "Judgement at Midnight" | Mark Zwonitzer | ABC | ||
| Nova | "Bombing of America" | Nancy Linde | PBS | ||
1997
(50th) |
Dateline NBC | "Why Can't We Live Together?" | Craig Leake | NBC | [2] |
| Frontline | "The Choice 1996" | Helen Whitney and Jane Barnes | PBS | ||
1998
(51st) |
Frontline | "Once Upon a Time in Arkansas" | Michael Kirk and Peter J. Boyer | PBS | [3] |
| Primetime Live | "The McCaughey Seven: A Homecoming" | Lori A. Bores | ABC | ||
| Frontline | "Busted: America's War on Marijuana" | Elena Mannes | PBS | ||
1999
(52nd) |
Frontline | "Give War A Chance" | Michael Kirk and Peter J. Boyer | PBS | [4] |
| Dateline NBC | "The Greatest Generation" | Tom Brokaw and Craig Leake | NBC | ||
| Frontline | "Surviving Aids" | Martin Smith and Lowell Bergman | PBS | ||
| Nova | "Surviving Aids" | Elizabeth Arledge | |||
| The Awful Truth | "Funeral in a HMO" | Annie Cohen, Francis Gasparini, Henriette Mantel, Jay Martel, Nick McKinney and Michael Moore | Bravo | ||
2000s
[edit]| Year | Program | Episode | Writer(s) | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000
(53rd) |
Frontline | "John Paul II: The Millennial Pope" | Helen Whitney and Jane Barnes | PBS | [5] |
| The Awful Truth | "Holiday Inn Attempts to Deport Its Mexican Housekeepers for Organizing a Union" | Michael Moore and Nick McKinney | Bravo | ||
| Frontline | "Justice for Sale" | Stephen Talbot and Sheila Kaplan | PBS | ||
| "The Killer at Thurston High" | Michael J. Kirk and Peter J. Boyer | ||||
2001
(54th) |
Frontline | "Drug Wars: Part 2" | Lowell Bergman, Kenneth Levism, Doug Hamilton and Oriana Zill | PBS | [6] |
| Frontline | "Drug Wars, Part 1" | Martin Smith, Brooke Runnette and Oriana Zill | PBS | ||
2002
(55th) |
9/11 | Tom Forman and Greg Kandra | CBS | [7] | |
| Frontline | "The Man Who Knew" | Michael Kirk | PBS | ||
| "Rollover: The Hidden Story of the SUV" | Marc Shaffer and Barak Goodman | ||||
| Nova | "Bioterror" | Matthew Collins | |||
2003
(56th) |
Frontline | "Truth, War and Consequences" | Martin Smith | PBS | [8] |
| Frontline | "The War Behind Closed Doors" | Michael Kirk | PBS | ||
2004
(57th) |
Frontline | "From China With Love" | Michael Kirk | PBS | [9] |
| Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style | "P.O.V." | Paul Stekler | PBS | ||
2005
(58th) |
Frontline | "The Torture Question" | Edward Grey | PBS | [10] |
| Someone's Watching | Michael Kirk | PBS | |||
| Frontline | "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" | Hedrick Smith | |||
| "The Soldier's Heart" | Raney Aronson | ||||
2006
(59th) |
Frontline | "The Dark Side" | Michael Kirk | PBS | [11] |
| Frontline | "The Meth Epidemic" | Cark Byker | PBS | ||
| "The Age of AIDS" | William Cran and Renata Simone | ||||
| "Can You Afford to Retire?" | Hedrick Smith and Rick Young | ||||
2007
(60th) |
Frontline | "Return of the Taliban" | Martin Smith | PBS | [12] |
| America at a Crossroads | "Security vs. Liberty: The Other War" | Edward Gray | PBS | ||
| Frontline | "The Enemy Within" | Lowell Bergman and Oriana Zill De Granados | |||
| "News War Part 1: Secrets Sources and Spin" | Raney Aronson-Rath, Lowell Bergman and Seth Bomse | ||||
| "News War Part 3: What's Happening to the News?" | Stephen Talbot and Lowell Bergman | ||||
| "Spying on the Home Front" | Hedrick Smith and Rick Young | ||||
2008
(61st) |
Frontline | "Bush's War: Part One" | Michael Kirk | PBS | [13] |
| Nova | "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" | Joseph McMaster | PBS | ||
| Depression: Out of the Shadows | Larkin McPhee | ||||
| Frontline | "Rules of Engagement" | Arun Rath | |||
| "The Medicated Child" | Marcela Gaviria | ||||
2009
(62nd) |
Frontline | "The Madoff Affair" | Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith | PBS | [14] |
| Frontline | "Black Money" | Lowell Bergman and Oriana Zill de Granados | PBS | ||
| "Heat" | Martin Smith | ||||
| "The Hugo Chávez Show" | Ofra Bikel | ||||
| "Inside the Meltdown" | Michael Kirk | ||||
| "Poisoned Waters" | Hedrick Smith and Rick Young | ||||
2010s
[edit]| Year | Program | Episode | Writer(s) | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010
(63rd) |
Frontline | "Flying Cheap" | Rick Young | PBS | [15] |
| Frontline | "College, Inc." | Martin Smith and John Maggio | PBS | ||
| "The Card Game" | Lowell Bergman and Oriana Zill de Granados | ||||
| "The Quake" | Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria | ||||
| "The Vaccine War" | Jon Palfreman | ||||
| "The Warning" | Michael Kirk | ||||
2011
(64th) |
Frontline | "Top Secret America" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | [16] |
| Nova | “Smartest Machine on Earth” | Julia Cort and Michael Bicks | PBS | ||
| Frontline | “The Spill” | Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith | |||
2012
(65th) |
Frontline | "Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One" | Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith | PBS | [17] |
| Frontline | "The Anthrax Files" | Michael Kirk | PBS | ||
| "Lost in Detention" | Rick Young | ||||
| "Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Three" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | ||||
| "Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Four" | Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith | ||||
| "A Perfect Terrorist" | Thomas Jennings | ||||
2013
(66th) |
