WGA Chooses Sopranos as Best Written TV Series of All Time

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has unveiled its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series, led by The Sopranos, with Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All in the Family and M*A*S*H in the top five.

Determined through online voting by members of WGA West and WGA East, the list places The Sopranos, created by David Chase, as the number one show in terms of writing. Seinfeld, created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, was number two. The top five features The Twilight Zone, All in the Family and M*A*S*H. The top 10, in descending order, are The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mad Men, Cheers, The Wire and The West Wing.

Other series making the top 20 include The Simpsons, I Love Lucy, Breaking Bad, Hill Street Blues, Six Feet Under and Taxi. Among the others making the top 50 are such notable inclusions as 30 Rock, Frasier, Friends, Lost, The X-Files, Modern Family, Downton Abbey, Sex & the City and Game of Thrones.

“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers who joined their staffs or worked on individual episodes,” said Chris Keyser, WGAW president, and Michael Winship, WGAE president, in a joint statement. “This list is not only a tribute to great TV, it is a dedication to all writers who devote their hearts and minds to advancing their craft.”