Vince Gilligan wins first individual Emmy for Pluribus writing
Vince Gilligan has won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "We Is Us," the opening episode of Pluribus.
The prize was handed out on Monday. Deadline reported it as his first individual win, meaning a statuette with his own name on it.
It ended a wait of almost 30 years. His first individual nomination came in 1997 for writing The X-Files episode "Memento Mori." Since then he shared in two Outstanding Drama Series wins as an executive producer, one of the senior credits who collects the top series prize, on Breaking Bad.
Pluribus is his post-apocalyptic drama on Apple TV. Gilligan is its creator and showrunner, the person who runs the writers' room and oversees production day to day. The series earned 18 nominations in its first season, according to the Academy's preview site Televerse.
It arrived at Monday's ceremony with momentum. Pluribus had already taken four trophies at the Creative Arts Emmys, the earlier ceremony for craft, music and guest categories. Those included awards for main title theme music, picture editing and production design, GoldDerby reported.
On Monday, Gilligan won from a field that included Valerie Chu, nominated for writing The Pitt. His lead actor Rhea Seehorn also won on the night. Seehorn stars in Pluribus as its central character.
The writing prize also closes a long-running count. Better Call Saul collected 53 Emmy nominations without a win. Gilligan had previously been nominated for writing on Breaking Bad, and he won twice in the short-form comedy or drama category for Employee Training, a short companion series to Better Call Saul.
An April count by Variety put him at 23 nominations and four wins before the Pluribus run, with no win yet for writing or directing. The Television Academy credits Sony Pictures Television in association with Apple as the producer of "We Is Us."
For viewers keeping count, the win sits alongside the show's craft awards. It puts Gilligan's name on the list in his own right, after years of sharing series prizes with large producing teams.
