Pilot (Modern Family)

1st episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"Pilot"

Modern Family episode
Episode no.| Season 1
Episode 1
Directed by| Jason Winer
Written by|

* Steven Levitan
* Christopher Lloyd

Cinematography by| David Hennings
Editing by| Ryan Case
Production code| 1ARG79
Original air date| September 23, 2009 (2009-09-23)
Guest appearances

* Matt Corboy as Josh
* Jenica Bergere as Soccer Mom
* Reid Ewing as Dylan

Episode chronology
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"The Bicycle Thief"

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List of episodes

"Pilot"[1][2][3] is the first episode of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family. Written by series creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer, it premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on September 23, 2009. The episode introduces viewers to three sets of people who make up a single family. The episode is shot in a mockumentary style, with a cameraman following the characters around their everyday lives and interviewing them at various intervals. It cuts between the experiences of the three separate units before they all come together at the end of the episode.

In the episode, Jay's family tries to function despite the age difference between himself and his second wife, Gloria. Claire and Phil try to punish their son and watch over their elder daughter and her new boyfriend. Mitchell tries to hide the fact that he and his partner Cameron have adopted a daughter in Vietnam from his family until Cameron invites Mitchell's family without consulting him (which is revealed to be the other two families). Reviews for the pilot episode compared Modern Family to shows such as Married... with Children (which starred Ed O'Neill), Frasier (which the creators of Modern Family worked on), Malcolm in the Middle and, most strongly, Arrested Development.[4][5] In the United Kingdom, reviewers saw similarities between Modern Family and Outnumbered.[6] The episode has received multiple nominations and has won Episodic Comedy at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2009 and also a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

## Plot

[edit]

The series begins at the home of Phil and Claire Dunphy and their three children: Haley, Alex, and Luke. Claire tells Haley that her skirt is too short, but Phil allows her to wear it. In side interviews, Phil calls himself a "cool dad", while Claire wants to prevent her children from making the same mistakes she did when she was growing up. Alex complains that Luke shot her with the toy gun Phil bought him. Claire forces Phil to follow through on his deal with Luke: if Luke shoots someone, Phil will have to shoot him.

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett and her husband, Jay, are watching Gloria's son Manny play soccer. An overenthusiastic Gloria shouts encouragement to her son and argues with another parent. Gloria and Jay are then interviewed, where Gloria discusses the differences between their backgrounds; she comes from a small village in Colombia that is "number one for murders", while he comes from the city and owns a big business. Back on the pitch, Manny misses a goal when he spots a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl riding by on a bicycle. Gloria speaks to the father of one of the other players, who assumes that Jay is her dad.

The scene shifts to Mitchell and Cameron, a gay couple who are on a plane returning from Vietnam after having adopted a baby, Lily. The other passengers admire Lily, with one man commenting, "You and your wife must be thrilled". When Cameron walks on board and sits down beside Mitchell, an uneasy silence develops. In their interview, Mitchell and Cameron say that they have been together for five years. Back on the plane, Mitchell threatens to make a speech and does so when a woman says "look at that baby with those cream puffs", which he believes is a reference to him and Cameron. In fact, she is referring to the cream puffs Lily is holding. Cameron apologizes by offering to pay for headsets for all the passengers.

Back at the Dunphy residence, Haley has invited Dylan, a senior boy from her high school, over. Claire instructs Phil to "scare him", but Phil hurts his back in the process, and Dylan is forced to carry Phil to the couch. Haley brings her boyfriend upstairs and grows annoyed when Claire constantly checks on them. Haley goes downstairs to complain to Phil, who is preparing to shoot Luke against his will. Phil though, accidentally shoots Luke, Dylan, and then himself.

After the soccer game, Jay is mistaken for a mall walker so he decides to buy some 'hip' new clothes. Meanwhile, Manny reads a poem to the sixteen-year-old and is crushed when she says she has a boyfriend.

The last scene is at Mitchell and Cameron's house where Lily is going to be introduced to the rest of the family and it's revealed for the first time that all the characters are related; Jay is Mitchell & Claire's father. Before Lily is introduced, Jay, who is unsure if Mitchell and Cameron are ready for fatherhood, suggests that if they are bored, they should get a dog. Cameron enters, holding Lily aloft before the family while "Circle of Life" from The Lion King plays. Eventually, the whole family accepts the adoption and welcomes Lily as part of their family.

