FRONTLINE Wins 2019 Writers Guild Award

Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser, the writing team behind FRONTLINE’s documentary Trump’s Takeover, won the Writers Guild Award in the Documentary Scripts – Current Events category on Sunday evening.

“It’s gratifying to be recognized by the Writer’s Guild on behalf of FRONTLINE.  We are fortunate to be able to work on important topics like the relationship of President Trump to the Congress, and to reflect the dramatic struggle taking place in Washington,” said Kirk. “Our thanks to Raney Aronson-Rath, Andrew Metz, Lou Wiley and Phil Bennett for their contributions to the script.”

Trump’s Takeover goes inside President Donald Trump’s high-stakes battle for control of the GOP, examining how he attacked fellow Republicans and used inflammatory rhetoric that rallied his base and further divided the country in his first year as president. The documentary offers a window into the potential lasting impact of the Trump era on the Republican party and the American political system as a whole.

Kirk —  the director, writer and producer of Trump’s Takeover — and Wiser, who co-wrote and produced the film, were last recognized with a Writers Guild Award in 2016 for their in-depth, dual biography of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, FRONTLINE’s The Choice 2016.

FRONTLINE earned four WGA nominations this year, including three in the Documentary Script — Current Events category: Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser for Trump’s Takeover, Rick Young for Blackout in Puerto Rico, and Marcela Gavira for The Gang Crackdown. In the Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events category, writers David Fanning, Linda Hirsch and Martin Smith were nominated for Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“I’m so pleased to work alongside talented journalists who are committed to clear-eyed storytelling and powerful narrative,” said FRONTLINE Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath. “Congratulations to Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser on their Writers Guild Award win, and to all the nominees.”

You can watch the winning and nominated FRONTLINE documentaries below:

Trump’s Takeover

Blackout in Puerto Rico

The Gang Crackdown

Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia – Part One

Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia – Part Two