![Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1936216184-copy.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1)
The writers of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver won the award for best writing for a variety series at the 2023 Emmys — its eighth straight win in the category — and gave the first mention of last year’s writers strike at the awards.
“I want to thank everyone at the show, especially John [Oliver], Tim [Carvell] and Liz [Stanton] for how much they backed us up during the writers strike,” writer Sofia Manfredi said in accepting the award. “They supported us all, even though a third of us are annoying.”
Manfredi also gave a shout-out to the Writers Guild of America — without whom her speech might not have been part of the Fox broadcast Monday night.
The Television Academy and Fox had planned for the award, which has traditionally been part of the Primetime Emmys telecast, to move to the Creative Arts ceremony this year (a taped, condensed version of which airs on FXX a week after the actual ceremony). Following a protest from the WGA and other artists, however, the category moved back to the primetime show.
“We didn’t spend months on strike, fighting to receive the recognition we deserve for the work we help create, only to be pushed to the sidelines when it comes time to do exactly that,” WGA leadership wrote in a letter to the TV Academy and Fox in late November. Fox and the Academy eventually relented, leading to the award’s inclusion in Monday’s show.
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