## Production

[edit]

### Conception

[edit]

While working in the office Lloyd and Levitan were telling stories about their family and they thought that could be a show idea, and started working with the concept of families being observed in a mockumentary style show. They then later decided it would be a show about three families and their experiences.[7] The show was originally called My American Family.[8] Originally, the camera crew would be run by a fictitious Dutch filmmaker named Geert Floortje who had lived with Jay's family as a teenage exchange student and developed a crush on Claire (while Mitchell had a crush on him), but decided against it.[9] The creators pitched it to three of the four major networks (they did not pitch it to Fox due to problems Lloyd had with the network with previous shows). CBS, not ready to use the single-camera style of filming, nor ready to make another large commitment, did not accept the series. NBC, already having two shows of similar style (mockumentary), The Office and Parks and Recreation, decided against accepting the series until the success of the other two series decreased. ABC accepted the series.[10] The series was given a full season pickup on October 8, 2009.[11][12] On January 12, 2010, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that Modern Family had been renewed for a second season.[13]

### Casting

[edit]

Casting for Modern Family was very difficult (except for Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Initially Ed O'Neill had lost the part to Craig T. Nelson (who would later go on to play Zeek Braverman on Parenthood on NBC) although he was eventually cast after Nelson turned down the part, as he was not satisfied with the amount of money being offered for the role.[14] Eric Stonestreet who was unknown at the time had to fight for the role of Cameron. It was also difficult for Julie Bowen as she was pregnant with twins during filming and had to cover her pregnant belly with clothes, pillows, laundry baskets etc. while Ty Burrell had to test for the role of Phil Dunphy three times. Initially Jesse Tyler Ferguson had auditioned for the role of Cameron before Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan thought he would be better suited for the role of Mitchell.[15]

### Filming

[edit]

The episode was filmed in Los Angeles in the United States and is set in a nameless suburban neighborhood.[4] It was written and produced by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, who had worked together on Frasier. When Julie Bowen, who plays Claire Dunphy, read the script, she "desperately wanted to do it" but was pregnant with twins.[16] Bowen "auditioned, begged and pleaded", eventually convincing the show makers to film around her stomach.[16] In the pilot, shot when Bowen was 8½ months pregnant,[17] Bowen hides her stomach with laundry.[18] When Phil was dancing to the High School Musical song it was very difficult for the child actors not to laugh with everyone laughing when they had finished filming the scene.[19]

## Reception

[edit]

### Ratings

[edit]

The episode premiered on ABC in the United States on September 23, 2009. The show was watched live by 12.61 million viewers, placing it as the most viewed show of the night and the series. It also acquired a Nielsen rating of 4.2/11 in the 18-49 age bracket.[20] The show began broadcasting in the United Kingdom on Sky1 on 15 October 2009.[21] The pilot was watched by 444,000 viewers across two airings, with 348,000 watching the show in the 8pm time slot.[22]

### Reviews

[edit]

The pilot episode received universal acclaim, with some reviewers highlighting it as one of the best new comedies of 2009. Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode an 8.8 saying it was "Great" and "The premiere episode does a fantastic job of introducing us to these family units, and it was fun to see how they would be connected to each other in the realm of the series. The smaller issues aside - the mildly unclear format, some forced clichés - the pilot episode of Modern Family is a must see comedy".[23] Variety wrote "Easily the new season's best comedy pilot, Modern Family deftly serves up laughs on multiple levels, from understated one-liners to deft sight-gags."[5] Mary McNamara of the LA Times commented "Just when we were thinking it couldn't be done, ABC's Modern Family has single-handedly brought the family comedy back from the dead...Modern Family is sharp, timely and fresh, complicated enough to be interesting but with a soft, sweet center".[24] The New York Times' Gina Bellafante called the series "the best new half-hour of funny television in a season rife with half-hours of funny television".[4] She also felt it was a replacement for Arrested Development, the "last great family comedy" which ended in 2006. The success of the pilot led to the series holding a rating of 86/100 on Metacritic from 25 reviews.[25] ABC ordered a full 22-episode season of the show.[26]

### Awards and nominations

[edit]

