I was sitting next to showrunner and series main-director Luke Matheny going over minor changes to our script for the finale. Our producer came over and said “Someone wants to talk to you”. He held out his phone, speaker on, and the voice of our production manager told us the WGA award nominations had just been released.

Four of the five nominations in our category went to Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, including the script Luke and I had written together in Season 1, “Gortimer vs. the Relentless Rainbow of Joy”.

I was stunned. I love the show. I believe in the show. I am in awe of the talent of others in evidence all around me. But until now we didn’t seem to be attracting the attention of the major awards. That changed Thursday morning.

I did some cursory research and found that four nominations in the children’s episodic category is not unprecedented, but you have to go back to the early 90s and before, mostly to the days of ABC Afterschool Specials — a time when you had PBS, a few networks, and cable was still finding it’s legs. In the last two years there were only three WGA nominations total in our category. The year before that — one.

In no way am I attempting to boast here, but, especially for those outside the industry (Hi, Mom!), I’m trying to put this in context. The context is — these nominations are epic. I am also especially pleased because they recognize the hard work and unparalleled talent of six Gortimer writers —  Gretchen Enders, Aminta Goyel, Garrett Frawley, Brian Turner, Luke Matheny, and Laurie Parres.

On the whole, these nominations seem to be a vote of confidence for the show and what we’ve been striving to achieve — a show full of friendship and adventure that the entire family can enjoy together.

The WGA Award ceremony is February 13. I’m hoping for an early Valentine’s Day present.

Here are our nominations. Watch them now on Amazon Prime in the USA. Congratulations again to these fine writers!

2016 WGA AWARD NOMINATIONS FOR CHILDREN’S SCRIPT
EPISODIC AND SPECIALS

“Gortimer, Ranger and Mel vs. The Endless Night”
Written by Gretchen Enders & Aminta Goyel

“Gortimer and the Surprise Signature”
Written by Garrett Frawley & Brian Turner

“Gortimer vs The Relentless Rainbow of Joy”
Written by David Anaxagoras and Luke Matheny

“Ranger vs. The Fabled Flower of Normal Street”
Written by Laurie Parres