# Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted

The Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted is an award presented by the Writers Guild of America to the writers of the best long form program based on the previously published material or work of the season. It has been awarded since the 50th 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 Adaptation (1979)
* Best Multi-Part Long Form Series and/or Any Production of More Than Two Parts (1978-1979)
* Best Adapted Drama Anthology (1082-1985)
* Best Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology (1984-1985)
* Best Original/Adapted Multi-Part Long Form Series (1984)
* Best Long Form - Adapted (1986-present)

## Winners and nominees

The year indicates that each ceremony honored the programs of that year. Single winner of the year is left unmarked, while other winners which also have nominees are highlighted in gold and in bold.

### 1970s
#### Best Anthology Adaptation

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | A Christmas to Remember | Stewart Stern | The novel The Melodeon by Glendon Swarthout | CBS |
| 1978 | A Woman Called Moses | Lonne Elder III | The book by Marcy Heidish | NBC |

#### Best Multi-Part Long Form Series and/or Any Production of More Than Two Parts

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Centennial "Only The Rocks Live Forever" | John Wilder | The novel by James A. Michener | NBC |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Backstairs at the White House | Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov | The novel My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks | NBC |

### 1980s
#### Best Adapted Drama Anthology

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Of Mice and Men | E. Nick Alexander | The novel by John Steinbeck | NBC |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story | Ossie Davis and Ken Rotcop | The book by Myrlie Evers-Williams and William Peters | PBS |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | The Dollmaker | Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn | The novel by Harriette Simpson Arnow | ABC |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | The Burning Bed | Rose Leiman Goldemberg | The novel by Faith McNulty | NBC |

#### Best Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Hobson's Choice | Burt Prelutsky | Original TV movie | CBS |
| 1985 |
| 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 |
| 1983 | Blood Feud "Part II" | Robert Boris | Original TV movie | Syndicated |
| 1983 | V "Part I" | Kenneth Johnson | Original miniseries | NBC |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | The First Olympics: Athens 1896 | Charles Gary Allison and William Bast | Original miniseries | NBC |

#### Best Long Form - Adapted

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | Peter the Great | Edward Anhalt | The book Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie | NBC |
| 1986 | Trapped in Silence | Vickie Patik | The book Murphy's Boy by Torey Hayden | CBS |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | Escape from Sobibor | Reginald Rose | Various sources | CBS |
| 1987 | Prison for Children | Christopher Knopf | | CBS |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Onassis: The Richest Man in the World "Part 1" | Jacqueline Feather and David Seidler | The book Ari: The Life and Times of Aristotle Socrates Onassis by Peter Evans | ABC |
| 1988 | Hallmark Hall of Fame: Foxfire | Susan Cooper | The play by Cooper, Hume Cronyn and Jonathan Brielle | CBS |
| 1988 | A Friendship in Vienna | Richard Alfieri | The book The Devil in Vienna by Doris Orgel | Disney Channel |
| 1989 |
| 1989 | Lonesome Dove "Part I: Leaving" | William D. Wittliff | The novel by Larry McMurtry | CBS |