The episode received multiple award nominations. The episode's director Jason Winer won Directors Guild of America award for Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series.[27] The episode also won for Episodic Comedy at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2009 tying with Robert Carlock for his work on a 30 Rock episode: "Apollo, Apollo".[28] The episode was also nominated for numerous Primetime Emmy Awards winning Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, but lost Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series to Glee.[29]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Winer, Jason (September 23, 2009). "Pilot". Modern Family. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
2. ^ "Modern Family". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
3. ^ "Modern Family". Amazon. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
4. ^ a b c Bellafante, Ginia (October 22, 2009). "Television Review - 'Modern Family' - Dispatches from the Home Front in an ABC sitcom with Ed O'Neill". New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
5. ^ a b Lowry, Brian (September 20, 2009). "Modern Family Review - TV Show Reviews - Analysis of Modern Family The TV Series". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
6. ^ Frost, Vicky (October 15, 2009). "Does Sky1's Modern Family remind you anything". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
7. ^ "Modern Family Season 1: Christopher Lloyd Interview". MovieWeb.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
8. ^ "'Modern Family' a freshman hit for ABC - Entertainment - Television - TODAYshow.com". MSNBC. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
9. ^ "Modern Family: Co-creator Steve Levitan weighs in". NJ.com. January 14, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
10. ^ Pond, Steve (July 15, 2010). "It's a 'Modern Family' Affair at the Emmys". The Wrap. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
11. ^ Robert Seidman (October 8, 2009). ""ABC gives full season pickups to "Modern Family", "Cougar Town," and "The Middle""". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009.
12. ^ Isis Abrams. "ABC Picks Up Cougar Town, Modern Family and The Middle". TVGuide.com.
13. ^ "ABC bringing back 'Modern Family,' 'Cougar Town' - The Live Feed | THR". Thrfeed.com. January 12, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
14. ^ "Craig T. Nelson Turned Down 'Modern Family' for Money, 'Lone Star' Alum Lands 'Hawaii Five-0' Role and More". Tvsquad.com. January 27, 2011. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
15. ^ "Jesse Tyler Ferguson talks 'Modern Family', improvising on set and audition for the role | Daily Actor - The Actors Online Entertainment Resource". Daily Actor. December 18, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
16. ^ a b "Brown grad Julie Bowen stars in 'Modern Family' on ABC | projo.com | The Providence Journal TV |". projo.com. September 21, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
17. ^ Levin, Gary (September 1, 2009). "It's all in the 'Modern Family': Comedy that's not so 'snarky'". USA Today. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
18. ^ Savage, Lesley (January 21, 2010). "'Modern Family' recap: Seeds of change | EW.com". Popwatch.ew.com. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
19. ^ "Home Videos 4 Modern Family - ABC". Abc.go.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
20. ^ Seidman, Robert (September 24, 2009). "Wednesday broadcast finals: Modern Family down a tenth, Cougar Town up a tenth with adults 18-49". TV by the numbers. Archived from the original on September 28, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
21. ^ Shepherd, Robert (August 26, 2009). "Sky 1 acquires US comedy Modern Family". Broadcast Now. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
22. ^ "Modern Family gathers 444,000 for Sky 1". Broadcast Now. October 16, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
23. ^ Robert Canning (September 22, 2009). "Modern Family: "Pilot" Review". IGN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
24. ^ McNamara, Mary (September 23, 2009). "Modern Family". LA Times. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
25. ^ "The Modern Family reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
26. ^ Ausiello, Michael (October 8, 2009). "ABC orders full seasons of Modern Family, Cougar Town, The Middle". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 15, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
27. ^ "Modern Family on ABC : Modern Family Win!". Modern Family ABC. January 31, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
28. ^ "wga awards". Writers Guild of America, West. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
29. ^ "2010 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.com. Retrieved July 10, 2010.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to "Pilot".

* "Pilot" at ABC.com
* "Pilot" at IMDb

* v
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Modern Family

* Awards and nominations
* Characters
* Episodes
* Season 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11

Season 1|

* "Pilot"
* "The Bicycle Thief"
* "Come Fly with Me"
* "The Incident"
* "Coal Digger"
* "Run for Your Wife"
* "En Garde"
* "Great Expectations"
* "Fizbo"
* "Undeck the Halls"
* "Up All Night"
* "Not in My House"
* "Fifteen Percent"
* "Moon Landing"
* "My Funky Valentine"
* "Fears"
* "Truth Be Told"
* "Starry Night"
* "Game Changer"
* "Benched"
* "Travels with Scout"
* "Airport 2010"
* "Hawaii"
* "Family Portrait"

Adaptations|

* Familia moderna (Chile)
* Haft Sang (Iran)

* Category

Awards for "Pilot"

