WGA East Taps Roy Wood Jr. as Host of Writers Guild Awards New York

Roy Wood Jr. is returning to host the 78th annual Writers Guild Awards New York at Manhattan’s Edison Ballroom on March 8.

The WGA East and WGA West hold simultaneous award ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles.

The CNN host, who leads the network’s satire news program “Have I Got News for You,” previously hosted the WGA’s New York ceremony. His show has become CNN’s second most-watched program and its top-rated show in the adults 25-54 demographic, helping drive a 42% year-over-year increase in the network’s Saturday night viewership.

Wood will be seen on screen on Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming “Barbershop” TV series, and he co-stars with Keanu Reeves and Jonah Hill in the Apple TV comedy “Outcome.” 

Wood wrote and starred in the WGA-nominated series “Command Z,” produced the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary “The Neutral Ground” and served as a guest host and correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” He also headlined the 2023 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

In a statement, Roy Wood Jr. said, “It’s an honor to again be trusted with leading a night of celebration as we honor one of the most important components in creating the content that gives us either an opportunity to escape, or to learn more about the world we all share.”

Presenters at the New York ceremony include Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live,” “Wicked”), Matt Rogers (“The Other Two,” “Fire Island”), Mary Bronstein (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Ronald Bronstein (“Marty Supreme”), Jeff Hiller (“Somebody Somewhere”), Desi Lydic (“The Daily Show”), Josh Segarra (“Abbott Elementary”), Arian Moayed (“Succession”), Michael Urie (“Shrinking”), Li Jun Li (“Sinners”), David Krumholtz (“The Santa Clause”), Shayna McHayle (“One Battle After Another”) and Kate Mara (“House of Cards”).

Stephen Colbert will receive the Walter Bernstein Award for willingness to confront social injustice in the face of adversity. Robert Smigel will present the honor to Colbert.

Terry George (“In the Name of the Father,” “Hotel Rwanda”) will be presented with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for career achievement by Don Cheadle, and Diana Son (“Law & Order,” “13 Reasons Why”) will receive the Richard B. Jablow Award for devoted service to the guild from 2025 recipient Kathy McGee.