The Directors Guild of America has released its list of nominees for this year’s awards, and it is one for the books. HBO hit Succession has managed to absolutely sweep the Dramatic TV Series category, landing all five nomination spots for different episodes. This feat has not been accomplished since 1983when police procedural Hill Street Blues landed all nominations in the DGA’s Outstanding Drama category. However, that occurred when only three slots were available. No drama or comedy show has ever landed all five until Succession. These awards place Succession at over 90 total nominations since its premiere in 2018.
Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso also manages to take center stage as it garners three nominations in the Comedy TV series category for directors MJ Delaney, Erica Dunton and Sam Jones while The White Lotus and Hacks land the last two nominations. The White Lotus and Succession make up six of HBO’s ten total nominations, not including the additional five earned under HBO Max.
When combined HBO and HBO Max list nominations under all categories except Commercials and Variety/Talk/News/Sports Specials. Behind the network, Apple TV+, Hulu and CBS come in with three nominations each, while the other networks and streamers sit at two nominations each. Other notable nominations include Bo Burnham for Netflix special Inside, Barry Levinson and Danny Strong for separate episodes of the limited series Dopesick, and Kathryn Bigelow for an iPhone 13 commercial. Oscar-winning director Spike Lee is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction.
Last year saw The Flight Attendant take home the award in the Comedy series category, one of four wins for HBO that year. Showtime’s Homeland took home Outstanding Directional Achievement in Drama, and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit landed the limited series award. This year, entries broadcast between March 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, were considered eligible.
The Directors Guild of America awards are set to premiere on March 12, 2022. Details regarding how the ceremony will take place, whether it be physical or virtual, have yet to be announced. You can check out the full list of nominations, including nominations for directional achievement in documentary, and last year’s winners below:
Dramatic TV Series
- KEVIN BRAY - Succession, “Retired Janitors of Idaho” (HBO)
- MARK MYLOD - Succession, “All the Bells Say” (HBO)
- ANDRIJ PAREKH - Succession, “What It Takes” (HBO)
- ROBERT PULCINI & SHARI SPRINGER BERMAN - Succession, “Lion in the Meadow” (HBO)
- LORENE SCAFARIA - Succession, “Too Much Birthday” (HBO)
Comedy TV Series
- LUCIA ANIELLO - Hacks, “There Is No Line” (HBO Max)
- MJ DELANEY - Ted Lasso, “No Weddings and a Funeral” (Apple TV Plus)
- ERICA DUNTON - Ted Lasso, “Rainbow” (Apple TV Plus)
- SAM JONES - Ted Lasso, “Beard After Hours” (Apple TV Plus)
- MIKE WHITE - The White Lotus, “Mysterious Monkeys” (HBO)
Movies for Television and Limited Series
- BARRY JENKINS - The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)
- BARRY LEVINSON - Dopesick, “First Bottle” (Hulu)
- HIRO MURAI - Station Eleven, “Wheel of Fire” (HBO Max)
- DANNY STRONG - Dopesick, “The People vs. Purdue Pharma” (Hulu)
- CRAIG ZOBEL - Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Variety/Talk/News/Sports — Series
- PAUL G. CASEY - Real Time With Bill Maher, “Episode 1935: Fareed Zakaria, Chris Christie, Eric Adams” (HBO)
- JIM HOSKINSON - The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “Episode 1105” (CBS)
- DON ROY KING - Saturday Night Live,” Keegan-Michael Key; Olivia Rodrigo” (NBC)
- DAVID PAUL MEYER - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, “Episode 26112” (Comedy Central)
- PAUL PENNOLINO & CHRISTOPHER WERNER - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, “Episode 830 – Season Finale” (HBO)
Variety/Talk/News/Sports — Specials
- IAN BERGER - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents, “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse – Into the Magaverse” (Comedy Central)
- BO BURNHAM - Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)
- PAUL DUGDALE - Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
- STAN LATHAN - Dave Chappelle: The Closer (Netflix)
- GLENN P. WEISS - The 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS)
Reality Programs
- JOSEPH GUIDRY - Full Bloom, “Final Floral Face Off” (HBO Max)
- PATRICK MCMANUS - American Ninja Warrior, “1304: Qualifiers 4” (NBC)
- RAMY ROMANY - Making the Cut, “Brand Statement” (Amazon Prime Video)
- BEN SIMMS - Running Wild with Bear Grylls, “Gina Carano In The Dolomites” (National Geographic Channel)
- ADAM VETRI - Getaway Driver, “Electric Shock” (Discovery Channel)
Children’s Programs
- JAMES BOBIN - The Mysterious Benedict Society, “A Bunch of Smart Orphans” (Disney Plus)
- MICHAEL LEMBECK - The J Team (Paramount Plus)
- PHILL LEWIS - Head of the Class, “Three More Years” (HBO Max)
- SMRITI MUNDHRA - Through Our Eyes, “Shelter” (HBO Max)
- JEFF WADLOW - Are You Afraid of the Dark?, “The Tale of the Darkhouse” (Nickelodeon)
- (LAST YEAR’S WINNER: AMY SCHATZ, We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest — HBO)
Commercials
-
STEVE AYSON (MJZ) - Anthem, Mattress Firm – Droga5
- Award Speech, Miller Lite – DDB Chicago
- Networking, Miller Lite – DDB Chicago
- KATHRYN BIGELOW (SMUGGLER)
-
IAN PONS JEWELL (RESET)
- ECG, Apple Watch – Apple
- Sleep, Apple Watch – Apple
- Time, Squarespace – Squarespace
- Your Mom’s Short Ribs, Instacart – Goodby Silverstein
-
HENRY-ALEX RUBIN (SMUGGLER)
- Teenage Dream, Sandy Hook Promise – BBDO – New York
-
BRADFORD YOUNG (Serial Pictures x Somesuch)
- Super. Human., Channel 4 Paralympics – 4Creative
Documentary Feature Films
- JESSICA KINGDON - Ascension (Paramount Plus)
- STANLEY NELSON - Attica (Showtime)
- RAOUL PECK - Exterminate All the Brutes (HBO)
- AHMIR “QUESTLOVE” THOMPSON - Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures/Onyx Collective/Hulu)
- ELIZABETH CHAI VASARHELYI & JIMMY CHIN - The Rescue (National Geographic)