Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama | |
Awarded For: | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series |
Presenter: | Writers Guild of America |
Country: | United States |
Year: | 1961 |
Holder: | Georgia Pritchett and Will Arbery Succession (2023) |
Website: | http://www.wga.org/ |
The Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama is an award presented by the Writers Guild of America to the best written episodes of a dramatic television series. It has been presented annually since the 14th annual Writers Guild of America awards in 1962. The years denote when each episode first aired. Though, due to the eligibility period, some nominees could have aired in a different year. The current eligibility period is December 1 to November 30. The winners are highlighted in gold.
Year | Series | Episode | Winners/nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | ||||
The Untouchables | "The Unhired Assassin" | William Spier | ABC | |
Bonanza | "The Last Hunt" | Donald S. Sanford | NBC | |
Rawhide | "Incident of the Dry Drive" | John Dunkel | CBS | |
1961 | ||||
Naked City | "The Fault in Our Stars" | Barry Trivers | ABC | |
Have Gun – Will Travel | "The Fatalist" | Shimon Wincelberg | CBS | |
The Law and Mr. Jones | "No Sale" | Palmer Thompson | ABC | |
Rawhide | "The Incident of the Buffalo Soldier" | John Dunkel | CBS | |
The Westerner | "Brown" | Bruce Geller | NBC | |
1962 | ||||
Naked City | "Today the Man Who Kills the Ants Is Coming" | ABC | ||
Ben Casey | "I Remember a Lemon Tree" | ABC | ||
The Defenders | "The Benefactor" | Peter Stone | CBS | |
Naked City | "The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish" | Ernest Kinoy | ABC | |
Route 66 | "Goodnight, Sweet Blues" | CBS | ||
1963 | ||||
Route 66 | "Man Out of Time" | Lawrence B. Marcus | CBS | |
Ben Casey | "A Cardinal Act of Mercy" | Norman Katkov | ABC | |
The Defenders | "A Book for Burning" | William Woolfolk | CBS | |
Empire | "Between Friday and Monday" | Kenneth Trevey | NBC | |
Naked City | "The S.S. American Dream" | Frank Pierson | ABC | |
1964 | ||||
East Side/West Side | "Who Do You Kill?" | Arnold Perl | CBS | |
Channing | "Freedom is a Lovesome Thing God Wot!" | Jack R. Guss and Edmund Morris | ABC | |
"Wave Goodbye to Our Fair-Haired Boy" | Kenneth Kolb | |||
The Defenders | "The Non Violent" | Ernest Kinoy | CBS | |
Gunsmoke | "Owney Tupper Had A Daughter" | Paul Savage | ||
1965 | ||||
Mr. Novak | "With a Hammer In His Hand, Lord, Lord!" | John D. F. Black | NBC | |
12 O'Clock High | "Interlude" | Dean Riesner | ABC | |
Ben Casey | "A Woods Full of Question Marks" | Ellis Marcus | ||
Dr. Kildare | "Man is a Rock" | Christopher Knopf | NBC | |
The Fugitive | "Men in a Chariot" | George Eckstein | ABC | |
Slattery's People | "Did He Who Made the Lamb Make Thee?" | William P. McGivern | CBS | |
1966 | ||||
The Trials of O'Brien | "No Justice for the Judge" | David Ellis | CBS | |
Court Martial | "Judge Them Gently" | Gerry Day | ABC | |
The Fugitive | "When the Wind Blows" | Betty Langdon | ||
Slattery's People | "Color Him Red" | Pat Fielder | CBS | |
The Virginian | "The Horse Fighter" | Richard Fielder | NBC | |
1967 [1] | ||||
Star Trek | "The City on the Edge of Forever" | Harlan Ellison | NBC | |
