2026 DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS

Nominations Announced: January 8, 2026
Awards Ceremony: February 7, 2026

If the DGA picks you, start writing your Oscar speech. Since 1948, the Directors Guild winner has gone on to claim the Academy Award for Best Director with a consistency that makes Vegas bookmakers weep. The handful of splits stick out precisely because they're so rare. This year's nominees are a murderer's row of established auteurs: Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another, Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Guillermo del Toro for Frankenstein, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, and Chloé Zhao for Hamnet. Notice what's missing? Foreign-language filmmakers. Just one day after the Actor Awards similarly overlooked international cinema, the pattern becomes hard to ignore. The guild also announced its Michael Apted Award for First-Time Feature Film (named after the late Up series documentarian), honoring emerging talents like Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby and Alex Russell for Lurker. On television, The Pitt and The Bear each scored multiple directing nods, while the various SNL50 celebrations grabbed three nominations across documentary and variety categories. The ASC, Art Directors Guild, and Costume Designers Guild will announce their picks in the coming weeks. If you want to know which technical achievements will dominate Oscar night, watch where the guilds overlap.

The DGA Awards unfolded pretty much exactly as expected — one of the least suspenseful precursor stops of the season. Paul Thomas Anderson had been overdue for this recognition, so his first win felt less like a surprise and more like the industry finally catching up. With the DGA matching the Oscar for Best Director the past five years, the path ahead looks fairly clear: PTA is well positioned to repeat at the Academy Awards, while Chloé Zhao's Hamnet seems primed to translate its broad support into a Best Picture win. That said, Train Dreams is the kind of late-breaking contender that can scramble the narrative if momentum keeps building. I'm encouraged to see The Plague continuing to connect with voters, even if it's a film that's easier to admire than to "enjoy." Its unflinching portrait of the corrosive effects of bullying is tough viewing, but the young ensemble delivers across the board, and Pollinger's direction finds a universality that lingers. Its upcoming Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations will be a good test of just how deep that support runs. The television categories offered few surprises but solid choices. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's win for The Studio highlights the show's razor-sharp construction, while Amanda Marsalis's recognition for The Pitt speaks to the level of craft required to orchestrate such a densely layered hour of TV. These wins may not shift the broader awards conversation, but they're strong reminders of how much precision goes into the medium's best work.

FILM

Outstanding Directing — Theatrical Feature Film

⭐ Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another - WINNER! ⭐

Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein

Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Chloé Zhao, Hamnet

Outstanding Directing — First-Time Feature Film (Michael Apted Award)

⭐ Charlie Polinger, The Plague - WINNER! ⭐

Hasan Hadi, The President's Cake

Harry Lighton, Pillion

Alex Russell, Lurker

Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Outstanding Directing — Documentary

⭐ Mstyslav Chernov, 2000 Meters to Andriivka - WINNER! ⭐

Geeta Gandbhir, The Perfect Neighbor

Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, Cutting Through Rocks

Elizabeth Lo, Mistress Dispeller

Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, Cover-Up

TELEVISION

Outstanding Directing — Dramatic Series

⭐ Amanda Marsalis, The Pitt ("6:00 P.M.") - WINNER! ⭐

Liza Johnson, The Diplomat ("Amagansett")

Janus Metz, Andor ("Who Are You?")

Ben Stiller, Severance ("Cold Harbor")

John Wells, The Pitt ("7:00 A.M.")

Outstanding Directing — Comedy Series

⭐ Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, The Studio ("The Oner") - WINNER! ⭐

Lucia Aniello, Hacks ("A Slippery Slope")

Janicza Bravo, The Bear ("Worms")

Christopher Storer, The Bear ("Bears")

Mike White, The White Lotus ("Denials")

Outstanding Directing — Limited and Anthology Series

⭐ Shannon Murphy, Dying for Sex ("It's Not That Serious") - WINNER! ⭐

Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit ("The Black Rabbits")

Antonio Campos, The Beast in Me ("Sick Puppy")

Lesli Linka Glatter, Zero Day ("Episode 6")

Ally Pankiw, Black Mirror ("Common People")

Outstanding Directing — Movies for Television

⭐ Stephen Chbosky, Nonnas - WINNER! ⭐

Jesse Armstrong, Mountainhead

Scott Derrickson, The Gorge

Michael Morris, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Kyle Newacheck, Happy Gilmore 2

Outstanding Directing — Variety/Talk/News/Sports — Regular Series

⭐ Liz Patrick, SNL50: The Anniversary Special - WINNER! ⭐

Yvonne De Mare, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ("Julia Roberts; Sam Smith")

Andy Fisher, Jimmy Kimmel Live! ("Stephen Colbert; Kumail Nanjiani; Reneé Rapp")

Beth McCarthy-Miller, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert

Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ("Public Media")

Outstanding Directing — Sports

⭐ Matthew Gangl, 2025 World Series — Game 7 — Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays - WINNER! ⭐

Steve Milton, 2025 Masters Tournament — Augusta National Golf Club

Rich Russo, Super Bowl LIX — Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Outstanding Directing — Reality/Quiz and Game

⭐ Mike Sweeney, Conan O'Brien Must Go ("Austria") - WINNER! ⭐

Lucinda M. Margolis, Jeopardy! ("Ep. 9341")

Adam Sandler, The Price Is Right ("10,000th Episode")

Outstanding Directing — Documentary Series/News

⭐ Rebecca Miller, Mr. Scorsese ("All This Filming Isn't Healthy") - WINNER! ⭐

Marshall Curry, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night ("Written By: A Week Inside the SNL Writers Room")

Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, Billy Joel: And So It Goes ("Part Two")

Alexandra Stapleton, Sean Combs: The Reckoning ("Official Girl")

Matt Wolf, Pee-Wee as Himself ("Part 1")