Roy Wood Jr. to Host 2019 Writers Guild Awards New York Ceremony; Presenters Announced

Roy Wood Jr. to Host 2019 Writers Guild Awards New York Ceremony; Presenters Announced

Presenters include Jimmy Fallon, Ellie Kemper, Mj Rodriguez, and Tony Shaloub

NEW YORK (January 10, 2019) — The Writers Guild of America, East announced today that THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH correspondent and acclaimed stand-up comedian Roy Wood Jr. will host the 71st annual Writers Guild Awards at New York’s Edison Ballroom on Sunday, February 17, 2019.

“Writers are the red blood cells of film and television,” said Wood, Jr. in a statement accepting the position. “And there’s no greater reward than the respect of your peers. I am honored to host what will surely be the final WGA Awards before the studios attempt to replace all writers with some sort of Siri/Alexa algorithm sh*t.”

Roy Wood Jr’s comedy — which has been described by Entertainment Weekly as “charismatic crankiness” — has entertained millions across stage, television and radio. In 2015, he joined Comedy Central’s Emmy-Winning series THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH as a “World’s Fakest News Team” correspondent. In 2017, he was named the new host of Comedy Central’s storytelling series THIS IS NOT HAPPENING, which launches a fifth season in February. Wood’s first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Father Figure,” premiered in 2017, and the second – “Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You” – premieres on January 25.

Wood made his network television debut on THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN in October 2006. Since then, he has appeared on CONAN, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON, and THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT. He has also performed for the troops on numerous USO tours in the Middle East and the Pacific Islands. 

The Writers Guild of America, East also announced the presenters confirmed to appear at the New York ceremony.

Presenters will include Jimmy Fallon (THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON), Ellie Kemper (UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT), Mj Rodriguez (POSE), Tony Shalhoub (THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL), and Kenan Thompson (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE).

James Schamus (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON; INDIGNATION) will present the Black List founder Franklin Leonard with the Evelyn F. Burkey Award for bringing honor and dignity to writers.

JuIianna Margulies (THE GOOD WIFE, ER) will present Tom Fontana (OZ, HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET) with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.

Hamilton Nolan (Splinter News) will present WGA East staff member Randall Jansta with the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild.

The New York ceremony will be co-executive produced by Bonnie Datt and Shannon Walker. Ann Cohen will serve as the show’s head writer.

The New York ceremony is sponsored by Vision Media Management, Final Draft, iMoxie Media, W New York – Times Square and Bananagrams.

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. The 2019 Writers Guild Awards (71st Annual) will be presented at concurrent ceremonies on Sunday, February 17, 2019, in New York City at the Edison Ballroom and in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton. For more information about the 2019 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wgaeast.org or www.wga.org.

Tickets for the New York ceremony go on sale Thursday, January 10. For more details and to purchase tickets, click here or visit wgaeast.org/awards.

To buy tickets by mail or via fax, download the order form here.

For media inquiries about the 2019 WGA New York City show, please contact Jason Gordon in the WGAE Communications Department at (212) 767-7809 or jgordon@wgaeast.org.

For media inquiries about the 2019 WGA Los Angeles show, please contact Gregg Mitchell in the WGAW Communications Department at (323) 782-4651 or gmitchell@wga.org.

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, news and new media. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America West, visit www.wga.org.

###