The best writing on television seems to be happening on cable, at least according to the Writers Guild of America, which on Wednesday announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, radio, news, and promotional writing during the 2007 season.
HBO led the networks this year, earning multiple nominations for The Sopranos, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Extras and Flight of the Conchords. Among the broadcast networks, NBC’s The Office scored a whopping three nominations in the episodic comedy category, as well as a nod for comedy series.
The complete list of television nominees is behind the cut…
DRAMATIC SERIES
DEXTER, Written by Scott Buck, Daniel Cerone, Drew Z. Greenberg, Lauren Gussis, Kevin Maynard, Clyde Phillips, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattman; Showtime
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Carter Harris, Elizabeth Heldens, David Hudgins, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Andy Miller, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, John Zinman; NBC
MAD MEN, Written by Lisa Albert, Bridget Bedard, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Tom Palmer, Chris Provenzano, Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner; AMC
THE SOPRANOS, Written by David Chase, Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider, Matthew Weiner, Terence Winter; HBO
THE WIRE, Written by Ed Burns, Chris Collins, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon, William F. Zorzi; HBO
COMEDY SERIES
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, Written by Larry David; HBO
ENTOURAGE, Written by Marc Abrams, Lisa Alden, Michael Benson, Brian Burns, Doug Ellin, Alex Gansa, Tim Griffin, Dusty Kay, Stephen Levinson, Ally Musika, Wes Nickerson, Rob Weiss; HBO
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, Written by Damon Beesley, James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Eric Kaplan, Bret McKenzie, Iain Morris, Duncan Sarkies, Paul Simms, Taika Waititi; HBO
THE OFFICE, Written by Steve Carell, Jennifer Celotta, Greg Daniels, Lee Eisenberg, Anthony Farrell, Brent Forrester, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Koh, Lester Lewis, Paul Lieberstein, B.J. Novak, Michael Schur, Justin Spitzer, Gene Stupnitsky, Caroline Williams, Larry Wilmore; NBC
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, Ron Weiner; NBC
NEW SERIES
DAMAGES, Written by Jeremy Doner, Mark Fish, Davey Holmes, Glenn Kessler, Todd A. Kessler, Willie Reale, Adam Stein, Aaron Zelman, Daniel Zelman; FX
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, Written by Damon Beesley, James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Eric Kaplan, Bret McKenzie, Iain Morris, Duncan Sarkies, Paul Simms, Taika Waititi; HBO
MAD MEN, Written by Lisa Albert, Bridget Bedard, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Tom Palmer, Chris Provenzano, Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner; AMC
PUSHING DAISIES, Written by Chad Gomez Creasey, Dara Resnik Creasey, Bryan Fuller, Abby Gewanter, Jim Danger Gray, Lisa Joy, Kath Lingenfelter, Rina Mimoun, Jack Monaco, Scott Nimerfro, Peter Ocko; ABC
THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM, Written by Dan Fybel, Rich Rinaldi, Rob Schrab, Jon Schroeder, Sarah Silverman, Dan Sterling, Harris Wittels; Comedy Central
EPISODIC DRAMA – any length – one airing time
“Final Grades” (The Wire), Teleplay by David Simon; Story by David Simon & Ed Burns; HBO
“The Second Coming” (The Sopranos), Written by Terence Winter; HBO
“The Round File” (The Closer), Written by Michael Alaimo; TNT
“Flashes Before Your Eyes” (Lost), Written by Damon Lindelof & Drew Goddard; ABC
“The Hobo Code” (Mad Men), Written by Chris Provenzano; AMC
“The Dark Defender” (Dexter), Written by Tim Schlattmann; Showtime
EPISODIC COMEDY – any length – one airing time
“Pie-Lette” (Pushing Daisies), Written by Bryan Fuller; ABC
“The Job” (The Office), Written by Paul Lieberstein & Michael Schur; NBC
“Negotiation” (30 Rock), Written by Matt Hubbard; NBC
“Local Ad” (The Office), Written by B.J. Novak; NBC
“Phyllis’s Wedding” (The Office), Written by Caroline Williams; NBC
“Sally Returns” (Flight of the Conchords); Written by James Bobin & Jemaine Clement & Bret McKenzie; HBO
LONG FORM – ORIGINAL – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times
Pandemic, Written by Bryce Zabel & Jackie Zabel; Hallmark Channel
The Lost Room, Night One, Teleplay by Laura Harkcom & Christopher Leone; Story by Christopher Leone & Paul Workman. Nights Two and Three, Written By Laura Harkcom & Christopher Leone; Sci-Fi Channel
LONG FORM – ADAPTATION – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times
The Company: A Story of the CIA, Teleplay by Ken Nolan, Based on the novel by Robert Littell; TNT
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Teleplay by Daniel Giat, Based on the book by Dee Alexander Brown; HBO
The Starter Wife (Nights 1&2), Teleplay by Sara Parriott & Josann McGibbon, Based on the book by Gigi Levangie Grazer; USA
ANIMATION – any length – one airing time
“The Haw-Hawed Couple” (The Simpsons), Written by Matt Selman; FOX
“The Homer of Seville” (The Simpsons), Written by Carolyn Omine; FOX
“Kill Gil Volumes 1&2″ (The Simpsons), Written by Jeff Westbrook; FOX
“Stop or My Dog Will Shoot!” (The Simpsons), Written by John Frink; FOX
“The Passion of the Dauterive” (King of the Hill), Written by Tony Gama-Lobo & Rebecca May; FOX
“Lucky’s Wedding Suit” (King of the Hill), Written by Jim Dauterive; FOX
COMEDY/VARIETY – (INCLUDING TALK) SERIES
THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, Head Writer Steve Bodow, Written by Rachel Axler, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, J.R. Havlan, Scott Jacobson, D.J. Javerbaum, Rob Kutner, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, Jason Reich, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart; Comedy Central
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, Allison Silverman; Comedy Central
LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN, Writers Mike Sweeney, Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Dan Cronin, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Tim Harrod, Berkley Johnson, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O’Brien, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg; NBC
PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, Written by Penn Jillette, Teller, David Weiss, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau, Star Price, Sheryl Zohn, Cliff Schoenberg; Showtime
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, Written by Scott Carter, David Feldman, Lance Crouther, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Jonathan Schmock, Danny Vermont; HBO
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Head Writers Seth Meyers, Paula Pell, Andrew Steele, Writers Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, James Downey, Charlie Grandy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Matt Murray, Paula Pell, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, Robert Smigel, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker, Additional Sketch By Jim Cashman; NBC
(*Note: There are no nominations this year in the Comedy/Variety – Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials category.)
