2015 WGA Television Writing Nominations Announced

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK -- The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio, and promotional writing during 2014. Winners will be honored at the 2015 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 14, 2015, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.

Fox’s long-running comedy The Simpsons crowded the animation category with nominations for four separate episodes, while Bob’s Burgers -- now in its fourth year -- received two.

The Simpsons was nominated for its much-hyped LEGO episode, "Brick Like Me," written by Brian Kelley, as well as Matt Selman’s "Covercraft," "Pay Pal" from series director David Steinberg, and "Steal This Episode" by J. Stewart Burns.

Bob’s Burgers -- created by Loren Bouchard of Home Movies fame -- was recognized for "Bob and Deliver," written by Greg Thompson, and “Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl" written by Nora Smith.

There were no nominees in Children's Script -- Long Form or Special, or Television Graphic Art and Animation categories this year.

The full list of nominees is shown below:

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA NOMINEES  

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 Prime
• 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 OÕKeefe, 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 Prime
• True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO

LONG FORM ORIGINAL  

• Deliverance Creek, Written by Melissa Carter; Lifetime
• Return to Zero, Written by Sean Hanish; Lifetime

LONG FORM 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 Channel
• 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 Channel
• 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

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL  

• "Apocalypse No" (Bad Shorts), Written by Ben Zelevansky; luckybirdsmedia.com
• "City of Angels" (Caper), Written by Amy Berg & Mike Sizemore; hulu.com
• "Episode 1 – Nature" (F To 7th), Written by Ingrid Jungermann; youtube.com
• "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.com
• "Episode 207" (Vicky and Lysander), Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker; youtube.com

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 Channel
• "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 Prime

COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – 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 Channel
• "Haunted Heartthrob" (Haunted Hathaways), Written by Bob Smiley; Nickelodeon
• "Haunted Sisters" (Haunted Hathaways), Written by Boyce Bugliari & Jamie McLaughlin; Nickelodeon

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 News
• CBS This Morning, Written by Duane Tollison, Chip Sorrentino, Bruce Meyer, Bill Crowley; CBS News
• "Nelson Mandela: A Man Who Changed the World" (World News with Diane Sawyer), Written by Diane Sawyer, Lisa Ferri, Dave Bloch; ABC News
• TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY  
• "Nowhere to Go" (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Oriana Zill de Granados & Michael Rey; CBS

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. The awards will be presented jointly at simultaneous ceremonies on Saturday, February 14, 2015, in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and in New York City at the Edison Ballroom.

Source: The Writers Guild of America

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.