Formed in 1954, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is an organization comprising two different labor unions representing writers in television, film, radio, and various forms of online media: The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is based in New York City, while The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is based in Los Angeles.
Each arm of the organization functions independently, but the members are often in agreement regarding things such as strikes, the Writers Guild of America Awards nominees, and the prosecutions that deserve to be on lists like this.
No one knows about great writing more than the writers themselves, so the Writers Guild of America hascompiled a listof the best-written TV shows of all time. Unsurprisingly, the list comprises small-screen productions that were also received quite well by the public. But how do they rank against each other? In the future, the list will hopefully be updated to reflect newer shows, but for the moment, here is what the cream of the crop looks like.
15Hill Street Blues (1981 - 1987)
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Bluesproved that fans of police procedurals don’t care about real law enforcement organizations and real locations. There is no LAPD, NYPD, or FBI. There is just the fictional Metropolitan Police Department, which operates in an unnamed city. Even though the show’s opening credits show scenes from Chicago, the main characters — who are all members of a single precinct — occasionally mention New York locations.
Strength in Simplicity
The show is widely appreciated because it aims to please the public rather than just law enforcement members. Little to no professional jargon gets used, and most of the technical aspects are left out. Instead, the focus remains on developing the characters and crafting intriguing cases. It’s, therefore, not surprising that the series collected so many accolades.
Police procedurals rarely get recognized by the Television Academy, yetHill Street Bluesgot an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series in each of its seven seasons. In total, the show received 98 Emmy nominations, proving that it was strong in just about every area. The show is also widely appreciated by other television writers.
Mere Smith, who penned Rome and Angelconfessed that the show“influenced me profoundly, especially regarding character development and longer story arcs," while Ken Levine (Frasier, Cheers, MAS*H) confessed, “Hill Street Blues' changed dramatic television forever. It introduced a realism that had never before been seen.”
14The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 - 1966)
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Showcovers the chaotic life of Rob Petrie (played by the legendary comedian Dick Van Dyke), a writer for the fictional variety show,The Alan Brady Show. The show’s star (played by the series' creator, Carl Reiner) is rarely seen on screen. The key supporting characters include Rob’s wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), his colleagues, Buddy (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally (Rose Marie), and the show’s producer, Mel (Richard Deacon).
Understanding the Material
It’s always advisable to write about topics you are familiar with and Carl Reiner did just that withThe Dick Van Dyke Show.The premise suited him perfectly because he was once a writer forThe Caesar HourandYour Show of Shows.Telling stories about a fictional writer was thus easy as Reiner knew exactly the kind of challenges and joys someone in Rob’s position would experience.
For a ‘60s show,The Dick Van Dyke Showis also very progressive. There are a few Black characters who never get webbed up in stereotypes. Rob’s wife is also dominant. In one instance, she even fights on his behalf during a bar fight and the two laugh about it without it being described as a moment of weakness on his part.
The sitcom’s positive ripple effect is also worth acknowledging. One of the show’s writers, Gary Marshall, went on to createHappy Days, while John Whedon had a little boy named Joss Whedon who would go on to shape the superhero and sci-fi landscapes.
Breaking Bad
Breaking Badis a five-season-long reminder of how life’s challenges can drive people to do the most despicable deeds. After a cancer diagnosis, disgruntled high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), decides to start making and selling methamphetamine so he can leave enough money when he dies. As expected, he finds it hard to leave the life of crime, even when he learns that his disease is in remission.
A Perfect Amalgamation of Ordinary Life and Wild Criminal Endeavors
It takes great writing to make viewers hate the most reasonable person in the family while cheering the criminal. Such is the case with Walter White and his wife, Skyler. Even though not everyone can cook pure meth or place bombs in nursing homes, the show has enough intriguing family and friendship arcs to make it relatable to any viewer. Besides that, well-written stories need great antagonists, andBreaking Bad has some of the best.
Series creator Vince Gilligan once wrote forThe X-Files, so he knew what it took to tell a perfect story. Gilligan and his team of writers gave fans so many memorable moments that fans felt compelled to copy some of them. In 2015,he had to beg fansto stop re-enacting a scene from the Season 3 episode “Caballo sin Nombre” in which a frustrated Walter White throws a pizza onto his roof.
RELATED:10 Actors Who Are Also Great Screenwriters
12I Love Lucy (1951 - 1957)
I Love Lucy
A sitcom formula that always works, yet is underused, is the casting of a real-world husband and wife duo as the lead. That’s what the procedures of CBS did withI Love Lucy, resulting in the birth of one ofthe greatest sitcoms of the ‘50s.
In it, married actors Desi Arnaz and the legendary Lucille Ball playThe Ricardos. Ricky is a bandleader who is happy to provide for his wife Lucy, but she isn’t content with the traditional housewife role, so she is always scheming to join him in showbusiness.
The First Show to Use an Ensemble Cast
There is honor in coming up with something new, andI Love Lucy’s writers can take pride in the fact that they were the first to think of basing multiple stories on ensemble casts. Undoubtedly, the writers deserve most of the credit for the show’s awesomeness, but the lead actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball also deserve credit for being able to improvise when needed. As a married couple, they knew exactly how the Ricardo’s ought to react to every scenario.
Additionally, the work of the writers was easier because much of the concept had already been established elsewhere, The sitcom was based on the radio show,My Favorite Husband, in which Lucille Ball also starred. Just like on television, her character keeps accidentally messing up, forcing her husband to clean up after her.
