Italian
Taika Waititi will receive the Norman Lear Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America at the 36th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Feb. 8.
The award recognizes a producer or producing team for their work and contributions to television with previous recipients including Mindy Kaling, Greg Berlanti and Ryan Murphy.
“Taika Waititi has profoundly transformed the television landscape with his imaginative work as a producer, bringing to life groundbreaking series ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ ‘Our Flag Means Death’ and ‘Reservation Dogs,’” said Producers Guild of America presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line in a joint statement. “Through his unwavering commitment to diverse narratives and the amplification of Indigenous voices, Taika redefines the art of storytelling, grounding cultural experiences in mainstream media.”
Waititi co-created and executive produced the Indigenous American comedy “Reservation Dogs,” which won the 2021 Gotham Award for short-form breakthrough series and the 2022 Independent Spirit Award for best new scripted series. The show has also received two Peabodys and has been nominated for Writers Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy (for outstanding comedy).
Popular on Variety Waititi remarked: “To be included alongside legends and so many I look up to, like the great Norman Lear himself, is truly humbling. My work as a producer has always been about telling stories that reflect the world as it is—messy, diverse, and full of humanity. I’m lucky to work with an amazing team of people who help bring these stories to life, and I’m grateful to be able to give a voice to storytellers that deserve to be heard.”
Most recently, Waititi executive produced the Apple TV+ show “Time Bandits,” executive produced and directed the pilot of Hulu’s “Interior Chinatown” and is also directing “Klara and the Sun,” set to release next year.
The 2025 Producers Guild Awards event chairs are Mike Farah and Joe Farrell; Anchor Street Collective will produce the ceremony, which is set to be written by Jody Lambert, Lauren Cortizo and Matt Oberg for the PGA. Branden Chapman is the executive producer, and Carleen Cappelletti is co-executive producer.
