The Directors Guild of America announced the final round of television nominees for its 2020 DGA Awards and, per The Hollywood Reporter, each of the three categories features women contenders — but just one woman per category.
Five directors are up for outstanding directorial achievement in drama, including Nicole Kassell, who is being recognized for her work on the “Watchmen” ep “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice.” Kassell’s previous credits include episodes of “The Americans” and “The Leftovers” and features “The Woodsman” and “A Little Bit of Heaven.”
Amy Sherman-Palladino is among the five helmers competing in the outstanding directorial achievement in comedy series category. She’s nominated for directing the “It’s Comedy or Cabbage” episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the Amazon comedy about a rising standup comic that she created. This is Sherman-Palladino’s third consecutive DGA nod for directing on “Maisel.” In 2018 she became the first woman to win Emmys for both best comedy writing and best comedy directing.
Linda Mendoza is one of five directors to land a nod for achievement in variety/talk/news/sports specials. She’s being honored for helming the Wanda Sykes comedy special “Not Normal.” This marks Mendoza’s fourth DGA nod. She was previously nominated for helming the Mark Twain Prize ceremony honoring David Letterman and specials “In Performance at the White House: Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles” and “In Performance at the White House – Paul McCartney.”
As previously reported, women account for three of six nominees in the Movies for Television and Miniseries category. Ava DuVernay is up for her Exonerated Five miniseries “When They See Us,” and Minkie Spiro and Jessica Yu are both nominated for “Fosse/Verdon.”