“Hacks,” “Fellow Travelers,” “Black Cake” and Ava DuVernay’s “Origins” were among the big winners Thursday as the Humanitas Foundation revealed the 2024 Humanitas Awards winners. The ceremony, held at Avalon Hollywood, revealed awards in nine juried categories, including television, film and documentary.
“We got something, my friends,” said “Origins” director Ava DuVernay, as she accepted the award for best motion picture, drama, which she had previously been snubbed during last year’s Oscars season. “We went through the whole awards season, and then this movie came out in the summer, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, they’ve gone off the rails in awards season!’ Because they don’t care about that… They’re doing something different. This show that’s about doing something in this important medium. Yes, entertainment is important, but we have a strong voice and a strong platform. So I applaud everyone who’s trying to say something.”
The third season episode of Max's “Hacks” (written by Samantha Riley, Lucia Aniello, Jane Statsky and Paul W. Downs) won Best TV Comedy Series, while Hulu's “Black Cake” episode “Nine Night” (written by Marissa Jo Serra) won Best TV Drama Series, and Showtime's “Fellow Travelers” episode “Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire” (written by Anya Letta) won Best Limited Series.
Other major winners include Andrea Nevins and Graham Clarke for the documentary The Shepherd and the Queen, and Gavin Steckler for the comedy Jules.
The Humanitas Awards celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, honoring writers for their work exploring the human condition “in a nuanced and meaningful way.” This year’s Humanitas Awards ceremony, which took place Thursday night at Avalon Hollywood, was hosted by actors and writers June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer.
“You all spent countless hours crafting and collaborating on something that Taylor Sheridan can apparently do in ten minutes,” Sher joked. “Tonight, we’re honoring the most talented writers whose pet projects David Zaslav didn’t shelve for tax purposes,” Rafael joked.
The 2024 New Voices Fellowship, the David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Award, and the Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award were also presented at the Humanitas Awards Show & Toast. The new Starz #TakeTheLead Award was also presented to “Snowfall” writer Janine Daniels.
Here are the 2024 Humanitas Award winners:
TV drama
WINNER: “Black Cake” (“Nine Night”) – Marissa Jo Cerar
“The Crown” (“Ritz”) – Meryl Schibani Claire, Peter Morgan
“The Morning Show” (“White Noise”) – Joshua Allen
“Station 19” (“With Very Little to Be Sure of”) – Rochelle Zimmerman
comedy play
Winner: “Hacks” (“Yes, And”) — Samantha Riley, Lucia Aniello, Gene Statsky, Paul W. Downs
“Act Your Age” (“Cut Cut”) — Miles Warden, Capri Sampson
“Girls5eva” (“Beaumont”) – Meredith Scardino, Janine Brito
“The Simpsons” (“Living Wage Night”) – Cesar Mazariegos
limited tv series
Winner: “Travel Companions” (“Your Nuts Roasted Over an Open Fire”) – Anya Lita
“All the Light We Cannot See” (“Episode 1”) – Steven Knight
“The Sympathizer” (“Endings are hard, aren’t they?”) — Park Chan-wook, Don
McKellar
“We Were the Lucky Ones” (“Rio”) – Erica Lips
Children's TV play
WINNER: “Moon Girl and Marvel’s Devil Dinosaur” (“Ride or Die”) – Halima Lucas
“Heartstopper” (“Perfect”) — Alice Osman
“Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin” — Rob Armstrong, Craig Schultz, Brian
Schultz, Cornelius Uliano
“What If…?” (“What If… Hela Found the Ten Rings?”) – Matthew Chauncey
Drama feature film
WINNER: “Original” – Ava DuVernay
“We Are All Strangers” – Andrew Haig
“The Snow Society” – J.A. Bayona, Bernat Villaplana, Jaime Marquez-Olarrega,
Nicholas Casariego
“Suncoast” – Laura Chen
Comedy feature film
Winner: “Jules” – Gavin Steckler
“American Novels” – Cord Jefferson
Flora and Her Son – John Carney
“The Remaining Ones” – David Hemmingson
documentary
Winner: “The Cowboy and the Queen” – Andrea Nevins, Graham Clark
“The Team: The Story of an Argentine Forensic Team” – Bernardo Ruiz,
Fabian Caballero
“Sexual Healing” – Elspeth Frangie
Family movie
Winner: “Nimona” – Robert L. Byrd, Lloyd Taylor
“Racist” – John Hoberg, Kat Leikel, Brenda Hsueh
“Fried Bread Face and Me” – Billy Luther
“A Million Miles Away” – Bettina Giloa, Hernan Jimenez, Alejandra Marquez Abella
Short film
Winner: “The Song of Tita and the Machines” – Luis Antonio Aldana, Miguel Angel Caballero
“Amazing Little Feet” – Maegan Huang
“Jelly” – Andy Jenelle Leggett
“Rebel Girls” – Felicia D. Henderson
The Humanitas Awards Gala aims to raise support for Humanitas' New Voices Fellowship program, college screenwriting awards, and other programs including the Industry 101 event series, the Writers' Room program for high school students, and the Grocery for Writers project.