The Big Valley | "The Martyr" | Mel Goldberg | ABC | |
Gunsmoke | "Fandango" | Don Ingalls | CBS | |
Mission: Impossible | "Odds on Evil" | William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter | ||
Star Trek | "The Return of the Archons" | NBC | ||
1968 [2] | ||||
Judd, for the Defense | "To Kill a Madman" | Robert Lewin | ABC | |
Hawaii Five-O | "Pilot" | Leonard Freeman | CBS | |
Judd, for the Defense | "The Commitment" | Paul Monash | ABC | |
"No Law Against Murder" | Harold Gast | |||
Mannix | "The Name is Mannix" | Bruce Geller | CBS | |
The Outcasts | "Take Your Lover in the Ring" | Anthony Lawrence | ABC | |
Star Trek | "Return to Tomorrow" | John T. Dugan | NBC | |
1969 | ||||
Judd, for the Defense | "An Elephant in a Cigar Box" | Robert Lewin | ABC | |
Hawaii Five-O | "To Hell with Babe Ruth" | Anthony Lawrence | CBS | |
The Mod Squad | "In This Corner -- Sol Alpert" | Rita Lakin and Harve Bennett | ABC | |
"Keep the Faith, Baby" | Harve Bennett | |||
Then Came Bronson | "Two Percent of Nothing" | D. C. Fontana | NBC | |
The Virginian | "Black Jade" | Herb Meadow |
Year | Series | Episode | Winners/nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
1970 [3] | ||||
"A Continual Roar of Musketry" | David W. Rintels | NBC | ||
Bracken's World | "Infinity" | Cliff Gould | NBC | |
"Meanwhile, Back at the Studio" | Joseph Bonaduce | |||
Hawaii Five-O | "Trouble in Mind" | Mel Goldberg and Sasha Gilien | CBS | |
The Young Lawyers | "The Glass Prison" | John W. Bloch | ABC | |
1971 | ||||
The Psychiatrist | "Par for the Course" | NBC | ||
"The Invasion of Kevin Ireland" | NBC | |||
"Angry Man" | Arthur Dales | |||
Columbo | "Murder by the Book" | Steven Bochco | ||
Hawaii Five-O | "F.O.B. Honolulu" | Jerry Ludwig & Eric Bercovici | CBS | |
Ironside | "No Motive for Murder" | Sy Salkowitz | NBC | |
Marcus Welby, M.D. | "They Grow Up" | Dick Nelson | ABC | |
"Until Proven Innocent" | Pat Fielder | |||
1972 | ||||
Kung Fu | "King of the Mountain" | Herman Miller | ABC | |
Columbo | "Etude in Black" | NBC | ||
Marcus Welby, M.D. | "Please Don't Send Flowers" | Bess Boyle | ABC | |
McCloud | "The Barefoot Stewardess Caper" | NBC | ||
"The New Mexican Connection" | Glen A. Larson | |||
The Mod Squad | "Taps, Play It Louder" | Sandor Stern | ABC | |
1973 | ||||
The Starlost | "Phoenix without Ashes" | Harlan Ellison | Syndicated | |
Gunsmoke | "The Golden Land" | Hal Sitowitz | CBS | |
Marcus Welby, M.D. | "A Necessary End" | Norman Hudis | ABC | |
The Streets of San Francisco | "House on Hyde Street" | |||
The Waltons | "The Easter Story" | CBS | ||
"The Odyssey" | Joanna Lee | |||
"The Roots" | Sheldon Stark | |||
"The Thanksgiving Story" | ||||
1974 | ||||
Gunsmoke | "Thirty a Month and Found" | Jim Byrnes | CBS | |
McCloud | "The Colorado Cattle Caper" | Michael Gleason | NBC | |
The New Land | "The Word Is: Growth" | William Blinn | ABC | |
The Waltons | "The Conflict" | Jeb Rosebrook | CBS | |
1975 | ||||
The Law | "Prior Consent" | NBC | ||
Gunsmoke | "The Busters" | Jim Byrnes | CBS | |
Kojak | "The Good Luck Bomber" | Raymond Brenner | ||
The Streets of San Francisco | "Web of Lies" | Leonard Kantor | ABC | |
The Waltons | "The Woman" | Hindi Brooks | CBS | |
1976 | ||||
