BENJAMONSTER AWARDS: Outstanding Writing of a Limited/Anthology Series

Today's award is Outstanding Writing of a Limited/Anthology Series!

The nominees are:

TZE CHUN, Little America "The Grand Prize Expo Winners" (Apple TV+)

SUSANNAH GRANT, Unbelievable "Episode 8" (Netflix)

SHANNON HOUSTON, Little Fires Everywhere "The Uncanny" (Hulu)

BOO KILLEBREW, Mrs. America "Betty" (FX on Hulu)

DAVID SIMON, The Plot Against America "Part 6" (HBO)

LIZ TIGELAAR, Little Fires Everywhere "The Spark" (Hulu)

And the Winner Is...
SHANNON HOUSTON
Little Fires Everywhere "The Uncanny" (Hulu)
For five episodes, Little Fires Everywhere built a world in the late 90s with simmering tensions between Mia and Elena (Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon). We knew glimpses of the back stories of both of them but we got a full episode devoted to that. In a limited series that is only eight episodes long, doing an entire episode that doesn't involve the main cast is a gutsy decision but it was executed flawlessly. That was partly due to great guest turns by Tiffany Boone and AnnaSophia Robb but it was also due to the writing. The episode provided so much context and reasoning for why the characters we had gotten to know over five episodes were the way that they were. The journeys of Mia and Elena had parallels and very distinct differences and Shannon Houston's writing explored those thoroughly without banging us over the head with it. It made the five episodes before it and the two episodes after it much richer.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
There was a wide range of talents here and many more that could have been nominated. Little Fires Everywhere's other nomination was showrunner Liz Tigelaar's scripting of the pilot, which set up the mystery and characters very well. Tze Chun on Little America also directed and has a really sweet personal touch to the episode. Susannah Grant's conclusion to Unbelievable provided a hopeful end to a harrowing limited series. Boo Killebrew's "Betty" episode of Mrs. America took a character who was not very likable for the beginning of the series and made her very sympathetic. Finally, David Simon's conclusion to The Plot Against America was grim but suspenseful and provided a lot of subtext to today's society.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Writing of a Comedy Series!