‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Watchmen,’ ‘Mrs. Maisel’ Lead DGA Awards Drama and Comedy TV Nominations

Michael Schneider

After a four-day delay, the Directors Guild of America has finished announcing this year’s TV nominees, includng Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Dramatic Series; Comedy Series; and Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials for 2019.

With all of the categories in, Amazon Prime Video’s “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” now ties FX’s “Fosse/Verdon” for most nominations, with three apiece. “Maisel” scored noms in the comedy category for directors Dan Attias, Amy Sherman Palladino and Daniel Palladino.

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The Palladinos also faced off in the comedy directing category last year, which was ultimately won by Bill Hader — who’s back this year as well. Rounding out the category is “Veep” showrunner David Mandel, nominated for directing that show’s finale.

On the drama side, the category is completely dominated by HBO, which earned every nod. That included two for “Watchmen,” for directors Nicole Kassell and Stephen Williams. “Game of Thrones” also received two nominations, for David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik. “Succession,” which won last year for director Adam McKay, is nominated this year for an episode helmed by Mark Mylod.

As for the variety/talk/news/sports – specials field, ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special earned noms for James Burrows and Andy Fisher, while three Netflix comedy specials, helmed by Spike Jonze (for “Aziz Ansari: Right Now”), Stan Lathan (for “Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones”) and Linda Mendoza (“Wanda Sykes: Not Normal”) will compete. Rounding out the category is Glenn Weiss, for the 91st Oscars.

The DGA announced the rest of its TV nominations om Monday. But the org opted to hold back on revealing nominations in other key categories, including drama and comedy, “due to a re-vote related to a newly implemented electronic entry submissions process.”

With the new nominations in place, HBO leapt over Netflix to now hold the lead in DGA Awards nominations. HBO wound up with 12 nods, followed by Netflix with nine.

Here is a list of the DGA’s television nominees for 2019 in the categories that were announced on Friday:

DRAMATIC SERIES

(LAST YEAR’S WINNER: ADAM McKAY, Succession, “Celebration”)

NICOLE KASSELL, Watchmen, “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice” (HBO)
Ms. Kassell’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Karen Wacker, Ron Schmidt, Joseph E. Iberti
First Assistant Director: Keri Bruno
Second Assistant Directors: Lisa Zugschwerdt, Ben White
Second Second Assistant Director: Jessie Sasser White

MARK MYLOD, Succession, “This Is Not For Tears” (HBO)
Mr. Mylod’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Tyson Bidner, Gabrielle Mahon
First Assistant Director: Christo Morse
Second Assistant Director: Michelle Flevotomas
Second Second Assistant Director: Nicholas Notte

DAVID NUTTER, Game of Thrones, “The Last of the Starks” (HBO)

MIGUEL SAPOCHNIK, Game of Thrones, “The Long Night” (HBO)

STEPHEN WILLIAMS, Watchmen, “This Extraordinary Being” (HBO)
Mr. Williams’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Karen Wacker, Ron Schmidt, Joseph E. Iberti
First Assistant Director: Kayse Goodell
Second Assistant Director: Ben White

COMEDY SERIES

(LAST YEAR’S WINNER: BILL HADER, Barry, “Chapter One: Make Your Mark”)

DAN ATTIAS, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “It’s the Sixties, Man!” (Prime Video)
Mr. Attias’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Dhana Rivera Gilbert, Nadia Paine (Oklahoma Unit)
First Assistant Directors: Jesse Nye, Steve Love (Oklahoma Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Natasha Rivera, Jason Inman (Oklahoma Unit)
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Meghan K. Wicker
Second Second Assistant Director: Lincoln Major
Location Managers: Amanda Burbank, Jose Guerrero, Nick Thomason

BILL HADER, Barry, “ronny/lily” (HBO)
Mr. Hader’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Aida Rodgers
First Assistant Director: Gavin Kleintop
Second Assistant Director: Kevin Zelman
Second Second Assistant Director: Heather Kehayas
Additional Second Assistant Director: Mikaela Mathern

DAVID MANDEL, Veep, “Veep” (HBO)
Mr. Mandel’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: David Hyman
First Assistant Director: Jeff Rosenberg
Second Assistant Director: Emily Hogan
Second Second Assistant Directors: Ismael Jimenez, Chalis Romero
Additional Second Assistant Directors: Phil Banks, Zach Davenport, Alexis Dvorak, Phil Goodrich, Christina Lee, Emily Neumann

AMY SHERMAN PALLADINO, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “It’s Comedy or Cabbage” (Prime Video)
Ms. Sherman Palladino’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Dhana Rivera Gilbert, Nadia Paine
First Assistant Director: Mariela Comitini
Second Assistant Director: Luca Waldman
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Meghan K. Wicker
Second Second Assistant Director: Lincoln Major
Location Managers: Amanda Burbank, Jose Guerrero, Nick Thomason,

DANIEL PALLADINO, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “Marvelous Radio” (Prime Video)
Mr. Palladino’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Dhana Rivera Gilbert
First Assistant Director: Jesse Nye
Second Assistant Director: Natasha Rivera
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Meghan K. Wicker
Second Second Assistant Director: Lincoln Major
Location Managers: Amanda Burbank, Jose Guerrero, Nick Thomason

VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS

(LAST YEAR’S WINNER: LOUIS J. HORVITZ — The 60th Grammy Awards)

JAMES BURROWS (‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’ – Directed by), ANDY FISHER (‘Live in Front of a Studio Audience’ – Directed by), Live in Front of a Studio Audience Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’ (ABC)
Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Martin Pasetta Jr., Sara Niimi
Stage Managers: John Esposito, Valdez Flagg, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Harvey Levine, Doug Tobin, Richard Silva, Jenny Nolan Bailey

SPIKE JONZE, Aziz Ansari: Right Now (Netflix)
Mr. Jonze’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Chad Richard Nicholson
Stage Manager: Tate Nova

STAN LATHAN, Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (Netflix)
Mr. Lathan’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Myriam Leger
Stage Manager: Valdez Flagg

LINDA MENDOZA, Wanda Sykes: Not Normal (Netflix)
Ms. Mendoza’s Directorial Team:
Stage Manager: Arthur Lewis

GLENN WEISS, The 91st Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
Mr. Weiss’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Eve Adair, Susan Kopensky, Lori Margules, Robin Mishkin Abrams, Sara Niimi, Michael Polito
Stage Managers: Gary Natoli, Rita Cossette, John Esposito, Valdez Flagg, Doug Fogel, Chris Hines, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Arthur Lewis, Roxanne Lozano, Ron Paul, Tammy Raab, Jason Seligman, Jackie Stathis, Cheryl Teetzel‑Moore, Debbie Williams, Ari Woog

The winners in all categories will be announced at the 72nd Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

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