* v
* t
* e

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series

1971–2000|

* John Rich for "All in the Family" (1971)
* Gene Reynolds for "Pilot" (M*A*S*H) (1972)
* Gene Reynolds for "Deal Me Out" (1973)
* Hy Averback for "Alcoholics Unanimous" (1974)
* Hy Averback for "Bombed" (1975)
* Alan Alda for "Dear Sigmund" (1976)
* Paul Bogart for "Edith's 50th Birthday" (1977)
* Paul Bogart for "California, Here We Are" (1978)
* Charles S. Dubin for "Period of Adjustment" (1979)
* Noam Pitlik for "Fog" (1980)
* Alan Alda for "The Life You Save" (1981)
* Alan Alda for "Where There's a Will, There's a War" (1982)
* James Burrows for "Showdown: Part II" (1983)
* Jay Sandrich for "Pilot" (The Cosby Show) (1984)
* Jay Sandrich for "Pilot" (The Golden Girls) (1985)
* Terry Hughes for "Isn't It Romantic?" (1986)
* Will Mackenzie for "A, My Name is Alex" (1987)
* Steve Miner for "Pilot" (The Wonder Years) (1988)
* Barnet Kellman for "Brown Like Me" (1989)
* James Burrows for "Woody Interruptus" (1990)
* Peter Bonerz for "Uh Oh: Part II" (1991)
* Tom Cherones for "The Contest" (1992)
* James Burrows for "The Good Son" (1993)
* David Lee for "The Matchmaker" (1994)
* Gordon Hunt for "The Alan Brady Show" (1995)
* Andy Ackerman for "The Rye" (1996)
* Andy Ackerman for "The Betrayal" (1997)
* Thomas Schlamme for "Pilot" (Sports Night) (1998)
* Thomas Schlamme for "Small Town" (1999)
* James Burrows for "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" (2000)

2001–present|

* Todd Holland for "Bowling" (2001)
* Bryan Gordon for "Special Section" (2002)
* Tim Van Patten for "Boy Interrupted" (2003)
* Tim Van Patten for "An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux" (2004)
* Marc Buckland for "Pilot" (My Name Is Earl) (2005)
* Richard Shepard for "Pilot" (Ugly Betty) (2006)
* Barry Sonnenfeld for "Pie-lette" (2007)
* Paul Feig for "Dinner Party" (2008)
* Jason Winer for "Pilot" (Modern Family) (2009)
* Michael Spiller for "Halloween" (2010)
* Robert B. Weide for "Palestinian Chicken" (2011)
* Lena Dunham for "Pilot" (Girls) (2012)
* Beth McCarthy-Miller for "Hogcock!" / "Last Lunch" (2013)
* Jill Soloway for "Best New Girl" (2014)
* Chris Addison for "Election Night" (2015)
* Becky Martin for "Inauguration" (2016)
* Beth McCarthy-Miller for "Chicklet" (2017)
* Bill Hader for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark" (2018)
* Bill Hader for "ronny/lily" (2019)
* Susanna Fogel for "In Case of Emergency" (2020)
* Lucia Aniello for "There Is No Line" (2021)
* Bill Hader for "710N" (2022)
* Christopher Storer for "Fishes" (2023)
* Lucia Aniello for "Bulletproof" (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

1950s|

* James Allardice & Jack Douglas & Hal Kanter & Harry Winkler for The George Gobel Show (1955)
* Arnold M. Auerbach & Barry Blitzer & Vincent Bogert & Nat Hiken & Coleman Jacoby & Harvey Orkin & Arnold Rosen & Terry Ryan & Tony Webster for The Phil Silvers Show (1956)
* No Award (1957)
* Billy Friedberg & Nat Hiken & Coleman Jacoby & Arnold Rosen & A.J. Russell & Terry Ryan & Phil Sharp & Tony Webster & Sydney Zelinka for The Phil Silvers Show (1958)
* George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon & Sam Perrin for The Jack Benny Show (1959)

1960s|

* George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon & Sam Perrin for The Jack Benny Show (1960)
* Dave O'Brien & Martin Ragaway & Sherwood Schwartz & Al Schwartz & Red Skelton for The Red Skelton Show (1961)
* Carl Reiner for The Dick Van Dyke Show (1962)
* Carl Reiner for The Dick Van Dyke Show (1963)
* No Award (1964)
* No Award (1965)
* Sam Denoff & Bill Persky for "Coast to Coast Big Mouth" (1966)
* Buck Henry & Leonard B. Stern for "Ship of Spies: Parts 1 and 2" (1967)
* Allan Burns & Chris Hayward for "The Coming Out Party" (1968)
* No Award (1969)