DAYTIME SERIALS
ALL MY CHILDREN, Written by James Harmon Brown, Barbara Esensten, Megan McTavish, Addie Walsh, Chip Hayes, Stephen Demorest, Michelle Patrick, Amanda L. Beall, Jeff Beldner, Karen Lewis, Rebecca Taylor, Marla Kanelos, Courtney Bugler, Joanna Cohen, Kate Hall; ABC
AS THE WORLD TURNS, Written by Jean Passanante, Leah Laiman, Christopher Whitesell, Courtney Simon, Anna Theresa Cascio, Lisa Connor, David A. Levinson, Gary Sunshine, Bettina Bradbury, Richard Culliton, Susan Dansby, Judy Donato, Mimi Leahey, Elizabeth Page Judy Tate; CBS
GENERAL HOSPITAL, Written by Robert Guza, Jr., Elizabeth Korte, Michael Conforti, Garin Wolf, David Goldschmid, Michele Val Jean, Mary Sue Price, Karen Harris, Susan Wald, Tracey Thompson; ABC
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, Paula Cwikly, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald & Linda Schreiber, Joshua McCaffrey, Sandra Weintraub; CBS
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC & SPECIALS
“Look Whose Not Talking” (Flight 29 Down), Written by D. J. MacHale; Discovery Kids
“Nat is a Stand Up Guy” (The Naked Brothers Band), Written by Polly Draper; Nickelodeon
CHILDRENS SCRIPT- LONG FORM OR SPECIAL
R.L Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It, Written by Billy Brown and Dan Angel; Cartoon Network
Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, Teleplay by Ann Austen & Douglas Sloan and Max Enscoe & Annie deYoung, Story by Ann Austen & Douglas Sloan; Disney Channel
DOCUMENTARY – CURRENT EVENTS
The Enemy Within (Frontline), Written by Lowell Bergman & Oriana Zill De Granados; PBS
News War Part 1: Secrets Sources and Spin (Frontline), Written by Raney Aronson-Rath and Lowell Bergman & Seth Bomse; PBS
News War Part 3: What’s Happening to the News? (Frontline), Written by Stephen Talbot & Lowell Bergman; PBS
Return of the Taliban (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS
Security vs. Liberty: The Other War (America at a Crossroads), Written by Edward Gray; PBS
Spying on the Home Front (Frontline), Written by Hendrick Smith & Rick Young; PBS
DOCUMENTARY – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
Alexander Hamilton (American Experience), Written by Ronald Blumer; PBS
Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life (Independent Lens), Written by Robert Levi and Robert Seidman; PBS
Forgotten Genius (Nova), Written by Stephen Lyons & Llewellyn M. Smith; PBS
The War, Episode Four: Pride of Our Nation, Written by Geoffrey C. Ward; PBS
NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN OR BREAKING REPORT
Amish School Shooting (World News with Charles Gibson), Written by Josh Landis, Joel Siegel, Julia Kathan, Charles Gibson; ABC
The Battle for Iraq: Four Years After the Invasion (Up to the Minute), Written by J. Craig Wilson; CBS
NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
The 7 New Wonders of the World: The Internet (Good Morning America), Written by Laura Zaccaro; ABC
To Bee or Not To Bee (Good Morning America), Written by Mary Pflum; ABC
Filed under: 30 Rock, Awards, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Damages, Dexter, Entourage, Extras, Flight of the Conchords, Friday Night Lights, King of the Hill, Lost, Mad Men, Pushing Daisies, The Closer, The Office, The Simpsons, The Sopranos, The Wire | Tagged: Awards, entertainment, HBO, Television, The Office, tv, wga
Am I going to be stoned if I say that while I would definitely nominate The Office overall and would absolutely nominate several episodes, the eps I would have chosen would not be those? (Those are not my eps?) And I suspect affection for the Simpsons movie is spilling over into the TV noms. I do have to give the WGA credit for recognizing The Wire, though.
The Golden Globe placement of Pushing Daisies into comedy did make me raise an eyebrow (I’m not sure it’s wrong–I’m just not sure about where to put it at all), and their presence in the new show and individual episode WGA noms while being absent from the comedy choices makes me wonder if their category-defying approach will hurt them in the end. Fuller gets a nom, but Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm get in ahead? Eh.
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