The Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy/Variety Talk Series is an award presented by the Writers Guild of America to the best writing in a comedy or variety talk program. With the exception of 1998 in which no award was given, it has been presented annually since the 49th Writers Guild of America Awards in 1997 where Late Night with Conan O'Brien won the first award. From the award's creation, the category was dominated by Late Night with Conan O'Brien, winning six of the first nine awards. Recently, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has won the award the last four years in a row, and five times in the last six years.
Winners and nominees
Notes The years denote when that particular season first aired; the awards are presented the following year. Though, due to the eligibility period, some nominees could have aired in a different year. Until 2001, the eligibility period adhered to a calendar schedule (January 1 to December 31). In 2001, the guild shifted to an earlier window (September 1, 2001 to November 30, 2002) to allow programs that premiered in the fall. From 2003 to 2018, the eligibility period was December 1 to November 30. Starting in 2018, the eligibility period shifted back to its original policy, corresponding with the calendar year (January 1 to December 31). The winners are highlighted in gold.
1990s Year Program Writer(s)Network Ref. 1996Late Night with Conan O'BrienJonathan Groff, Brian Kiley, Janine Ditullio, Tom Agna, Chris Albers, Tommy Blacha, Brian McCann, Michael Gordon, Mike Sweeney, Greg Cohen, Andy Richter, Conan O'Brien, Ned Goldreyer, and Dino StamatopoulosNBC Dennis Miller Live Eddie Feldmann, Dennis Miller, David Feldman, Tom Hertz, Mike Gandolfi, Leah Krinsky, and Rick OvertonHBO Tracey Takes On... (Episodes: "Charity," "Nostalgia," "Family," "Royalty," and "Health") Jerry Belson, Dick Clement, Kim Fuller, Jenji Kohan, Ian La Frenais, Molly Newman, Gail Parent, Tony Sheehan, Tracey Ullman, and Allen J. Zipper 1997 No award given 1998Dennis Miller LiveEddie Feldmann, David Feldman, Jose Arroyo, Leah Krinsky Atkins, Dennis Miller, Jim Hanna, and David WeissHBO Late Night with Conan O'Brien Jonathan Groff, Brian Kiley, Janine Ditullio, Ellie Barancik, Chris Albers, Tommy Blacha, Brian McCann, Brian Reich, Michael Gordon, Mike Sweeney, Greg Cohen, Andy Richter, Conan O'Brien, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, and Jon Glaser NBC 1999Late Night with Conan O'BrienJonathan Groff, Jon Glaser, Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Mike Sweeney, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Brian Stack, Chris Albers, Brian McCann, Ellie Barancik, Janine Ditullio, Andy Blitz, Tommy Blacha, Brian Reich, Vernon Chatman, and Roy JenkinsNBC Dennis Miller Live Eddie Feldmann, Jose Arroyo, David Feldman, Jim Hanna, Leah Krinsky, Dennis Miller, and David Weiss HBO Late Show with David Letterman Rodney Rothman, Gerard Mulligan, Bill Scheft, Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland, Joe Toplyn, Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel, Steve Young, Gabe Abelson, Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Jon Beckerman, Chris Harris, Tom Ruprecht, Beth Sherman, Jeff Boggs, David Javerbaum, Rob Burnett, and David Letterman CBS
2000s