Sandburg's Lincoln | "Crossing Fox River" | Loring Mandel | NBC | |
Baa Baa Black Sheep | "Flying Misfits" | Stephen J. Cannell | NBC | |
City of Angels | "The November Plan" | |||
Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | "Chapter I" | Millard Lampell | ABC | |
The Rockford Files | "So Help Me God" | Juanita Bartlett | NBC | |
1977 | ||||
Police Story | "Pressure Point" | Mark Rodgers | NBC | |
Eight Is Enough | "The Gipper Caper" | William Blinn | ABC | |
Lou Grant | "Christmas" | David Lloyd | CBS | |
"Housewarming" | Leonora Thuna | |||
Police Woman | "Merry Christmas, Waldo" | E. Arthur Kean | NBC | |
The Rockford Files | "Beamer's Last Case" | |||
"Quickie Nirvana" | David Chase | |||
1978 [4] | ||||
Lou Grant | "Prisoner" | Seth Freeman | CBS | |
Columbo | "The Conspirators" | Howard Berk | NBC | |
Lou Grant | "Murder" | Gary David Goldberg | CBS | |
The Rockford Files | "The House on Willis Avenue" | Stephen J. Cannell | NBC | |
The Waltons | "The Captive" | Ray Cunneff | CBS | |
"The Illusion" | John McGreevey | |||
1979 [5] | ||||
Lou Grant | "Vet" | Leon Tokatyan | CBS | |
Eischied | "The Demon" | Mark Rodgers | NBC | |
Lou Grant | "Exposé" | David Lloyd | CBS | |
"Home" | Gary David Goldberg | |||
"Slammer" | Johnny Dawkins | |||
The Rockford Files | "Some Things You Can Tell Yourself" | David Chase | NBC | |
The Waltons | "The Burden" | E. F. Wallengren | CBS |
Year | Series | Episode | Winners/nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
1980 [6] | ||||
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe | "Pilot" | Stephen J. Cannell | ABC | |
Little House on the Prairie | "Second Spring" | John T. Dugan | NBC | |
Lou Grant | "Blackout" | Steve Kline | CBS | |
"Brushfire" | Allan Burns and Gene Reynolds | |||
"Inheritance" | April Smith | |||
M*A*S*H | "Dreams" | |||
Skag | "Pilot" | Abby Mann | NBC | |
1981 | ||||
Hill Street Blues | "Hill Street Station" | Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco | NBC | |
Hill Street Blues | "Film at Eleven" | Anthony Yerkovich | NBC | |
Lou Grant | "Campesinos" | Michael Vittes | CBS | |
"Strike" | April Smith | |||
M*A*S*H | "Bless You, Hawkeye" | Dan Wilcox & Thad Mumford | ||
Palmerstown, USA | "Future City" | Ronald Rubin | ||
1982 | ||||
Hill Street Blues | "The World According to Freedom" | Michael Wagner | NBC | |
Darkroom | "Closed Circuit" | Alan Brennert | ABC | |
Fame | "A Special Place" | Parke Perine | NBC | |
Hill Street Blues | "Fruits of the Poisonous Tree" | Jeffrey Lewis | ||
Lou Grant | "Review" | Jeffrey Lane | CBS | |
1983 [7] | ||||
Hill Street Blues | "Trial by Fury" | David Milch | NBC | |
Cagney & Lacey | "Jane Doe #37" | Peter Lefcourt | CBS | |
Hill Street Blues | "Eugene's Comedy Empire Strikes Back" | NBC | ||
"Gung Ho!" | David Milch, Jeffrey Lewis and Michael Wagner | |||
St. Elsewhere | "Addiction" | John Masius and Tom Fontana | ||
Two Marriages | "Pilot" | Carol Sobieski | ABC | |
1984 [8] | ||||
Hill Street Blues | "Grace Under Pressure" | NBC | ||
Cagney & Lacey | "Victimless Crime" | Peter Lefcourt | CBS | |
Hill Street Blues | "Death by Kiki" | David Milch and Mark Frost | NBC | |
"Parting is Such Sweep Sorrow" | ||||
St. Elsewhere | "Hello and Goodbye" | John Masius and Tom Fontana | ||
"The Women" | ||||