Frontline | "Egypt in Crisis" | Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith | PBS | [18] |
| Frontline | "Cliffhanger" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | ||
2014
(67th) |
Frontline | "United States of Secrets: The Program (Part One)" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | [19] |
| Frontline | "United States of Secrets: Privacy Lost (Part Two)" | Martin Smith | PBS | ||
| "Losing Iraq" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | ||||
2015
(68th) |
Frontline | "American Terrorist" | Thomas Jennings | PBS | [20] |
| Frontline | "Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | ||
2016
(69th) |
Frontline | "The Choice 2016" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | [21] |
| "Inside Assad's Syria" | Martin Smith | ||||
| Frontline | "Chasing Heroin" | Marcela Gaviria | PBS | ||
2017
(70th) |
Frontline | "Confronting ISIS" | Martin Smith | PBS | [22] |
| Unseen Enemy | Janet Tobias | CNN | |||
| Frontline | "Poverty, Politics and Profit" | Rick Young | PBS | ||
2018
(71st) |
Frontline | "Trump's Takeover" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | [23] |
| Nova | "Black Hole Apocalypse" | Rushmore DeNooyer | PBS | ||
| Frontline | "Blackout in Puerto Rico" | Rick Young | |||
| "The Gang Crackdown" | Marcela Gaviria | ||||
2019
(72nd) |
Frontline | "Trump's Trade War" | Marcela Gaviria | PBS | [24] |
| Frontline | "Coal's Deadly Dust" | Elaine McMillion Sheldon | PBS | ||
| "The Mueller Investigation" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | ||||
2020s
[edit]| Year | Program | Episode | Writer(s) | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020
(73rd) |
Agents of Chaos | "Part II" | Alex Gibney and Michael J. Palmer | HBO | [25] |
| Frontline | "The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden" | Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser | PBS | ||
| "Whose Vote Counts" | Jelani Cobb, June Cross and Tom Jennings | ||||
| Agents of Chaos | "Part I" | Alex Gibney and Michael J. Palmer | HBO | ||
2021
(74th) |
Frontline | "The Healthcare Divide" | Rick Young | PBS | [26] |
| Frontline | "The Jihadist" | Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria | PBS |
Programs with multiple awards
[edit]- 26 awards
Programs with multiple nominations
[edit]- 77 nominations
- 6 nominations
- 2 nominations
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Writers Guild of America 1997 Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ "Writers Guild of America 1998 Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ "Writers Guild of America 1999 Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ "Writers Guild of America 2000 Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (January 10, 2001). "NBC tops WGA TV noms". Variety. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (15 January 2002). "PBS tops WGA list". Hollywood. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ Cadorette, Guylaine (6 February 2003). "WGA Nominations Announced". Hollywood. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ Hiestand, Jesse (19 January 2004). "'Simpsons,' 'Law & Order' Top WGA Noms". Backstage. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (15 December 2004). "'Wing' still has the write stuff". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (14 December 2005). "Peacock laffers have the write stuff". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ DiOrio, Carl (14 December 2006). "HBO, NBC dominate WGA noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ DiOrio, Carl (13 December 2007). "HBO tops WGA Award noms with five". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, And Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America East. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "WGA announces TV noms". Variety. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (8 December 2010). "2011 WGA Award Nominations For TV". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (19 February 2012). "Writers Guild Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ Kim, Wook (18 February 2013). "2013 WGA Awards: The Complete List Of Winners". Time. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "WGA Awards 2014: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (14 February 2015). "'Grand Budapest Hotel,' 'True Detective' Top WGA Awards". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (13 February 2016). "WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia; McNary, Dave (19 February 2017). "WGA Awards: 'Moonlight,' 'Arrival' Win For Best Screenplay, 'Atlanta' Wins Twice". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "WGA Awards: The Complete Winners List". Variety. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (17 February 2019). "WGA Awards 2019 Winners: 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?,' 'Eighth Grade' Win Screenplay Awards". Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ Lindhal, Chris (1 February 2020). "Writers Guild Awards 2020: 'Parasite' and 'JoJo Rabbit' Win Screenplay Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (February 3, 2021). "WGA Awards TV Nominations: 'Better Call Saul', 'Ted Lasso' & 'The Great' Lead Way". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (January 13, 2022). "WGA Awards TV Nominations: 'Yellowjackets', 'Hacks', 'Loki', 'Only Murders In The Building' Join Usual Suspects On List". Deadline. Retrieved January 14, 2022.