1970s|

* No Award (1970)
* James L. Brooks & Allan Burns for "Support Your Local Mother" (1971)
* Burt Styler for "Edith's Problem" (1972)
* Lee Kalcheim & Michael Ross & Bernie West for "The Bunkers and the Swingers" (1973)
* Treva Silverman for "The Lou and Edie Story" (1974)
* Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger for "Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?" (1975)
* David Lloyd for "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (1976)
* James L. Brooks & Allan Burns & Stan Daniels & Bob Ellison & David Lloyd & Ed. Weinberger for "The Last Show" (1977)
* Harve Brosten & Barry Harman & Bob Schiller & Bob Weiskopf for "Cousin Liz" (1978)
* No Award (1979)

1980s|

* R.J. Colleary for "The Photographer" (1980)
* Michael J. Leeson for "Tony's Sister and Jim" (1981)
* Ken Estin for "Elegant Iggy" (1982)
* Glen Charles and Les Charles for "Give Me a Ring Sometime" (1983)
* David Angell for "Old Flames" (1984)
* Ed. Weinberger & Michael J. Leeson for "Pilot" (The Cosby Show) (1985)
* Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan for "A Little Romance" (1986)
* Gary David Goldberg & Alan Uger for "A, My Name is Alex" (1987)
* Hugh Wilson for "The Bridge" (1988)
* Diane English for "Pilot" (Murphy Brown) (1989)

1990s|

* Bob Brush for "Good-bye" (1990)
* Gary Dontzig & Steven Peterman for "Jingle Hell, Jingle Hell, Jingle All the Way" (1991)
* Elaine Pope & Larry Charles for "The Fix-Up" (1992)
* Larry David for "The Contest" (1993)
* David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee for "The Good Son" (1994)
* Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano for "An Affair to Forget" (1995)
* Joe Keenan & Christopher Lloyd & Rob Greenberg & Jack Burditt & Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano & Linda Morris & Vic Rauseo for "Moon Dance" (1996)
* Ellen DeGeneres & Mark Driscoll & Dava Savel & Tracy Newman & Jonathan Stark for "The Puppy Episode" (1997)
* Peter Tolan & Garry Shandling for "Flip" (1998)
* Jay Kogen for "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" (1999)

2000s|

* Linwood Boomer for "Pilot" (Malcolm in the Middle) (2000)
* Alex Reid for "Bowling" (2001)
* Larry Wilmore for "Pilot" (The Bernie Mac Show) (2002)
* Tucker Cawley for "Baggage" (2003)
* Mitchell Hurwitz for "Pilot" (Arrested Development) (2004)
* Mitchell Hurwitz & Jim Vallely for "Righteous Brothers" (2005)
* Greg Garcia for "Pilot" (My Name Is Earl) (2006)
* Greg Daniels for "Gay Witch Hunt" (2007)
* Tina Fey for "Cooter" (2008)
* Matt Hubbard for "Reunion" (2009)

2010s|

* Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd for "Pilot" (Modern Family) (2010)
* Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman for "Caught in the Act" (2011)
* Louis C.K. for "Pregnant" (2012)
* Tina Fey & Tracey Wigfield for "Last Lunch" (2013)
* Louis C.K. for "So Did the Fat Lady" (2014)
* Simon Blackwell & Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche for "Election Night" (2015)
* Aziz Ansari & Alan Yang for "Parents" (2016)
* Aziz Ansari & Lena Waithe for "Thanksgiving" (2017)
* Amy Sherman-Palladino for "Pilot" (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) (2018)
* Phoebe Waller-Bridge for "Episode 1" (2019)

2020s|

* Dan Levy for "Happy Ending" (2020)
* Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky for "There Is No Line" (2021)
* Quinta Brunson for "Pilot" (Abbott Elementary) (2022)
* Christopher Storer for "System" (2023)
* Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for "Bulletproof" (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy

