“Mad Men” and “Modern Family” won the Writers Guild of America Awards for drama and comedy series at the bi-coastal ceremony held on Saturday (Feb. 5) night.
This was the third consecutive TV Drama Series win for the “Mad Men” writing staff, fronted by series creator Matthew Weiner. The acclaimed AMC drama also won for Drama – Episodic, interestingly for “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword,” an Erin Levy-penned episode that’s one of the few “Mad Men” episodes without a Weiner byline.
For “Modern Family,” this was the ABC favorite’s first Comedy Series win after winning for New Series and splitting the Comedy- Episodic prize last year. This ended a three-year Comedy Series run for “30 Rock” at the WGAs, though Robert Carlock’s “When It Rains, It Pours” episode of “30 Rock” still captured Comedy – Episodic.
The WGA also smiled on HBO. “Boardwalk Empire” won for New Series, while Peter Morgan’s “The Special Relationship” and a “Pacific” script from Robert Schenkkan and Michelle Ashford won for Longform – Original and Longform Adapted, respectively.
A full list of the 2011 Writers Guild of America Awards recipients on the TV side:
TV DRAMA SERIES
“Mad Men,” Written by Jonathan Abrahams, Lisa Albert, Keith Huff, Jonathan Igla, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy, Tracy McMillan, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC
TV EPISODIC DRAMA – any length – one airing time
“The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” (“Mad Men”), Written by Erin Levy; AMC
TV COMEDY SERIES
“Modern Family,” Written by Jerry Collins, Paul Corrigan, Alex Herschlag, Abraham Higginbotham, Elaine Ko, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC
TV EPISODIC COMEDY – any length – one airing time
“When It Rains, It Pours” (“30 Rock”), Written by Robert Carlock; NBC
NEW SERIES
“Boardwalk Empire,” Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter; HBO
COMEDY / VARIETY – (INCLUDING TALK) SERIES
“The Colbert Report,” Writers: Barry Julien, Dan Guterman, Eric Drysdale, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Jay Katsir, Max Werner, Meredith Scardino, Michael Brumm, Opus Moreschi, Peter Gwinn, Rich Dahm, Rob Dubbin, Scott Sherman, Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell; Comedy Central
LONG FORM – ORIGINAL – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times
“The Special Relationship,” Written by Peter Morgan; HBO
LONG FORM – ADAPTATION – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times
“The Pacific,” “Part Eight,” Written by Robert Schenkkan and Michelle Ashford, Based in part on the books “Helmet for My Pillow” by Robert Leckie and “With The Old Breed” by Eugene B. Sledge with additional material from “Red Blood, Black Sand” by Chuck Tatum and “China Marine” by Eugene B. Sledge; HBO
COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS
“National Memorial Day Concert 2010,” Written by Joan Meyerson; PBS
DAYTIME SERIAL
“As the World Turns,” Written by Susan Dansby, Lucky Gold, Janet Iacobuzio, Penelope Koechl, David Kreizman, Leah Laiman, David A. Levinson, Leslie Nipkow, Jean Passanante, Gordon Rayfield, David Smilow; CBS
ANIMATION – any length – one airing time
“The Prisoner of Brenda” (Futurama), Written by Ken Keeler; Comedy Central
CHILDREN”S SCRIPT – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL
“Avalon High,” Teleplay by Julie Sherman Wolfe and Amy Talkington, Based on the novel by Meg Cabot; Disney Channel
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC & SPECIALS
“Happy Ha-Ha Holidays” (Imagination Movers), Written by Michael G. Stern, Randi Barnes, Rick Gitelson, Scott Gray; Disney Channel