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Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family--Best Written Shows on TV?

Can Broadway Empire topple Mad Men? Is Modern Family going to dethrone 30 Rock? Will Walking Dead walk away with Best New Series?
/ Source: E!online

Can Broadway Empire topple Mad Men? Is Modern Family going to dethrone 30 Rock? Will Walking Dead walk away with Best New Series?

Nominations are in for the WGA's TV writing awards and there's some major competition brewing...

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In the drama series category, the writing staff of Boardwalk Empire will face off against the scribes of Dexter, Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights and the reigning winner, Mad Men.

Boardwalk is also in the running for Best New Series, facing off against fellow HBO rookie Treme TNT's Men of a Certain Age, FX's Justified and the hugely popular zombie-fest, The Walking Dead.

On the comedy side, ABC's Modern Family, which bagged its first Emmy for Outstanding Comedy this year, will have to contend with returning WGA champ 30 Rock, The Office, Nurse Jackie and sudden archnemesis Glee.

Here's a rundown of the major categories:

Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire, HBO; Breaking Bad, AMC; Dexter, Showtime; Friday Night Lights, NBC; Mad Men, AMC

Comedy Series: 30 Rock, NBC; Glee, Fox; Modern Family, ABC; Nurse Jackie, Showtime; The Office, NBC

New Series: Boardwalk Empire, HBO; Justified, FX; Men of a Certain Age, TNT; Treme, HBO; The Walking Dead, AMC

Episodic Drama: "Boom" The Good Wife, CBS; "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" Mad Men, AMC; "The End" Lost, ABC; "Help Me," House, Fox; "I.F.T." Breaking Bad, AMC; "I See You" Breaking Bad, AMC

Episodic Comedy: "Anna Howard Shaw Day" 30 Rock, NBC; "Earthquake" Modern Family, ABC; "Nightmayor" The Sarah Silverman Program, Comedy Central; "Starry Night" Modern Family, ABC; "When It Rains, It Pours" 30 Rock, NBC; "Wuphf.com" The Office, NBC

Long-Form Original: The Special Relationship, HBO; You Don't Know Jack, HBO

Long-Form Adaptation: The Pacific, "Part Four," HBO; The Pacific, "Part Eight," HBO; The Pillars of the Earth, Starz; Temple Grandin, HBO

Animation: "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" Futurama, Comedy Central; "Moe Letter Blues" The Simpsons, Fox; "O Brother Were Bart Thou" The Simpsons, Fox; "The Prisoner of Brenda" Futurama, Comedy Central; "Treasure Hunt," Back at the Barnyard, Nickelodeon

Comedy/Variety Series: Penn &Teller: Bullshit!, Showtime; Saturday Night Live, NBC; The Colbert Report, Comedy Central; The Daily Show with John Stewart, Comedy Central

Comedy Variety-Music, Awards, Tributes, Specials: The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special-In 3-D on Ice!, Fox; National Memorial Day Concert 2010, PBS; Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards, ABC

Daytime Serial: As The World Turns, CBS; General Hospital, ABC; One Life to Live, ABC

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