11The Simpsons (1989 - present)
The Simpsons
Set in the fictional city of Springfield,The Simpsonssatirizes various aspects of society through the adventures of the suburban Simpson family. The main characters are Homer, the father who works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant; Marge, the stay-at-home mother; Bart, their troublesome ten-year-old son; Lisa, their eight-year-old daughter; and Maggie, their baby.
Golden Parodies and Near-Accurate Predictions
The concept of a family dealing with everyday issues is a familiar one. WhereThe Simpsonsstands tall is in its ability to lampoon just about anything. Itsparodies of other showsmake up some of the best moments ever seen on television.
Somehow, the writers have also had the gift of clairvoyants, enabling them to speculate about things that end up becoming a reality in the future. This could be all down to the large talent pool. There have been 141 different writers so far, most of whom are accomplished in the industry.
Whether the animated sitcom is still good is a matter of debate. There have been arguments that the quality has declined over the years, but the high ratings prove that most fans don’t feel that way.
10The West Wing (1999 - 2006)
The West Wing
The West Winggives viewers a tour through the corridors of power by following several key figures in Washington. The show is set in the White House’s West Wing, where the iconic Oval Office and offices of senior members of the Executive Branch are located. Democratic President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet (Martin Sheen) — described as a composite of Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton — is the show’s principal character.
A Writer’s Show
It makes sense for the WGA to appreciateThe West Wing. The show tucks in many mini-English classes in numerous episodes, especially those written by Andy Sorkin. Hidden inside the endless political discourse is a lesson or two about grammar and literature. “There are fourteen punctuation marks in standard English grammar. Can anyone name them please?” POTUS once asks his staff, forcing them to take a break from geopolitics and rack their brains.
From a political angle, the show works well because several of its writers have experience in that particular field. Eli Attie once served as a White House staff member and as Al Gore’s campaign speechwriter. Dee Dee Meyers, on the other hand, served as the White House Press Secretary during Bill Clinton’s first two years in office.
Consequently, several political figures praised the realistic nature, notably renowned Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Gerald Ford. Andaccording to Hillary Clinton, Myanmar’s government studied democracy by watching the NBC political drama.
9The Wire (2002 - 2008)
The Wireprimarily explores the drug trade and gang warfare in Baltimore, Maryland, through the keen eyes of law enforcement enforcers as well as the users and dealers (members of the Barksdale Organization). Various other aspects of the city are also examined in the critically acclaimed series, notably governance, the school system, the media, and life in the projects.
The Location is the Star
The critically acclaimed series has many great characters, but they are never really the stars. The story is about Baltimore: the city’s little positives and its numerous negatives. And everything feels so realistic because the showrunner, David Simon, is a former crime reporter forThe Baltimore Sun City Desk.
Despite being considered one of the greatest shows of all time,The Wireonly ever got nominated for two Emmys. Even so, both of these nods prove the quality of its scripts, since they are for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Former POTUS Barrack Obama alsonamed the crime dramaone of his favorite shows.
8Cheers (1982 - 1993)
Before 1982, few would have imagined that a show set primarily in a bar would have enough storylines to allow it to stretch to the 11-season mark. Well,Cheersdefied expectations. Events in the show occur in the titular bar run by Sam “Mayday” Malone (Ted Danson), a lothario and former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. The show would later give birth to the spinoff,Frasier.
Socially Relevant Themes
Cheersexcels by covering many important themes and sprinkling them with much-needed humor. It aired in an era where family values were held in high regard and promiscuity was frowned upon, yet the writers managed to influence viewers to adore a womanizing bartender. Issues such as addiction, gay relationships, chauvinism, and feminism were also explored in detail.
The sitcom is clearly a favorite for many other writers and showrunners as it often gets referenced. Popular small-screen productions likeHow I Met Your Mother, Stranger Things, The Goldbergs, and The Simpsonsall have clever nods to the ‘80s hit.
Mad Mencovers the personal and professional life of the advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm), who is widely respected in the advertising world for crafting some of the most popular ad campaigns in the industry’s history. Don is depicted as a notorious womanizer and has several skeletons in his closet. The show’s title is a reference to “Mad Men,” a term coined in the ‘50s by ad execs working at Madison Avenue.
More of a Stylish Soap Opera
The award-winning drama dwells on a niche area, yet it still has a huge fanbase because it has plenty of soap opera ingredients. Only a few people understand the inner workings of the advertising world, yet hearing Don Draper talk about a deal is never boring because there is the guarantee that he will be cavorting with a mistress a few minutes later while conveying an alpha male aura.
The show has several toxic masculinity and prejudice plots, yet it never comes off as too controversial because showrunner Matthew Weiner handled such material before during his time as a writer onThe Sopranos.Moreover, the tone is an accurate reflection of the period the show is set in as there was rampant sexism, racism, and adultery in the ‘60s.
6The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970 - 1977)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Showis about Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore), a highly ambitious woman who relocates to Minneapolis after she breaks up with her partner. There, she experiences tremendous career growth, but she struggles to find the perfect partner. One of the show’s main running gags involves Mary throwing parties that always end up turning chaotic for the attendees.
Breaking the Stereotypes
The sitcom’s writers were keen on breaking all female stereotypes and they were successful at that. Though Mary isn’t successful in the romance department, she is still depicted as a happy woman because her career is doing well. Furthermore, the show was very relevant for its time as it aired at the height of the Second Wave Feminism.
Initially seen as slightly controversial,The Mary Tyler Moore Showleft a lasting impression and provided an idea or two to other great minds. During an interview withUSA Today,30 Rockcreator Tina Fey confessed to having modeled her show after the ‘70s hit. And according toThe Los Angeles Times, the Friends finale borrowed a lot from Mary Tyler Moore’s work.