1960s|

* Dorothy Cooper for "Margaret's Old Flame" (1960)
* Sam Bobrick & Bill Idelson for "The Shoplifters" / Martin Ragaway for "My Husband Is the Best One" (1964)
* Carl Kleinschmitt & Dale McRaven for " Br-room, Br-room"(1965)
* Jack Winter for "You Ought To Be In Pictures" (1966)
* Marvin Marx & Gordon Rod Parker & Walter Stone for "Movies Are Better Than Ever" (1967)
* Sam Bobrick & Bill Idelson for "Viva Smart" (1968)
* Allan Burns for "Funny Boy" (1969)

1970s|

* Richard DeRoy for "The Valediction" (1970)
* Martin Cohan for "Thoroughly Unmilitant Mary" (1971)
* Larry Gelbart for "Chief Surgeon Who?" (1972)
* Robert Schiller & Robert Weiskopf for "Walter's Problem" (1973)
* Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks for "O.R." (1974)
* James Fritzell & Larry Gelbart & Everett Greenbaum for "Welcome to Korea" (1975)
* Alan Alda for "Dear Sigmund" (1976)
* Larry Rhine & Mel Tolkin for "Archie Gets the Business" (1977)
* Gary David Goldberg for "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1978)
* Thad Mumford & Dan Wilcox for "Are You Now, Margaret?" / Ken Estin for "The Reluctant Fighter" (1979)

1980s|

* Dennis Koenig & Gene Reynolds for "Heal Thyself" (1980)
* Nat Mauldin for "Stormy Weather" (1981)
* Stephen Neigher & Tony Sheehan for "Hunger Strike" (1982)
* David Isaacs & Ken Levine for "The Boys in the Bar" / Glen Charles and Les Charles for "Give Me a Ring Sometime" (1983)
* Michael J. Weithorn for "Sumner's Return" (1984)
* Glenn Gordon Caron for "Pilot" (Moonlighting) / Elias Davis & David Pollock for "Madison Avenue Madness" (1985)
* Bob Randall for "Allie's Affair" (1986)
* Jay Tarses for "Here's Why Cosmetics Should Come in Unbreakable Bottles" / Gary David Goldberg & Alan Uger for "A, My Name is Alex" / Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan for "'Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas" (1987)
* Carol Black & Neal Marlens for "My Father's Office" (1988)
* Todd W. Langen for "Coda" (1989)

1990s|

* Diane English for "Brown Like Me" (1990)
* David Isaacs & Ken Levine for "Rat Girl" (1991)
* Diane English & Korby Siamis for "Uh-Oh: Part II" (1992)
* Larry David for "The Contest" (1993)
* Larry David & Lawrence H. Levy for "The Mango" (1994)
* Joe Keenan for "The Matchmaker" (1995)
* David Mandel for "The Pool Guy" (1996)
* Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin for "The Fatigues" (1997)
* Rob Greenberg for "Frasier's Imaginary Friend" (1998)
* Jay Kogen  for "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" (1999)

2000s|

* Joe Keenan & Christopher Lloyd for "Something Borrowed, Someone Blue" (2000)
* Philip Rosenthal for "Italy" (2001)
* Bob Daily & Lori Kirkland & Dan O'Shannon for "Rooms with a View" (2002)
* Bob Daily for "No Sex, Please, We're Skittish" (2003)
* Mitchell Hurwitz & Jim Vallely for "Pier Pressure" / Neil Thompson for "Ida's Boyfriend" (2004)
* Jenji Kohan for "You Can't Miss the Bear" (2005)
* Steve Carell for "Casino Night" (2006)
* Paul Lieberstein & Michael Schur for "The Job" (2007)
* Andrew Guest & John Riggi for "Succession" (2008)
* Robert Carlock for "Apollo, Apollo" / Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd for "Pilot" (2009)

2010s|

* Robert Carlock for "When It Rains, It Pours" (2010)
* Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman for "Caught in the Act" (2011)
* Elaine Ko for "Virgin Territory" (2012)
* Jack Burditt & Robert Carlock for "Hogcock!" (2013)
* Louis C.K. for "So Did the Fat Lady" (2014)
* Clay Tarver for "Sand Hill Shuffle" (2015)
* Robert Carlock for "Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!" (2016)
* Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally for "Rosario's Quinceañera" (2017)
* Alec Berg & Bill Hader for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark" (2018)
* Liz Feldman for "Pilot" (Dead to Me) (2019)

2020s|

* Tony McNamara for "The Great" (2020)
* Tony McNamara for "Alone at Last" (2021)
* Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for "The One, The Only" (2022)
* Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman for "Escape from Shit Mountain" (2023)
* Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for "Bulletproof" (2024)

* Complete list
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

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