The Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Original is an award presented by the Writers Guild of America to the writers of the best long-form program not based on the previously published material of the season. It has been awarded since the 49th Annual Writers Guild of America Awards in 1996.
Through the 70s and 80s, numerous categories were presented to recognize writing for long-form programs, some of them were for anthology series or limited series while others also included television films as "long form". The divisions between original and adapted were presented in some of the categories presented during these years, though not all of them.
Since the 39th Writers Guild of America Awards in 1976, two categories are presented to recognize the writing in long form television media, these two categories remain to this day and are: Long Form – Original and Long Form – Adapted.
Name History Best Anthology Original (1975, 1978) Best Original Comedy Anthology (1982-1983) Best Original Drama Anthology (1982-1985) Best Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology (1984-1985) Best Original/Adapted Multi-Part Long Form Series (1984) Best Anthology Episode/Single Program (1986-1990) Best Long Form - Original (1986-present)
Winners and nominees The year indicates when each season aired. Single winner of the years is left unmarked while other winners are highlighted in gold and in bold.
1970s Best Anthology Original Year Program Writer(s) Network 1975 Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Jerome Kass CBS 1978 Scott Joplin Christopher Knopf NBC
1980s Best Original Comedy Anthology Year Program Writer(s) Network 1982 Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend Oliver Hailey and Marilyn Canton Baker NBC 1983 The Other Woman Lila Garrett and Anne Meara CBS
Best Original Drama Anthology Year Program Writer(s) Network 1982 Skokie Ernest Kinoy CBS 1983 Special Bulletin Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick NBC 1984The Day AfterDavid HumeABC Pope John Paul II Christopher Knopf CBS 1985Do You Remember LoveVickie PatikCBS Not My Kid Christopher Knopf and Beth Polson CBS
Best Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology Year Program Writer(s) Source material Network 1984 Hobson's Choice Burt Prelutsky Original TV movie CBS 1985 The Ratings Game Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland Original TV movie Showtime
Best Original/Adapted Multi-Part Long Form Series Year Program Writer(s) Source material Network 1983 Blood Feud"Part II" Robert Boris Original TV movie Syndicated V"Part I" Kenneth Johnson Original miniseries NBC 1984 The First Olympics: Athens 1896 Charles Gary Allison and William Bast Original miniseries NBC
Best Anthology Episode/Single Program Year Program Episode Writer(s) Network 1986 The Twilight Zone "Teacher's Aide"/"Paladin of the Lost Hour" Harlan Ellison CBS Amazing Stories "The Doll" Richard Matheson NBC The Twilight Zone "A Day in Beaumont"/"The Last Defender of Camelot" George R. R. Martin CBS "Her Pilgrim Soul"/"I of Newton" Alan Brennert 1987 There Were Times, Dear Harry Cauley PBSThe Twilight Zone "The Storyteller"/"Nightsong" Rockne S. O'Bannon CBS "The Card"/"The Junction" Virginia Aldridge American Playhouse "A Mistaken Charity" Lawrence DuKore, C.R. Portz PBS Tales from the Darkside "Everybody Needs a Little Love" John Harrison Syndicated 1988 Great Performances "Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson" Andy Wolk PBS Alfred Hitchcock Presents "There Was a Little Girl..." Charlie Grant Craig NBC CBS Summer Playhouse "Mad Avenue" Christopher Knopf and David A. Simons CBS 1989 Great Performances "Tales from the Hollywood Hills: The Closed Set" Ellen M. Violett PBS The Cosby Show "The Birth" John Markus, Carmen Finestra, and Gary Kott NBCThe Twilight Zone "Father and Son Game" Jeremy Bertrand Finch, and Paul Chitlik Syndicated "Street of Shadows" Michael Reaves