Trauma Center | "Turnaround" | Harry Longstreet & Renee Schonfeld Longstreet | ABC | |
1985 [9] | ||||
Cagney & Lacey | "An Unusual Occurrence" | Georgia Jeffries | CBS | |
Miami Vice | "Brother's Keeper" | Anthony Yerkovich | NBC | |
Cagney & Lacey | "Child Witness" | Deborah Arakelian | CBS | |
"Who Said It's Fair?" (Part II) | Patricia Green | |||
Call to Glory | "A Wind from the East" | Josef Anderson | ABC | |
Hill Street Blues | "Watt a Way to Go" | NBC | ||
St. Elsewhere | "Sweet Dreams" | John Masius and Tom Fontana | ||
1986 [10] | ||||
Moonlighting | "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" | Debra Frank and Carl Sautter | ABC | |
St. Elsewhere | "Remembrance of Things Past" | John Masius, Bruce Paltrow and Tom Fontana | NBC | |
Hill Street Blues | "Remembrance of Hits Past" | NBC | ||
"What Are Friends For?" | Dick Wolf | |||
Moonlighting | "Every Daughter's Father is a Virgin" | Bruce Franklin Singer | ABC | |
1987 [11] [12] | ||||
Cagney & Lacey | "Turn, Turn, Turn: Part 1" | Georgia Jeffries | CBS | |
Moonlighting | "It's a Wonderful Job" | Debra Frank and Carl Sautter | ABC | |
Hill Street Blues | "Fathers and Guns" | NBC | ||
"More Skinned Against than Skinning" | David Black | |||
L.A. Law | "Fry Me to the Moon" | Jacob Epstein, Marshall Goldberg and David E. Kelley | ||
"The Venus Butterfly" | Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher | |||
Moonlighting | "Atomic Shakespeare" | Jeff Reno & Ron Osborn | ABC | |
"Big Man on Mulberry Street" | Karen Hall | |||
St. Elsewhere | "A Room with a View" | NBC | ||
1988 [13] | ||||
thirtysomething | "Pilot" | Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick | ABC | |
"Therapy" | Susan Shilliday | |||
China Beach | "Home" | William Broyles Jr. | ABC | |
L.A. Law | "Full Marital Jacket" | NBC | ||
St. Elsewhere | "A Moon for the Misbegotten" | |||
thirtysomething | "Nice Work If You Can Get It" | ABC | ||
1989 [14] | ||||
TV 101 | "Rolling" | Karl Schaefer | CBS | |
CBS Summer Playhouse | "Elysian Fields" | Joan Tewkesbury | CBS | |
China Beach | "Where the Boys Are" | Alan Brennert | ABC | |
"Xmas/CHNBCH VN '67" | John Wells | |||
L.A. Law | "His Suite is Hirsute" | Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley, Michele Gallery and William M. Finkelstein | NBC | |
"The Measure of a Man" | Melinda M. Snodgrass | Syndicated |
Year | Series | Episode | Winners/nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 [15] | ||||
China Beach | "Souvenirs" | John Sacret Young | ABC | |
China Beach | "Warriors" | ABC | ||
L.A. Law | "Bang...Zoom...Zap" | David E. Kelley and William M. Finkelstein | NBC | |
"Justice Swerved" | David E. Kelley and Bryce Zabel | |||
thirtysomething | "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" | Winnie Holzman | ABC | |
"Strangers" | Richard Kramer | |||
1991 [16] | ||||
thirtysomething | "Photo Opportunity" | Racelle Rosett Schaefer | ABC | |
China Beach | "Escape" | ABC | ||
"Hello Goodbye" | ||||
Law & Order | "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" | Dick Wolf | NBC | |
Quantum Leap | "The Leap Home, Part 1" | Donald P. Bellisario | ||
thirtysomething | "Guns and Roses" | Liberty Godshall | ABC | |
1992 [17] | ||||
I'll Fly Away | "Amazing Grace" | Henry Bromell | NBC | |
