The Producers Guild of America announced the nominations for the 2023 PGA Awards and, as usual, there were surprises that will impact the Best Picture race and an Emmys campaign that will begin sooner than you think. As expected “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Elvis,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once” made the prestigious Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures honor. The PGA always throws a curveball or two and this year it comes with the inclusion of the polarizing drama “The Whale.”
The remaining nominees included “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Fablemans,” “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” and “TAR.” Films that didn’t make the PGA cut that were considered in the Best Picture race include “Babylon,” “Women Talking,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “The Woman King” and “Living.” Which isn’t that surprising.
The PGA is a major indicator of a film’s chances of landing a Best Picture nomination, except when it isn’t. Let’s look at the past few years shall we? In 2022, “tick, tick…BOOM!” made the PGA cut, but “Nightmare Alley” took its slot when the Oscar nominees were revealed. In 2021, just seven of the eight Oscar nominees lined up (it’s worst showing in some time). In 2020, all nine Oscar nominees were PGA nominees (“Knives Out” was the extra 10th PGA nom). In 2019, all eight Oscar nominees were PGA nominees (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “A Quiet Place” didn’t make the cut). In 2018, seven of the 10 Oscar noms were PGA noms and two other Best Picture nominees (“Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”) didn’t make the PGA cut.
We would suggest not counting on these PGA nods on lining up completely with the films that The Academy nominates. The precedent for 100% accuracy simply isn’t there.
On the television side, notable nominees include “Andor” and “The White Lotus” in the five selection Drama Series category while “House of the Dragon” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” were snubbed. Disney/Hulu landed four of the Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures nominees with “Fire Island,” “Hocus Pocus 2,” “Prey” and, oh my, “Pinocchio” making the cut.
The Comedy Series nominees had few surprises with “Abbott Elementary,” “Barry,” “The Bear,” “Hacks” and “Only Muders in the Building” being honored.
The PGA Awards will be handed out on February 25.
The complete list of PGA Awards nominees are as follows:
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Elvis
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- The Fabelmans
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
- Tár
- Top Gun: Maverick
- The Whale
Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
- Minions: The Rise of Gru
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- Turning Red
Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Drama
- Andor
- Better Call Saul
- Ozark
- Severance
- The White Lotus
Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy
- Abbott Elementary
- Barry
- The Bear
- Hacks
- Only Murders in the Building
David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television
- DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- The Dropout
- Inventing Anna
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Pam & Tommy
Award for Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures
- Fire Island
- Hocus Pocus 2
- Pinocchio
- Prey
- Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
- 30 for 30
- 60 Minutes
- George Carlin’s American Dream
- Lucy and Desi
- Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television
- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- Saturday Night Live
Award for Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television
- The Amazing Race
- Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls
- RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
- Top Chef
- The Voice
The following nominees were previously announced.
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Picture
- All That Breathes
- Descendant
- Fire of Love
- Navalny
- Nothing Compares
- Retrograde
- The Territory
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
- Formula 1: Drive to Survive
- Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Detroit Lions
- Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers
- McEnroe
- Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Come Off
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program
- Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
- Green Eggs and Ham
- Sesame Street
- Snoopy Presents: It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown
- Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant
The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program
- Better Call Saul: Filmmaker Training
- Love, Death + Robots
- Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question
- Sesame Street’s #ComingTogether Word of the Day Series
- Tales of the Jedi