Best Long Form - Original Year Program Writer(s) Network 1986 Nobody's Child Mary Gallagher and Ara Watson CBS The Execution of Raymond Graham Mel Frohman ABC Unnatural Causes John Sayles, Martin M. Goldstein, Stephen Doran, Robert Jacobs NBC Miles to Go... Beverly Levitt, Stuart Fischoff CBS The Return of Sherlock Holmes Bob Shayne 1987Not awarded 1988 God Bless the Child Dennis Nemec ABC My Father, My Son Jacqueline Feather and David Seidler CBS The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story Norman Morrill NBC 1989 Nightbreaker T.S. Cook TNT
1990s Best Anthology Episode/Single Program Year Program Episode Writer(s) Network 1990 Sisters Shelley List, and Jonathan Estrin CBS Nightmare Classics "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" J. Michael Straczynski Showtime Tales from the Crypt "The Ventriloquist's Dummy" Frank Darabont HBO
Best Long Form - Original Year Program Writer(s) Network 1990 The Incident James Norell, and Michael Norell CBS Heat Wave Michael Lazarou TNT 1991 Judgment Tom Topor HBO 1992 Homefront"S.N.A.F.U."| style="background:#FAEB86" | Lynn Marie Latham, and Bernard Lechowick| style="background:#FAEB86" | ABC| |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"| 1993 |- | style="background:#FAEB86" | The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom Jane Anderson HBO 1994 Witness to the Execution Thomas Baum, Keith Pierce, and Priscilla Prestwidge NBC Lily in Winter Julie Moskowitz, Robert Elsele, Gary Stephens, and J. Michael Riva USA Network 1995 ER"24 Hours"| style="background:#FAEB86" | Michael Crichton| style="background:#FAEB86" | NBC| rowspan="4"| |- | A Father for Charlie || H. Haden Yelin || CBS |- | Lily in Winter || Julie Moskowitz, Robert Elsele, Gary Stephens, and J. Michael Riva || USA Network |- | Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story || Alison Cross || NBC |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center"| 1996 |- | style="background:#FAEB86" | Harvest of Fire Susan Nanus and Richard Alfieri CBS Andersonville David W. Rintels TNT Hidden in Silence Stephanie Liss Lifetime Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden Tim Cagney The Family Channel 1997 The Summer of Ben Tyler Robert Inman CBS Dark Skies Bryce Zabel, Brent V. Friedman NBC Hidden in America Peter Silverman and Michael De Guzma Showtime 1998 Labor of Love Nina Shengold Lifetime Blind Faith Frank Military Showtime Color of Justice Lionel Chetwynd Gia Jay McInerney and Michael Cristofer HBO 1999 Dash and Lilly Jerry Ludwig A&E Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within Michael Burton Showtime Freak City Jane Shepard Purgatory Gordon T. Dawson TNT
2000s Year Program Writer(s) Network 2000 Freedom Song Phil Alden Robinson and Stanley Weiser TNT Sally Hemings: An American Scandal"Part I"| style="background:#FAEB86" | Tina Andrews| style="background:#FAEB86" | CBS|- | If You Believe || Anthea Sylbert and Richard Romanus || rowspan="2"|Lifetime |- | The Truth About Jane || Lee Rose |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center"| 2001 |- | style="background:#FAEB86" | Conspiracy Loring Mandel HBO Varian's War Lionel Chetwynd Showtime 61* Hank Steinberg HBO For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story Timothy J. Sexton 2002 The Gathering Storm Larry Ramin and Hugh Whitemore HBO Door to Door William H. Macy and Steven Schachter TNT My Beautiful Son Tim Kazurinsky Showtime Sins of the Father John Pielmeier FX 2003 And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself Larry Gelbart HBO Julius Caesar Peter Pruce and Craig Warner TNT Wilder Days Jeff Stockwell Taken"Beyond the Sky", "Jacob and Jesse" Leslie Bohem Sci-Fi Channel 2004 Something the Lord Made Peter Silverman and Robert Caswell HBO Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story J.T. Allen FX Spinning Boris Yuri Zeltser and Grace Cary Bickley Showtime 2005 Warm Springs Margaret Nagle HBO Dirt Richard Guay and Nancy Savoca Showtime The Librarian: Quest for the Spear David Titcher TNT The Reading Room Randy Feldman Hallmark Channel 2006 Flight 93 Nevin Schreiner A&E Broken Trail Alan Geoffrion AMC The Ron Clark Story Annie deYoung and Max Enscoe TNT 2007 Pandemic Bryce Zabel and Jackie Zabel Hallmark Channel The Lost Room Christopher Leone, Laura Harkcom and Paul Workman Syfy Channel 2008 Recount Danny Strong HBO An American Crime Tommy O'Haver Showtime Fringe"Pilot" J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Fox 2009 Georgia O’Keeffe Michael Cristofer Lifetime Grey Gardens Michael Sucsy and Patricia Rozema HBO Pedro Dustin Lance Black and Paris Barclay MTV
