Succession sweeps all 5 slots in a single DGA Awards category

The nation's top directors singled out five artists as the best filmmakers of the year when the Directors Guild of America announced its annual list of nominations — including a massive sweep for HBO's Succession, which received five nominations in a single category that only had five slots available.

DGA voters enthusiastically supported the dramatic series in its corresponding category, where it occupied all five slots for season 3 episodes directed by Hustlers helmer Lorene Scafaria, Kevin Bray, Mark Mylod, Andrij Parekh, and co-directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman.

Strong contenders on the television side also include Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso (which earned multiple nods in the comedy category), Hacks, and The White Lotus, as well as Bo Burnham's Inside project for Netflix.

Macall Polay/HBO Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin in Succession

Dave Chappelle's controversial Closer special — which was widely derided by the LGBTQ community for including what many considered to be transphobic remarks made by the comedian — also scored a DGA nomination for Stan Lathan's direction on the same day it landed support from the Producers Guild of America as well. The concert film previously inspired an employee walkout at Netflix, with Chappelle later confirming he was open to having a dialogue with the community.

On the film side, Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg scored his 12th competitive nomination from the DGA Awards since the beginning of his career for his work on 2021's West Side Story, while The Power of the Dog's Jane Campion continued a historic streak for female DGA nominees one year after two women — Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) — made headlines as the first female pair to be nominated by the guild in the same year.

Other nominees among the DGA's top competitive category for movies include Denis Villeneuve (Dune), Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), and Kenneth Branagh, the actor-director whose historical drama Belfast remains one of the top contenders for Best Picture at the Oscars. First-time filmmakers recognized by the DGA this year include Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), Rebecca Hall (Passing), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Tick, Tick... Boom!), Tatiana Huezo (Prayers for the Stolen), Michael Sarnoski (Pig), and Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby).

Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios; KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX 2022 DGA Awards nominations include Steven Spielberg and Jane Campion.

With substantial crossover membership with the Academy's directing branch, the DGA holds substantial influence on the awards trail alongside the PGA and the Screen Actors Guild. Across the past two decades, only four DGA winners — Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Rob Marshall (Chicago), Ben Affleck (Argo), and last year's Sam Mendes (1917) — have failed to translate a DGA victory into a Best Director Oscar win.

Last year, Nomadland's Zhao further made history as the first Asian woman to win the DGA's top prize as well as the Academy's Best Director prize. Kathryn Bigelow — the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars for her work on The Hurt Locker — scored a DGA nomination this year for her work directing the Hollywood in Your Pocket commercial for Apple's iPhone 13.

The 2022 DGA Awards winners will be announced at a March 12 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. See the full list of film and TV nominations below.

FILM NOMINEES

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Film

Paul Thomas Anderon, Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall, Passing
Tatiana Huezo, Prayers for the Stolen
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tick, Tick... Boom!
Michael Sarnoski, Pig
Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

Jessica Kingdom, Ascension
Stanley Nelson, Attica
Raoul Peck, Exterminate All the Brutes
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Summer of Soul
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, The Rescue

TELEVISION NOMINEES

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series

Kevin Bray, Succession ("Retired Janitors of Idaho")
Mark Mylod, Succession ("All the Bells Say")
Andrij Parekh, Succession ("What It Takes")
Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, Succession ("Lion in the Meadow")
Lorene Scafaria, Succession ("Too Much Birthday")

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series

Lucia Aniello, Hacks ("There Is No Line")
MJ Delaney, Ted Lasso ("No Weddings and a Funeral")
Erica Dunton, Ted Lasso ("Rainbow")
Sam Jones, Ted Lasso ("Beard After Hours")
Mike White, The White Lotus ("Mysterious Monkeys")

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series

Barry Jenkins, The Underground Railroad
Barry Levinson, Dopesick ("First Bottle")
Hiro Murai, Station Eleven ("Wheel of Fire")
Danny Strong, Dopesick ("The People vs. Purdue Pharma")
Craig Zobel, Mare of Easttown

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming

Paul G. Casey, Real Time With Bill Maher ("Episode 1935")
Jim Hoskinson, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ("Episode 1105")
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live ("Keegan-Michael Key; Olivia Rodrigo")
David Paul Meyer, The Daily Show With Trevor Noah ("Episode 26112")
Paul Pennolino and Christopher Werner, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver ("Episode 830")

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials

Ian Berger, The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Presents ("Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse — Into the Megaverse")
Bo Burnham, Bo Burnham: Inside
Paul Dugdale, Adele: One Night Only
Stan Lathan, Dave Chappelle: The Closer
Glenn P. Weiss, The 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs

Joseph Guidry, Full Bloom ("Final Floral Face Off")
Patrick McManus, American Ninja Warrior ("1304")
Ramy Romany, Making the Cut ("Brand Statement")
Ben Simms, Running Wild With Bear Grylls ("Gina Carano in the Dolomites")
Adam Vetri, Getaway Driver ("Electric Shock")

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs

James Bobin, The Mysterious Benedict Society ("A Bunch of Smart Orphans")
Michael Lembeck, The J Team
Phill Lewis, Head of the Class ("Three More Years")
Smriti Mundhra, Through Our Eyes ("Shelter")
Jeff Wadlow, Are You Afraid of the Dark? ("The Tale of the Darkhouse")

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials

Steve Ayson, Anthem (Mattress Firm — Droga5)
Kathryn Bigelow, Hollywood in Your Pocket (iPhone 13)
Ian Pons Jewell, ECG (Apple Watch), Sleep (Apple Watch), Time (Squarespace), Your Mom's Short Ribs (Instacart)
Henry-Alex Rubin, Teenage Dream (Sandy Hook Promise)
Bradford Young, Super. Human. (Channel 4 Paralympics)

Check out more from EW's The Awardist, featuring Oscars analysis, exclusive interviews, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's movies and performances.

Related content:

• 2022 Oscars predictions: See our picks for who will be nominated and who will win at the Academy Awards

• Tracking the top Oscars contenders for 2022

• See who's up and who's down in the hunt for awards this week