About "101 Best Written TV Series"
In 2006, the Writers Guilds of America, East and West presented the 101 Greatest Screenplays, honoring the best screenwriting of all time as chosen by WGA members. The final list and tribute event garnered major media and industry attention.
Now in 2012, the WGA turns its attention to the small screen with plans to unveil the 101 Best Written TV Series, honoring the most outstanding television writing of the past seven decades and spotlighting the writers who crafted the acclaimed TV shows that helped shape our lives.
From comedy and drama to animation and daytime, from children’s and variety/talk shows to anthologies and miniseries, the best television series transcend popular entertainment to become cultural touchstones, helping define an era, change lives, educate or simply entertain us. Whether they make us laugh, cry or examine the world in new ways, TV’s greatest shows have one thing in common: they all begin with stories, they all begin with writers.
Voting Eligibility, Criteria & Rules
Voter Eligibility
Voting to select the 101 Best Written TV Series is open to all categories of WGAE members—Current, Post-Current, and Emeritus—who are in active status.
Only one ballot may be submitted per Guild member.
Voting will be conducted using a ballot containing 20 open slots. Members are asked to list their “Top 20” TV series by filling in titles in slots 1 through 20 on the voting form. Members may list fewer than 20 titles. How you order your choices will not affect their values. Each slot will receive one point in the final vote count. Titles listed more than once on the form will only count as a single vote.
Series Eligibility
The list will honor best series rather than individual episodes.
All genres of scripted TV series will be eligible, including animation, children’s, comedy, daytime/serial, drama, scripted anthologies, miniseries with six or more hours of programming, and talk/variety series.
Individual or non-serialized programs are not eligible, including telefilms, MOWs, miniseries with less than six hours of programming, and specials.
There is no time limit on eligibility. Members may vote for any TV series which aired for any period of time from the beginning of television to the present.
All television series are eligible, whether first produced for broadcast, basic cable, or Pay TV. To be eligible, series must have on-screen writing credits.
Eligibility is not limited to series written under the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) or other WGA collective bargaining agreement.
Eligibility is limited to series written in English and broadcast on American television.
In the case of multiple series with identical series titles, voters are asked to specify the series they have selected, whether by country of origin, date of production, or other distinguishing information: The Office (US) vs. The Office (UK); Battlestar Galactica (’70s) vs. Battlestar Galactica (’00s); or Star Trek vs. Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Voting Procedures
Voting will be conducted online, and results tabulated by Votenet Solutions, an independent firm hired by the WGA.
A list of Writers Guild Award-winning/nominated and/or acclaimed TV series and miniseries, as well as a link to a searchable database of Emmy-winning/nominated TV series and miniseries, has been provided to members for reference purposes. 101 TV selections do not need to be made from the titles contained in these lists.
For 101 Best Written TV Series member voting, your login username is your last name, and your password is your five-digit Guild member ID number.
The voting period begins Tuesday, May 15, 2012. The deadline to cast your vote is Friday, June 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m. (EDT). No late ballots will be accepted.
If a Guild member does not have Internet access, he or she may request a print ballot to cast their votes by contacting WGAE Online Communications Manager Simon Apter at 212-767-7809 or at sapter@wgaeast.org.
The WGA’s final 101 Best Written TV Series list will be determined and ranked in order from 1 through 101, based on the total number of points each series receives.
Final results will be announced by the WGA this fall/winter 2012.