I'll Fly Away | "Coming Home" | Kevin Arkadie | NBC | |
Northern Exposure | "Burning Down the House" | Robin Green | CBS | |
"Seoul Mates" | Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider | |||
1993 [18] [19] | ||||
"Night of the Dead Living" | NBC | |||
Homicide: Life on the Street | "Gone for Goode" | Paul Attanasio | NBC | |
I'll Fly Away | "Comfort and Joy" | Barbara Hall | ||
Life Goes On | "Last Wish" | Toni Graphia | ABC | |
Picket Fences | "Thanksgiving" | David E. Kelley | CBS | |
Reasonable Doubts | "Thank God It's Friday" | Ed Zuckerman | NBC | |
TriBeCa | "The Box" | David J. Burke and Hans Tobeason | Fox | |
1994 [20] | ||||
Homicide: Life on the Street | "Bop Gun" | NBC | ||
Homicide: Life on the Street | "A Many Splendored Thing" | NBC | ||
Northern Exposure | "Hello, I Love You" | Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess | CBS | |
NYPD Blue | "Pilot" | ABC | ||
"Tempest in a C-Cup" | Gardner Stern | |||
1995 [21] | ||||
ER | "Love's Labor Lost" | Lance A. Gentile | NBC | |
Homicide: Life on the Street | "Fits Like a Glove" | NBC | ||
Picket Fences | "Saint Zack" | CBS | ||
The X-Files | "Duane Barry" | Chris Carter | Fox | |
1996 [22] | ||||
NYPD Blue | "Girl Talk" | ABC | ||
Law & Order | "Aftershock" | NBC | ||
"Savages" | Morgan Gendel, Barry M. Schkolnick and Michael S. Chernuchin | |||
"Trophy" | ||||
Murder One | "Chapter One" | ABC | ||
Party of Five | "Falsies" | Mark B. Perry | Fox | |
The X-Files | "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" | Darin Morgan | ||
1997 [23] | ||||
Law & Order | "Entrapment" | Rene Balcer and Richard Sweren | NBC | |
ER | "Who's Appy Now?" | Neal Baer | NBC | |
Law & Order | "Deadbeat" | Ed Zuckerman and I.C. Rapoport | ||
1998 [24] [25] | ||||
Nothing Sacred | "Proofs for the Existence of God" | Paul Leland | ABC | |
ER | "Exodus" | Walon Green and Joe Sachs | NBC | |
From the Earth to the Moon | "Apollo One" | Graham Yost | HBO | |
Homicide: Life on the Street | "Finnegan's Wake" | NBC | ||
"Saigon Rose" | Eric Overmyer | |||
"Subway" | James Yoshimura | |||
Law & Order | "Burned" | Siobhan Byrne | ||
The Practice | "Betrayal" | David E. Kelley | ABC | |
Rescuers: Stories of Courage | "The Marie Taquet Story" | Showtime | ||
1999 [26] | ||||
The Sopranos | "Meadowlands" | Jason Cahill | HBO | |
ER | "The Storm, Part 1" | John Wells | NBC | |
Law & Order | "DWB" | Rene Balcer | ||
Oz | "U.S. Male" | Tom Fontana and Bradford Winters | HBO |
Year | Series | Episode | Winners/nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 [41] | ||||
Mad Men | "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" | Erin Levy | AMC | |
Breaking Bad | "I.F.T." | George Mastras | AMC | |
"I See You" | Gennifer Hutchison | |||
The Good Wife | "Boom" | Ted Humphrey | CBS | |
House | "Help Me" | Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner and Peter Blake | Fox | |
Lost | "The End" | Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse | ABC | |
2011 [42] | ||||
Breaking Bad | "Box Cutter" | Vince Gilligan | AMC | |
Homeland | "The Good Soldier" | Henry Bromell | Showtime | |
Boardwalk Empire | "The Age of Reason" | Bathsheba Doran | HBO | |
"A Dangerous Maid" | Itamar Moses | |||
Breaking Bad | "End Times" | Thomas Schnauz and Moira Walley-Beckett | AMC | |