### 1990s
#### Best Long Form - Adapted

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network | Ref. |
| 1990 |
| 1990 | Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase | E. Jack Neuman | The book When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase | ABC | |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Long Road Home | Jane-Howard Hammerstein | The novel by Ronald B. Taylor | NBC | |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | The Broken Cord | Ann Beckett | The book by Michael Dorris | ABC | |
| 1992 | Miss Rose White | Anna Sandor | The play A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow | NBC | |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Barbarians at the Gate | Larry Gelbart | The book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar | HBO | |
| 1993 | Silent Cries | Walter Halsey Davis, and Vickie Patik | The book Guests of the Emperor by Janice Young Brooks | NBC | |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | A Family Torn Apart | Matthew Bombeck | The book Sudden Fury: A True Story of Adoption and Murder by Leslie Walker | NBC | |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | Citizen X | Chris Gerolmo | The book The Killer Department by Robert Cullen | HBO | |
| 1995 | Joseph | Lionel Chetwynd | The novel by James Carrington | TNT | |
| 1996 |
| 1996 | The Boys Next Door | William Blinn | The play by Tom Griffin | CBS | [17] [18] |
| 1996 | Homecoming | Christopher Carlson and Mark Jean | The novel by Cynthia Voigt | Showtime | [17] [18] |
| 1996 | Kissinger and Nixon | Lionel Chetwynd | The book Kissinger: A Biography by Walter Isaacson | TNT | [17] [18] |
| 1997 |
| 1997 | Bastard Out of Carolina | Anne Meredith | The novel by Dorothy Allison | Showtime | [19] [20] |
| 1997 | George Wallace | Paul Monash and Marshall Frady | The book Wallace: The Classic Portrait of Alabama Governor George Wallace by Frady | TNT | [19] [20] |
| 1997 | The Hunchback | John Fasano | The novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo | TNT | [19] [20] |
| 1997 | In the Gloaming | Will Scheffer | A New Yorker short story by Alice Elliott Dark | HBO | [19] [20] |
| 1998 |
| 1998 | The Love Letter | James Henerson | The short story by Jack Finney | CBS | [21] [22] |
| 1998 | Don King: Only in America | Kario Salem | The book Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King by Jack Newfield | HBO | [21] [22] |
| 1998 | Thicker Than Blood | Bill Cain | The play Stand-Up Tragedy by Cain | TNT | [21] [22] |
| 1999 |
| 1999 | The Confession | David Black | The novel Fertig by Sol Yurick | Cinemax | [23] [24] |
| 1999 | A Cooler Climate | Marsha Norman | The book by Zena Collier | Showtime | [23] [24] |
| 1999 | Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years | Emily Mann | The book by Sarah Louise Delany, Annie Elizabeth Delany and Amy Hill Hearth | CBS | [23] [24] |
| 1999 | The Devil's Arithmetic | Robert J. Avrech | The novel by Jane Yolen | Showtime | [23] [24] |

### 2000s

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network | Ref. |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | RKO 281 | John Logan | The film The Battle Over Citizen Kane by Richard Ben Cramer and Thomas Lennon from American Experience | HBO | [25] [26] |
| 2000 | Tuesdays with Morrie | Thomas Rickman | The book by Mitch Albom | ABC | [25] [26] |
| 2000 | Deliberate Intent | Andy Wolk and Lisa Mohan | The book by Rod Smolla | FX | [25] [26] |
| 2000 | A House Divided | Paris Qualles | The book Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda Dickson by Kent Anderson Leslie | Showtime | [25] [26] |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Anne Frank: The Whole Story | Kirk Ellis | The book Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Müller | ABC | [27] [28] |
| 2001 | Baby | David Manson, Kerry Kennedy and Patricia MacLachlan | The novel by MacLachlan | TNT | [27] [28] |
| 2001 | The Mists of Avalon | Gavin Scott | The novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley | TNT | [27] [28] |
| 2001 | Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows | Robert L. Freedman | The memoir by Lorna Luft | ABC | [27] [28] |
| 2001 | The Song of the Lark | Joseph Maurer | The novel by Willa Cather | PBS | [27] [28] |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | Band of Brothers "Bastogne" | Bruce C. McKenna | The book by Stephen E. Ambrose | HBO | [29] [30] |
| 2002 | Last Call | Henry Bromell | The memoir Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald by Frances Kroll Ring | Showtime | [29] [30] |
| 2002 | Hysterical Blindness | Laura Cahill | The book by Cahill | HBO | [29] [30] |
| 2002 | Roughing It | Steven H. Berman | The book by Mark Twain | Hallmark | [29] [30] |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | Out of the Ashes | Anne Meredith | The book I Was a Doctor in Auschwitz by Gisella Perl | Showtime | [31] [32] |
| 2003 | Normal | Jane Anderson | The play Looking for Normal by Anderson | HBO | [31] [32] |
| 2003 | Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story | Stanley Weiser | The book Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudy Giuliani by Wayne Barrett | USA Network | [31] [32] |
| 2003 | The Stranger Beside Me | Matthew McDuffie and Matthew Tabak | The book by Ann Rule | USA Network | [31] [32] |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | Angels in America | Tony Kushner | The play by Kushner | HBO | |
| 2004 | Cavedweller | Anne Meredith | The novel by Dorothy Allison | Showtime | |
| 2004 | The Wool Cap | William H. Macy and Steven Schachter | The film Gigot by Gene Kelly | TNT | |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely | The book by Roger Lewis | HBO | [35] [36] |
| 2005 | The Colt | Stephen Harrigan | The short story by Mikhail Sholokhov | Hallmark | [35] [36] |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Ruben Santiago-Hudson | The play by Santiago-Hudson | HBO | [35] [36] |
| 2005 | Our Fathers | Thomas Michael Donnelly | The book by David France | Showtime | [35] [36] |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | The Company | Ken Nolan | The novel by Robert Littell | TNT | [38] [39] |
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Daniel Giat | The book by Dee Brown | HBO | [38] [39] |
| 2007 | The Starter Wife | Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott | The novel by Gigi Levangie | USA Network | [38] [39] |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | John Adams "Join or Die", "Independence" | Kirk Ellis | The book by David McCullough | HBO | [40] [41] |
| 2008 | Generation Kill "Stay Frosty", "Bomb in the Garden" | Ed Burns and David Simon | The book by Evan Wright | HBO | [40] [41] |
| 2008 | The Memory Keeper's Daughter | John Pielmeier | The novel by Kim Edwards | Lifetime | [40] [41] |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | Taking Chance | Michael Strobl and Ross Katz | The journal by Strobl | HBO | [42] [43] |
| 2009 | America | Joyce Eliason and Rosie O'Donnell | The novel by E. R. Frank | Lifetime | [42] [43] |

