The members of the Writers Guild of America were asked to vote online for the best written TV series in history. The organization tallied a list of 101 shows and David Chase’s HBO drama, The Sopranos, came out on top.
It’s worth noting that the list contains a few titles that most consider to be mini-series, not TV shows — like Roots and I, Claudius.
For better or worse, here’s the WGA’s complete list. Please share your thoughts below!
1. The Sopranos
2. Seinfeld
3. The Twilight Zone (1959)
4. All in the Family
5. M*A*S*H
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7. Mad Men
8. Cheers
9. The Wire
10. The West Wing
11. The Simpsons
12. I Love Lucy
13. Breaking Bad
14. The Dick Van Dyke Show
15. Hill Street Blues
16. Arrested Development
17. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
18. Six Feet Under
19. Taxi
20. The Larry Sanders Show
21. 30 Rock
22. Friday Night Lights
23. Frasier
24. Friends
25. Saturday Night Live
26. The X-Files
27. Lost
28. ER
29. The Cosby Show
30. Curb Your Enthusiasm
31. The Honeymooners
32. Deadwood
33. Star Trek
34. Modern Family
35. Twin Peaks
36. NYPD Blue
37. The Carol Burnett Show
38. Battlestar Galactica (2005)
39. Sex & the City
40. Game of Thrones
41. The Bob Newhart Show, Your Show of Shows (tie)
43. Downton Abbey, Law & Order, thirtysomething (tie)
46. Homicide: Life on the Street, St. Elsewhere (tie)
48. Homeland
49. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
50. The Colbert Report, The Good Wife, The Office (UK) (tie)
53. Northern Exposure
54. The Wonder Years
55. L.A. Law
56. Sesame Street
57. Columbo
58. Fawlty Towers, The Rockford Files (tie)
60. Freaks and Geeks, Moonlighting (tie)
62. Roots
63. Everybody Loves Raymond, South Park (tie)
65. Playhouse 90
66. Dexter, The Office (US) (tie)
68. My So-Called Life
69. The Golden Girls
70. The Andy Griffith Show
71. 24, Roseanne, The Shield (tie)
74. House, Murphy Brown (tie)
76. Barney Miller; I, Claudius (tie)
78. The Odd Couple
79. Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Monty Python’s Flying Circus; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Upstairs, Downstairs (tie)
83. Get Smart
84. The Defenders, Gunsmoke (tie)
86. Justified, Sgt. Bilko (The Phil Silvers Show) (tie)
88. Band of Brothers
89. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
90. The Prisoner
91. Absolutely Fabulous (UK), The Muppet Show (tie)
93. Boardwalk Empire
94. Will & Grace
95. Family Ties
96. Lonesome Dove, Soap (tie)
98. The Fugitive, Late Night with David Letterman, Louie (tie)
101. Oz
What do you think? Do agree with their choices? Are any of your favorites missing? Are there any titles that you don’t recognize?
M*A*S*H should have been number 1, instead of number 5. The blending of comedy and drama was superb, and tackling some taboo issues of the time with the horrors of war as the backdrop made for a phenomenal show. While I wouldn’t put any of the top 4 above M*A*S*H, reasonable arguments could be made for 3 of the 4, but “Seinfeld”???… just no. I’ve watched every episode of “Seinfeld,” and while it had some entertainment value, it doesn’t even belong in the top 10. Indeed, number 10 — the masterfully written “The West Wing” tops “Seinfeld” in writing quality… Read more »
The West Wing, The Golden Girls, Moonlighting, Cheers, Roseanne, Fraisier, Hill Street Blues, Blue Bloods, Luther, The Blacklist, My Top 10 spanning 40 Years
What about “Dallas”? Really kept you interested. Also Dynasty was another one. Do not know if they rate in that catagory but were very good shows. Not sure I agree with the line up you published, how they rated #1, #2, etc. NCIS is a great show also. Some shows are kind of way out there…for my generation. They are OK, just do not relate with some as well as others
Two and a Half Men should definitely be on this list !!!!
