WGA Releases List Of Best Written TV Shows

Personally speaking, I’ve always found interesting the process of preparing a "best-of" list. The following list is no exception, and this is one that I could not pass up.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have come out with a list of the 101 Best Written TV Series. The list was determined through online voting by WGAW and WGAE members, and was compiled to honor seven (7) decades of outstanding television and the writers who brought it all to life.

Granted, there are some shows on this list that I agreed with, some that I disagreed with, and some that I thought should have been higher (or lower) on the list. Also, I came up some shows that I thought should have been on the list, but weren’t (but that’s another story).

Anyway, here’s the list of Best Written TV series, as determined by WGAW and WGAE:

1. The Sopranos – HBO

2. Seinfeld – NBC

3. The Twilight Zone (1959) – CBS

4. All in the Family – CBS

5. M*A*S*H – CBS

6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show – CBS

7. Mad Men – AMC

8. Cheers – NBC

9. The Wire – HBO

10. The West Wing – NBC

11. The Simpsons – FOX

12. I Love Lucy – CBS

13. Breaking Bad – AMC

14. The Dick Van Dyke Show – CBS

15. Hill Street Blues – NBC

16. Arrested Development – FOX

17. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – COMEDY CENTRAL

18. Six Feet Under – HBO

19. Taxi – ABC

20. The Larry Sanders Show – HBO

21. 30 Rock – NBC

22. Friday Night Lights – NBC

23. Frasier – NBC

24. Friends – NBC

25. Saturday Night Live – NBC

26. The X-Files – FOX

27. Lost – ABC

28. ER – NBC

29. The Cosby Show – NBC.

30. Curb Your Enthusiasm – HBO

31. The Honeymooners – CBS

32. Deadwood – HBO

33. Star Trek – NBC

34. Modern Family – ABC

35. Twin Peaks – ABC

36. NYPD Blue – ABC

37. The Carol Burnett Show – CBS

38. Battlestar Galactica (2005) – SYFY

39. Sex & the City – HBO

40. Game of Thrones – HBO

41. (TIE) The Bob Newhart Show – CBS

41. (TIE) Your Show of Shows – NBC

43. (TIE) Downton Abbey – PBS

43. (TIE) Law & Order – NBC

43. (TIE) thirtysomething – ABC

46. (TIE) Homicide: Life on the Street – NBC

46. (TIE) St. Elsewhere – CBS

48. Homeland – SHOWTIME

49. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – WB

50. (TIE) The Colbert Report – COMEDY CENTRAL

50. (TIE) The Good Wife – CBS

50. (TIE) The Office (UK) -- BBC

53. Northern Exposure – CBS

54. The Wonder Years – ABC

55. L.A. Law – NBC

56. Sesame Street – PBS

57. Columbo – NBC

58. (TIE) Fawlty Towers – BBC

58. (TIE) The Rockford Files – NBC

60. (TIE) Freaks and Geeks – NBC

60. (TIE) Moonlighting – ABC

62. Roots – ABC

63. (TIE) Everybody Loves Raymond – CBS

63. (TIE) South Park – COMEDY CENTRAL

65. Playhouse 90 – CBS

66. (TIE) Dexter – SHOWTIME

66. (TIE) The Office (US) – NBC

68. My So-Called Life – ABC

69. The Golden Girls – NBC

70. The Andy Griffith Show – CBS

71. (TIE) 24 – FOX

71. (TIE) Roseanne – ABC

71. (TIE) The Shield – FX

74. (TIE) House – FOX

74. (TIE) Murphy Brown – CBS

76. (TIE) Barney Miller – ABC

76. (TIE) I, Claudius – PBS

78. The Odd Couple – ABC

79. (TIE) Alfred Hitchcock Presents – CBS

79. (TIE) Monty Python’s Flying Circus – BBC

79. (TIE) Star Trek: The Next Generation – SYN

79. (TIE) Upstairs, Downstairs – PBS

83. Get Smart – NBC

84. (TIE) The Defenders – CBS

84. (TIE) Gunsmoke – CBS

86. (TIE) Justified – FX -

86. (TIE) Sgt. Bilko (The Phil Silvers Show) -- CBS

88 Band of Brothers -- HBO

89 Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In -- NBC

90 The Prisoner -- CBS

91 (TIE) Absolutely Fabulous (UK) -- BBC

91 (TIE) The Muppet Show -- SYN

93 Boardwalk Empire -- HBO

94 Will & Grace -- NBC

95 Family Ties -- NBC

96 (TIE) Lonesome Dove -- CBS

96 (TIE) Soap -- ABC

98 (TIE) The Fugitive -- ABC

98 (TIE) Late Night with David Letterman -- CBS

98 (TIE) Louie -- FX

101 Oz -- HBO