### 2010s

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network | Ref. |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | The Pacific "Part Eight: Iwo Jima" | Robert Schenkkan and Michelle Ashford | Various sources | HBO | [44] [45] |
| 2010 | The Pillars of the Earth | John Pielmeier | The novel by Ken Follet | Starz | [44] [45] |
| 2010 | Temple Grandin | Christopher Monger and William Merritt Johnson | The memoirs Emergence by Temple Grandin and Margaret Scariano, and Thinking in Pictures by Grandin | HBO | [44] [45] |
| 2010 | The Pacific "Part Four: Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika" | Robert Schenkkan and Graham Yost | Various sources | HBO | [44] [45] |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | Peter Gould | The book by Andrew Ross Sorkin | HBO | |
| 2011 | Mildred Pierce | Todd Haynes and Jon Raymond | The novel by James M. Cain | HBO | |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Game Change | Danny Strong | The book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann | HBO | |
| 2012 | Coma "Part 1", "Part 2" | John J. McLaughlin | The novel by Robin Cook | A&E | |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight | Shawn Slovo | The book by Howard Bingham and Max Wallace | HBO | [48] [49] |
| 2013 | Killing Kennedy | Kelly Masterson | The book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard | Nat Geo | [48] [49] |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Jane Anderson | The novel by Elizabeth Strout | HBO | |
| 2014 | Houdini | Nicholas Meyer | The book Houdini: A Mind in Chains: A Psychoanalytic Portrait by Bernard C. Meyer | History | |
| 2014 | Klondike | Paul Scheuring, Josh Goldin, Rachel Abramowitz | The book Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike by Charlotte Gray | Discovery | |
| 2014 | The Normal Heart | Larry Kramer | The play by Kramer | HBO | |
| 2014 | The Leftovers "Pilot" | Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta | The novel by Perrotta | HBO | |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | Fargo | Steve Blackman, Bob DeLaurentis, Noah Hawley, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert | The film by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | FX | |
| 2015 | The Red Tent | Elizabeth Chandler and Anne Meredith | The novel by Anita Diamant | Lifetime | |
| 2015 | Show Me a Hero | David Simon and William F. Zorzi | The book by Lisa Belkin | HBO | |
| 2016 | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski and Wally Wolodarsky | The book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin | FX | |
| 2016 | 11.22.63 | Bridget Carpenter, Brigitte Hales, Joe Henderson, Brian Nelson and Quinton Peeples | The novel by Stephen King | Hulu | |
| 2016 | Madoff | Ben Robbins | The book The Madoff Chronicles: Inside the Secret World of Bernie and Ruth by Brian Ross | ABC | |
| 2016 | The Night Of | Richard Price and Steven Zaillian | The television series Criminal Justice by Peter Moffat | HBO | |
| 2016 | Roots | Lawrence Konner, Alison McDonald, Charles Murray and Mark Rosenthal | The novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley | History | |
| 2017 | Big Little Lies | David E. Kelley | The novel by Liane Moriarty | HBO | |
| 2017 | Fargo | Monica Beletsky, Bob DeLaurentis, Noah Hawley, Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert | The film by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | FX | |
| 2017 | The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Peter Landesman, Alexander Woo and George C. Wolfe | The book by Rebecca Skloot | HBO | |
| 2017 | The Wizard of Lies | Sam Levinson, John Burnham Schwartz and Samuel Baum | The book by Diana B. Henriques and Truth and Consequences by Laurie Sandell | HBO | |
| 2018 | The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story | Maggie Cohn and Tom Rob Smith | The book Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth | FX | |
| 2018 | The Looming Tower | Bash Doran, Dan Futterman, Alex Gibney, Shannon Houston, Adam Rapp, Ali Selim and Lawrence Wright | The novel by Lawrence Wright | Hulu | |
| 2018 | Maniac | Nick Cuse, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amelia Gray, Danielle Henderson, Mauricio Katz, Patrick Somerville and Caroline Williams | The television series by Espen PA Lervaag, Håakon Bast Mossige, Kjetil Indregard and Ole Marius Araldsen | Netflix | |
| 2018 | Sharp Objects | Ariella Blejer, Scott Brown, Vince Calandra, Gillian Flynn, Dawn Kamoche, Alex Metcalf and Marti Noxon | The novel by Flynn | HBO | |
| 2019 | Fosse/Verdon | Debora Cahn, Joel Fields, Ike Holter, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Charlotte Stoudt, Tracey Scott Wilson | The book Fosse by Sam Wasson | FX | |
| 2019 | El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie | Vince Gilligan | The television series Breaking Bad by Vince Gilligan | Netflix | |
| 2019 | Unbelievable | Michael Chabon, Susannah Grant, Becky Mode, Jennifer Schuur and Ayelet Waldman | Various source | Netflix | |
| 2019 | The Loudest Voice | John Harrington Bland, Laura Eason, Tom McCarthy, Alex Metcalf, Gabriel Sherman and Jennifer Stahl | The book The Loudest Voice in the Room by Gabriel Sherman | Showtime | |