One of the best written sitcoms in TV-History !
Far better than all the other sitcoms on this list (except for Seinfeld, Cheers, Mash).
Hawaii Five-O (the original) , Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Leave it to Beaver are my favorite.
Where is Walking Dead?? Also, I don’t know if many people know this show, but “Dead like Me” was a fantastic show that got cancelled suddenly after 2 seasons. The loyal fan base demanded an ending, so 5 years later they came out with a movie!! Also, Roseanne is my ALL-TIME favorite show, and to be in the 60s or 70s is RIDICULOUS! Roseanne Barr is a master mind, who broke every sitcom mold of their time. This list is VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!!
Naked City was considered the most literate TV show ever, and yet it’s not on the list…what’s up with that?
I also think ‘The Ghost Whisperer’……..was very good and could have been even better with better writers……. It was an interesting concept…….about crossing people OVER.
where is Criminal Minds? After 8 seasons, it’s still amazing.
Inspector Morse UK tv should be at the very top of this list. It’s the best written tv show you will ever see. Add The world at war to that list if documentaries count then you have the best two written shows. Stuff like Kojak, Ironside, waking the dead, prison break, dads army should all be in there. Then again it’s a totally subjective list for all of us who have a passion for classic tv shoes.
You forgot to mention which of The Defenders made the list. Was it the most recent one or the original one?
I think that Touch, Invader Zim, and How I Met Your Mother should be on the list. At lot of these I haven’t seen so I don’t know what I’d kick off if anything.
It’s the original Defenders.
Sopranos, number 1? No offense to those of you who loved the show, but I could name several dozen far more deserving of that status! Who voted this list, anyway? It’s really a bit of a joke IMHO.
There are so many shows that not only deserve to be much higher on this list, but that should also downright bump others off completely. I won’t go into specifics only because MY list would be too long. I will mention, however, that the “Writer’s Guild” should take a deeper look at what they deem the best written shows, because honestly, some of their top choices leave much to be desired, in terms of being referred to as the best written shows out there. LOST, by any standards, should have made it higher on the list. Buffy the Vampire Slayer,… Read more »
It’s the demographics issue that is driving good scripted TV like Supernatural into extinction. Writing for children is killing the entire network/cable industry as they are trying to pull in younger, busier, people and don’t give a rat’s behind about adults who have more time, money, and ahem, wisdom to discern what is good writing and what is c##p! Think about it, I remember my 20’s and 30’s and I was too busy working, raising children and playing with friends to watch much TV. So it’s not so much as a brain cell vacuum as about adult choices vs. children… Read more »
Well said, Kate. I was shocked to see so many amazing shows get the ax this year. Good shows that, at hearing about their cancellations, left me floored. Now I know people are busy with work and kids, but now-a-days, who doesn’t have a DVR? In fact, not too long ago, I read that now, ratings are based on what’s being recorded for later. The sad truth is, the networks are run by “suits” who: A: don’t know good from bad; B: refuse to give shows a chance beyond episode #1 of a show they never bothered to advertise; C:… Read more »
I agree with All In the Family, MASH, The West Wing, I Love Lucy, The Cosby Show, Star Trek, Sex and the City, and the Andy Griffith Show, but the rest, not so much. There are so many other shows that I think are better and also most of the list I never watched and do not care to.
they forgot
1) Raising Hope
2) My Name is Earl
3) Community
*Not in that order
The most obvious misses in my estimation are “Maude,” “Winds of War/War & Remembrance,” and “NCIS” (which could not have remained on the air for 15+ original seasons without being extremely well written, with diverse characters and has always been extremely well written). Especially “Winds” and “Remembrance,” by the multi-award winning Herman Wouk, and should have been in the top 20. Also, several of the shows on the list were too lowly ranked, such as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” (top 40, as 70 is way too low) “The West Wing” (top 5) “Rockford Files,”(such a groundbreaking show, should be top 20,… Read more »