--- title: Best-Written TV Show: 'The Sopranos' description: Think it would be hard to narrow down all of television history to a ranked list of the top 101 best-written shows ever? Think again:... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7118720/the-sopranos-named-best-written-tv-show-ever/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-06-03T22:47:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T05:55:49.244Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'The Sopranos' Named Best-Written TV Show Ever og:description: The Writer's Guild of America ranked the 101 top shows in television history, and the mob drama came out on top og:url: https://time.com/archive/7118720/the-sopranos-named-best-written-tv-show-ever/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b02527c55300aee/698a8ec3011682f0cd98b609/ap070531052291.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Edie Falco, James Gandolfini og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'The Sopranos' Named Best-Written TV Show Ever twitter:description: The Writer's Guild of America ranked the 101 top shows in television history, and the mob drama came out on top twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b02527c55300aee/698a8ec3011682f0cd98b609/ap070531052291.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) # 'The Sopranos' Named Best-Written TV Show Ever > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jun 3, 2013 10:47 PM UTC  \*\* FILE \*\* In this photo, released by HBO in 2007, Edie Falco portrays Carmela Soprano and James Gandolfini is Tony Soprano in a scene from one of the last episodes of the hit HBO dramatic series "The Sopranos." Nearly a year after the smash series' finale left fans guessing what it all meant, dozens of scholars gathered at Fordham University Friday to parse what "The Sopranos" had to say about topics ranging from gender roles to the justice system, race relations to health care. (AP Photo/HBO,Craig Blankenhorn) \*\*NO SALES\*\* \*\* FILE \*\* In this photo, released by HBO in 2007, Edie Falco portrays Carmela Soprano and James Gandolfini is Tony Soprano in a scene from one of the last episodes of the hit HBO dramatic series "The Sopranos." Nearly a year after the smash series' finale left fans guessing what it all meant, dozens of scholars gathered at Fordham University Friday to parse what "The Sopranos" had to say about topics ranging from gender roles to the justice system, race relations to health care. (AP Photo/HBO,Craig Blankenhorn) \*\*NO SALES\*\* ASSOCIATED PRESS—AP2007 by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jun 3, 2013 10:47 PM UTC Think it would be hard to narrow down all of television history to a ranked list of the top 101 best-written shows ever? Think again: it’s as easy as “bada bing.” This weekend, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) [released its list](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=5246), a follow-up to their ranking — in 2005 — of the best screenplays ever. HBO’s _The Sopranos_, created by David Chase, topped the list. WGA members from both the East and West divisions of the organization voted for the list, which included all genres of English-language television over the last seven decades. The writers are the foundation of a good show, said WGA presidents Chris Keyser and Michael Winship in a statement: --- > “” --- (**MORE**: [Top 10 TV Character Chameleons — Edie Falco, from Carmela Soprano to Nurse Jackie](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2093469%5F2093468%5F2093462,00.html)) Coming in after _The Sopranos_ was a diverse slate of TV classics: _Seinfeld_, _The Twilight Zone_, _All in the Family_, _M\*A\*S\*H_, _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_, _Mad Men_, _Cheers_, _The Wire_, _The West Wing_, _The Simpsons_, _I Love Lucy_, _Breaking Bad_, _The Dick Van Dyke Show_, _Hill Street Blues_, _Arrested Development_, _The Daily Show_, _Six Feet Under_, _Taxi_, _The Larry Sanders Show_… And the rest of the list, from 21 – 101, is just as mixed, from recent favorites like _Friday Night Lights_ and _Homeland_ to oldies but goodies like _Sesame Street_ and _The Andy Griffith Show_. There were several ties (_Downton Abbey_, _Law & Order_ and _thirtysomething_ all placed at No. 43) and the show that just made the cut, at No. 101, was _Oz_. (**MORE**: [Top 10 Pop-Culture Gangsters](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2020083%5F2020085%5F2020076,00.html)) As with any ranking, the list is ripe to be the subject of argument—but the controversy doesn’t stop there. Over at [_Deadline_](http://www.deadline.com/2013/06/wga-to-unveil-its-101-best-written-tv-series-with-red-carpet-event/)_,_ the fact that _TV Guide_ sponsored the list and its unveiling (and had the [exclusive scoop](http://www.tvguide.com/News/Exclusive-Best-Written-Shows-Ever-TV-Writers-1066234.aspx) on the announcement) was the subject of some finger-wagging. _Deadline_ reports that few members of the WGA were aware of the voting, and that some feel that the sponsorship deal hurts the Guild’s reputation. The full list is available [here](http://www.wga.org/uploadedfiles/news%5Fand%5Fevents/101%5FTV%5FSeries/tv101list-press.pdf). (**VIDEO**:[ _Arrested Development_ Cocktails to Accompany Your Binge Viewing)](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/05/31/arrested-development-themed-cocktails-for-your-second-binge-viewing-of-the-series/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7118720/the-sopranos-named-best-written-tv-show-ever/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7118720/the-sopranos-named-best-written-tv-show-ever/"},"headline":"'The Sopranos' Named Best-Written TV Show Ever","datePublished":"2013-06-03T22:47:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T05:55:49.244Z","description":"Think it would be hard to narrow down all of television history to a ranked list of the top 101 best-written shows ever? 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