### 2020s

| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Source material | Network |
| 2020 | The Queen's Gambit | Scott Frank and Allan Scott | The novel by Walter Travis | Netflix |
| 2020 | Bad Education | Mike Makowsky | The New York Magazine article "The Bad Superintendent' by Robert Kolker | HBO |
| 2020 | Clouds | Kara Holden, Casey La Scala & Patrick Kopka | The book Fly A Little Higher by Laura Sobiech | Disney+ |
| 2020 | The Good Lord Bird | Jeff Augustin, Ethan Hawke, Erika L. Johnson, Mark Richard, Kristen SaBerre, Lauren Signorino | The novel by James McBride | Showtime |
| 2020 | Little Fires Everywhere | Harris Danow, Rosa Handelman, Shannon Houston, Attica Locke, Raamla Mohamed, Amy Talkington, Liz Tigelaar, Nancy Won | The novel by Celeste Ng | Hulu |
| 2021 | Maid | Bekah Brunstetter, Marcus Gardley, Michelle Denise Jackson, Colin McKenna, Molly Smith Metzler | The book Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land | Netflix |
| 2021 | Impeachment: American Crime Story | Flora Birnbaum, Sarah Burgess, Halley Feiffer, Daniel Pearle | The book A Vast Conspiracy by Jeffrey Toobin | FX |
| 2021 | The Underground Railroad | Jihan Crowther, Allison Davis, Jacqueline Hoyt, Barry Jenkins, Nathan C. Parker, Adrienne Rush | The novel by Colson Whitehead | Prime Video |
| 2021 | Halston | Ian Brennan, Ted Malawer, Ryan Murphy, Tim Pinckney, Sharr White, Kristina Woo | The book Simply Halston by Steven Gaines | Netflix |
| 2021 | WandaVision | Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Chuck Hayward, Megan McDonnell, Jac Schaeffer, Cameron Squires | The Marvel Comics | Disney+ |