Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama  “The Shape of Water” has won the Producers Guild of America’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award as top feature film for del Toro and J. Miles Dale.

A pair of first season series — “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — took the top TV awards in ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

“The Shape of Water” topped “The Big Sick,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Dunkirk,”  “Get Out,” “I, Tonya,” “Lady Bird,” “Molly’s Game,” “The Post,”  “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and “Wonder Woman.”

Del Toro was not in attendance due to his having gone to Mexico to be with his sick father. Dale accepted the award and first read a statement from del Toro, then thanked the PGA members for recognizing the offbeat film, set in 1962 and exploring the relationship between a mute janitor and a captured sea creature.

“When your romantic leads are a cleaning lady and a fish, it’s a tough sell,” he said.

The PGA has matched the Oscar for best picture in 19 of its 28 years, though it diverged for the past two years when the Zanuck award went to “La La Land” and “The Big Short” and the Oscar went to “Moonlight” and “Spotlight.” The two awards matched in the previous eight years with “Birdman,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Argo,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “No Country for Old Men.”

Hulu’s first season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” won the Norman Felton award for television drama series from the Producers Guild of America. The near-future “Handmaid’s Tale” won the award for producers Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Ilene Chaiken, Sheila Hockin, Eric Tuchman, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Joseph Boccia, Elisabeth Moss, Kira Snyder and Leila Gerstein.

Amazon’s first season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won the Danny Thomas Award for episodic comedy from the Producers Guild of America for Daniel Palladino, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Sheila Lawrence and Dhana Rivera Gilbert.

The series, starring Rachel Brosnahan as a housewife with a knack for standup comedy in 1958, debuted in November. “Mrs. Maisel” won over “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Master of None,” “Silicon Valley” and “Veep.”

“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” has repeated as the winner of the Producers Guild Award in the live entertainment and talk category.

Netflix’s fourth season of science-fiction anthology series “Black Mirror” won the David L. Wolper Award for Long-Form Television for producers Annabel Jones and Charlie Brooker. “Black Mirror” won over “Fargo,” “Feud: Bette and Joan,” “Sherlock: The Lying Detective,” and “The Wizard of Lies.”

“Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” won the the award for non-fiction television. Remini won the award as a producer along with Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Myles Reiff, Adam Saltzberg, Erin Gamble, Lisa Rosen, Grainne Byrne, Taylor Levin, Alex Weresow and Rachelle Mendez. “Leah Remini” topped “30 for 30,” “60 Minutes, “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” and “Spielberg.”

“Coco” producer Darla K. Anderson won the Producers Guild Award for top animated feature in the first award presented Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.

“Now is the time for more diversity in our culture and in our world,” Anderson said before dedicating the award to the people of Mexico. “Coco” topped “The Boss Baby,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Ferdinand” and “The Lego Batman Movie.”

Jane Goodall documentary “Jane” won the top movie documentary award for producers Brett Morgen, Bryan Burk, Tony Gerber and James Smith.

(Excerpt) Read More in: Variety

‘The Shape of Water’ Wins Producers Guild Award for Best Feature

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