2010s Year Program Writer(s) Network 2010 The Special Relationship Peter Morgan HBO You Don't Know Jack Adam Mazer HBO 2011 Cinema Verite David Seltzer HBO Five Deirdre O'Connor, Stephen Godchaux, Howard Morris, Jill Gordon, Wendy West Lifetime 2012 Hatfields & McCoys"Part 2", "Part 3"| style="background:#FAEB86" | Bill Kerby, Ted Mann, and Ronald Parker| style="background:#FAEB86" | History| rowspan="3"| |- | Hemingway & Gellhorn || Jerry Stahl and Barbara Turner || HBO |- | Political Animals"Pilot" || Greg Berlanti || USA |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"| 2013 |- | colspan="3"|Not awarded
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"| 2014 |- | style="background:#FAEB86" | Deliverance Creek Melissa Carter Lifetime Return to Zero Sean Hanish Lifetime 2015 Saints & Strangers Seth Fisher, Walon Green, Chip Johannessen, and Eric Overmyer Nat Geo American Horror Story: Hotel Brad Falchuk, John J. Gray, Todd Kubrak, Crystal Liu, Ned Martel, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Jennifer Salt, and James Wong FX Flesh and Bone Bronwyn Garrity, Jami O'Brien, Adam Rapp, Moira Walley-Beckett, and David Wiener Starz Sons of Liberty Stephen David, Kirk Ellis, and David C. White History 2016 Confirmation Susannah Grant HBO American Crime Julie Hébert, Sonay Hoffman, Keith Huff, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Kirk A. Moore, Davy Perez and Diana Son ABC Harley and the Davidsons Seth Fisher, Nick Schenk and Evan Wright Discovery Channel Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le Dianne Houston Lifetime 2017 Flint Barbara Stepansky Lifetime American Horror Story: Cult Brad Falchuk, John J. Gray, Joshua Green, Todd Kubrak, Crystal Liu, Ned Martel, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Adam Penn and James WongFX Feud: Bette and Joan Jaffe Cohen, Sonay Hoffman, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Gina Welch and Michael Zam Godless Scott Frank Netflix Manhunt: Unabomber Jim Clemente, Tony Gittelson, Max Hurwitz, Steven Katz, Nick Schenk, Andrew Sodroski and Nick Towne Discovery 2018 Castle Rock Marc Bernardin, Scott Brown, Lila Byock, Mark Lafferty, Sam Shaw, Dustin Thomason, Gina Welch and Vinnie Wilhelm Hulu My Dinner with Hervé Sacha Gervasi and Sean MacaulayHBO Paterno Debora Cahn and John C. Richards 2019 Chernobyl Craig Mazin HBO True Detective Nic Pizzolatto, David Milch, Alessandra DiMona, Graham Gordy and Gabriel Hobson HBO The Terror: Infamy Max Borenstein, Naomi Iizuka, Tony Tost, Alexander Woo, Alessandra DiMona, Shannon Goss, Steven Hanna, Benjamin Klein and Danielle Roderick AMC Togo Tom Flynn Disney+
2020s Year Program Writer(s) Network 2020Mrs. AmericaTanya Barfield, Joshua Allen Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi WallerFX Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Aaron Carew, Alexandra Cunningham, Lex Edness, Kevin J. Hynes, Juliet Lashinsky-Revene, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Katherine B. McKenna USA Network Hollywood Ian Brennan, Janet Mock, Ryan Murphy, Reilly Smith Netflix Safety Nick Santora Disney+ Uncle Frank Alan Ball Amazon 2021Mare of EasttownBrad IngelsbyHBO American Horror Story: Double Feature Brad Falchuk, Manny Coto, Ryan Murphy, Kristen Reidel, Reilly Smith FX The White Lotus Mike White HBO Midnight Mass James Flanagan, Mike Flanagan, Elan Gale, Jeff Howard, Dani Parker Netflix Them: Covenant Christina Ham, Little Marvin, David Matthews, Dominic Orlando, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, Francine Volpe Prime Video
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