Other than the peculiar look of a sure flightless waterfowl, Saturday night time’s WGA Awards have been a well-known affair.
“Hacks” gained its second trophy in 4 years for Finest Comedy Collection, in addition to its second trophy in the identical span for Finest Episodic Comedy, persevering with a victory parade that started on the 2024 Emmys when it upset “The Bear” for the highest prize. That scorching streak has continued into 2025 with wins on the Casting Society of America, Costume Designers Guild Awards, Administrators Guild Awards, Producers Guild Awards, and AFI Awards, amongst others. With Season 4 having wrapped manufacturing in January, creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky’s Max authentic ought to enter the 2025 Emmy season because the presumptive favourite.
The season’s dominant drama, “Shōgun,” gained’t be again in time to compete in 2025 — the writers’ room remains to be plugging away at Season 2 — however its Season 1 profitable streak additionally saved rolling on the WGA Awards, the place Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo took residence Finest Drama Collection, Finest Episodic Drama, and Finest New Collection. Add these trophies to a mantle straining to assist recognition from the Artwork Administrators Guild (which have been additionally awarded on Saturday), CSA, CDG, DGA, PGA, and AFI Awards — to not point out these 18 Emmys and potential additional wins on the SAG Awards and Impartial Spirit Awards (“Shōgun” has 5 nominations at every) — and odds are excessive awards voters will bear in mind the sweeping epic every time it returns.
Further winners included “Bob’s Burgers,” which took residence the Animation honor for the episode “Saving Favourite Drive-in,” written by Katie Crown; “Final Week Tonight with John Oliver,” for Comedy/Selection Collection – Discuss or Sketch; and “Nikki Glaser: Sometime You’ll Die,” for Comedy/Selection Particular. “Bob’s Burgers” has been nominated 16 occasions throughout 11 seasons, and now has two wins. “Final Week Tonight with John Oliver” has eight wins in 10 years. Each are anticipated to earn extra Emmy love in 2025, having been extremely profitable all through their respective runs.
All in all, there weren’t many alternatives for brand spanking new Emmy contenders to flex their may. There have been zero new sequence nominated for Finest Comedy Collection, and of the brand new exhibits nominated for Finest Drama — “Fallout,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” and “Shōgun” — none are anticipated to compete this yr. Even the New Collection class was sparse, with “English Trainer” and “No one Needs This” unable to crack the Finest Comedy Collection race, not to mention topple “Shōgun” of their shared class. (New Collection doesn’t discriminate between comedies and dramas.)
However then there’s that peculiar “Penguin.” A hybrid of legacy HBO dramas and Warner Bros. Discovery I.P., Lauren LaFranc’s fall favourite got rid of the presumed frontrunner Saturday night time, beating “Ripley” for Finest Restricted Collection. That it didn’t must compete with “Child Reindeer,” which gained final yr’s Emmy however wasn’t eligible on the WGA Awards, could have helped preserve the class from trying as repetitious as all of the others, however “The Penguin” besting “Ripley,” FX’s “Say Nothing,” HBO’s personal “True Detective: Evening Nation,” and the Apple TV+ summer season sensation “Presumed Harmless” remains to be a lot spectacular.
Nonetheless, the win isn’t utterly out of left subject. As IndieWire identified when “The Penguin” landed three SAG nominations in January, the “Batman” spinoff is shaping as much as be an Emmy heavyweight. It pulled in three DGA nominations (earlier than shedding to “Ripley”) and a PGA nomination (the place it misplaced to “Child Reindeer”), however now “The Penguin” is incomes wins. Along with its WGA Award, the sequence took residence an AFI Award, triumphed in two of its 4 Critics Alternative classes, and gained Finest Restricted Collection on the Artwork Administrators Guild Awards and the Particular Make-Up Results honor from the Make-Up and Hair Stylists Guild — the latter two each taking place Saturday night time.
And “The Penguin” is probably not completed — this winter, or this yr. Colin Farrell is the present favourite to win a SAG Award, and Cristin Milioti has an honest shot at profitable the Indie Spirit Award, too. As for the Emmys, all bets are off. With widespread attraction throughout each department of TV Academy and HBO’s exemplary awards workforce operating the marketing campaign, “The Penguin” ought to have a big presence on TV’s large night time. As all the time, we’ll have to attend and see how the spring releases carry out — Netflix has “Zero Day” and “Adolescence,” Apple has “The Studio” and “Dope Thief,” Hulu has “Dying for Intercourse,” and HBO may also be operating “Job” — however “The Penguin” is definitely mirroring its title character’s regular emergence as the brand new boss.