Dexter | "Just Let Go" | Jace Richdale | Showtime | |
2012 [43] | ||||
Mad Men | "The Other Woman" | Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner | AMC | |
Breaking Bad | "Buyout" | Gennifer Hutchison | AMC | |
"Dead Freight" | George Mastras | |||
"Fifty-One" | Sam Catlin | |||
"Say My Name" | Thomas Schnauz | |||
Homeland | "New Car Smell" | Meredith Stiehm | Showtime | |
2013 [44] | ||||
Breaking Bad | "Confessions" | Gennifer Hutchison | AMC | |
Breaking Bad | "Buried" | Thomas Schnauz | AMC | |
"Granite State" | Peter Gould | |||
The Good Wife | "Hitting the Fan" | Robert King and Michelle King | CBS | |
House of Cards | "Chapter 1" | Beau Willimon | Netflix | |
Masters of Sex | "Pilot" | Michelle Ashford | Showtime | |
2014 [45] | ||||
The Good Wife | "The Last Call" | Robert King and Michelle King | CBS | |
Boardwalk Empire | "Devil You Know" | Howard Korder | HBO | |
"Friendless Child" | Riccardo DiLoreto, Cristine Chambers and Howard Korder | |||
Game of Thrones | "The Lion and the Rose" | George R. R. Martin | ||
Mad Men | "A Day's Work" | Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner | AMC | |
Rectify | "Donald the Normal" | Kate Powers and Ray McKinnon | Sundance TV | |
2015 [46] | ||||
Better Call Saul | "Uno" | Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould | AMC | |
Game of Thrones | "Mother's Mercy" | David Benioff and D. B. Weiss | HBO | |
The Good Wife | "Mind's Eye" | Robert King and Michelle King | CBS | |
The Leftovers | "International Assassin" | Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse | HBO | |
Mad Men | "Person to Person" | Matthew Weiner | AMC | |
Narcos | "Explosivos" | Andy Black | Netflix | |
2016 [47] | ||||
This Is Us | "The Trip" | Vera Herbert | NBC | |
Better Call Saul | "Gloves Off" | Gordon Smith | AMC | |
"Klick" | Heather Marion and Vince Gilligan | |||
"Switch" | Thomas Schnauz | |||
Game of Thrones | "The Winds of Winter" | David Benioff and D. B. Weiss | HBO | |
Shameless | "I Am a Storm" | Sheila Callaghan | Showtime | |
2017 [48] | ||||
Better Call Saul | "Chicanery" | Gordon Smith | AMC | |
The Americans | "The Soviet Division" | Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg | FX | |
Better Call Saul | "Slip" | Heather Marion | AMC | |
Good Behavior | "The Heart Attack is the Best Way" | Chad Hodge | TNT | |
The Leftovers | "The Book of Nora" | HBO | ||
The OA | "Homecoming" | Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij | Netflix | |
2018 [49] | ||||
Homeland | "Paean to the People" | Alex Gansa | Showtime | |
The Affair | "407" | Showtime | ||
The Handmaid's Tale | "First Blood" | Eric Tuchman | Hulu | |
"Camelot" | Eric Newman & Clayton Trussell | Netflix | ||
Ozark | "The Precious Blood of Jesus" | David Manson | ||
This Is Us | "The Car" | Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger | NBC | |
2019 [50] | ||||
Succession | "Tern Haven" | Will Tracy | HBO | |
The Crown | "Moondust" | Peter Morgan | Netflix | |
Mr. Robot | "407 Proxy Authentication Required" | Sam Esmail | USA | |
The OA | "Mirror Mirror" | Dominic Orlando & Claire Kiechel | Netflix | |
Ray Donovan | "A Good Man is Hard to Find" | Joshua Marston | Showtime | |
This Is Us | "Our Little Island Girl" | Eboni Freeman | NBC |