In the following list, the first titles listed in blue background are the winners; those not in blue are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place.
| Year |
Show |
Episode |
Writer(s) |
Network |
| 1990 |
L.A. Law |
"Bang...Zoom...Zap" |
David E. Kelley |
NBC |
| L.A. Law |
"Blood Sweat & Fears" |
William M. Finklestein, David E. Kelley |
NBC |
| Thirtysomething |
"The Go-Between |
Joseph Dougherty |
ABC |
| Twin Peaks |
"Episode One" |
Mark Frost, David Lynch |
| "Episode Three" |
Harley Peyton |
| 1991 |
L.A. Law |
"On The Toad Again" |
David E. Kelley |
NBC |
| L.A. Law |
"Lie Harder" |
Judith Feldman, Sarah Woodside Gallagher |
NBC |
| "Mutinies On The Banzai" |
Alan Brennert, Patricia Green, David E. Kelley |
| Northern Exposure |
"Pilot" |
Joshua Brand, John Falsey |
CBS |
| Thirtysomething |
"Second Look" |
Ann Lewis Hamilton |
ABC |
| 1992 |
Northern Exposure |
"Seoul Mates" |
Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider |
CBS |
| China Beach |
"Hello-Goodbye" |
Carol Flint, John Sacret Young, John Wells, Lydia Woodward |
ABC |
| I'll Fly Away |
"Master Magician" |
David Chase |
NBC |
| Northern Exposure |
"Burning Down The House" |
Robin Green |
CBS |
| "Democracy In America" |
Jeff Melvoin |
| 1993 |
Homicide: Life on the Street |
"Three Men And Adena" |
Tom Fontana |
NBC |
| Homefront |
"The Lacemakeres" |
Bernard Lechowick |
ABC |
| Law & Order |
"Manhood" |
Walon Green, Robert Nathan |
NBC |
| Northern Exposure |
"Kaddish For Uncle Manny" |
Jeff Melvoin |
CBS |
| "Midnight Sun" |
Geoffrey Neigher |
| 1994 |
NYPD Blue |
"Steroid Roy" |
Ann Biderman |
ABC |
| NYPD Blue |
"NYPD Lou" |
Ted Mann |
ABC |
| "Personal Foul" |
Burton Armus, David Milch |
| "Pilot" |
Steven Bochco, David Milch |
| "Tempest In A C-Cup" |
Gardner Stern |
| 1995 |
ER |
"Love's Labor Lost" |
Lance A. Gentile |
NBC |
| ER |
"Pilot" |
Michael Crichton |
NBC |
| My So-Called Life |
"Pilot" |
Winnie Holzman |
ABC |
| NYPD Blue |
"Simone Says" |
Steven Bochco, Walon Green, David Milch |
ABC |
| The X-Files |
"Duane Barry" |
Chris Carter |
Fox |
| 1996 |
The X-Files |
"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" |
Darin Morgan |
FOX |
| ER |
"The Healers" |
John Wells |
NBC |
| "Hell And High Water" |
Neal Baer |
| Murder One |
"Chapter One" |
Steven Bochco, Charles H. Eglee, Channing Gibson, David Milch |
ABC |
| NYPD Blue |
"The Backboard Jungle" |
David Mills, William L. Morris |
| 1997 |
NYPD Blue |
"Where's Swaldo?" |
Stephen Gaghan, David Milch, Michael R. Perry |
ABC |
| ER |
"Faith" |
John Wells |
NBC |
| "Whose Appy Now?" |
Neal Baer |
| NYPD Blue |
"Taillight's Last Gleaming" |
David Mills |
ABC |
| The X-Files |
"Memento Mori" |
Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz |
FOX |
| 1998 |
NYPD Blue |
"Lost Israel Part II" |
Bill Clark, David Milch, Nicholas Wootton |
ABC |
| Homicide: Life On The Street |
"Subway" |
James Yoshimura |
NBC |
| NYPD Blue |
"Lost Israel Part I" |
Bill Clark, Ted Mann, David Milch |
ABC |
| The Practice |
"Betrayal" |
David E. Kelley |
ABC |
| The X-Files |
"The Post-Modern Prometheus" |
Chris Carter |
FOX |
| 1999 |
The Sopranos |
"College" |
David Chase, James Manos, Jr. |
HBO |
| NYPD Blue |
"Hearts And Souls" |
Steven Bochco, Bill Clark, David Milch, Nicholas Wootton |
ABC |
| The Sopranos |
"Isabella" |
Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green |
HBO |
| "Nobody Knows Anything" |
Frank Renzulli |
| "Pilot" |
David Chase |
| Year |
Show |
Episode |
Writer(s) |
Network |
| 2000 |
The West Wing |
"In Excelsis Deo" |
Rick Cleveland, Aaron Sorkin |
NBC |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
"Hush" |
Joss Whedon |
WB |
| The Sopranos |
"Funhouse" |
David Chase, Todd A. Kessler |
HBO |
| "The Knight in White Satin Armor" |
Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green |
| The West Wing |
"Pilot" |
Aaron Sorkin |
NBC |
| 2001 |
The Sopranos |
"Employee Of The Month" |
Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green |
HBO |
| The Sopranos |
"Amour Fou" |
David Chase, Frank Renzulli |
HBO |
| "Pine Barrens" |
Tim Patten, Terence Winter |
| "Second Opinion" |
Lawrence Konner |
| The West Wing |
"In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen Part I & Part II" |
Aaron Sorkin |
NBC |
| 2002 |
24 |
"Midnight – 1:00 A.M." |
Robert Cochran, Joel Surnow |
Fox |
| Alias |
"Truth Be Told" |
J.J. Abrams |
ABC |
| ER |
"On The Beach" |
John Wells |
NBC |
| The Shield |
"Pilot" |
Shawn Ryan |
FX |
| The West Wing |
"Posse Comitatus" |
Aaron Sorkin |
NBC |
| 2003 |
The Sopranos |
"Whitecaps" |
Mitchell Burgess, David Chase, Robin Green |
HBO |
| Six Feet Under |
"Twilight" |
Craig Wright |
HBO |
| The Sopranos |
"Eloise" |
Terence Winter |
| "Whoever Did This" |
Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green |
| The West Wing |
"Twenty Five" |
Aaron Sorkin |
NBC |
| 2004 |
The Sopranos |
"Long Term Parking" |
Terence Winter |
HBO |
| Deadwood |
"Pilot" |
David Milch |
HBO |
| The Sopranos |
"Irregular Around the Margins" |
Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green |
| "Unidentified Black Males" |
Matthew Weiner, Terence Winter |
| "Where's Johnny?" |
Michael Caleo |
| 2005 |
House |
"Three Stories" |
David Shore |
FOX |
| Lost |
"Pilot Parts I & II" |
J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof |
ABC |
| "Walkabout" |
David Fury |
| Rescue Me |
"Pilot" |
Denis Leary, Peter Tolan |
FX |
| The Wire |
"Middle Ground" |
George Pelecanos, David Simon |
HBO |
| 2006 |
The Sopranos |
"Members Only" |
Terence Winter |
HBO |
| Grey's Anatomy |
"Into You Like A Train" |
Krista Vernoff |
ABC |
| "It's The End Of The World (As We Know It), Parts I & II" |
Shonda Rhimes |
| Lost |
"The 23rd Psalm" |
Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof |
| Six Feet Under |
"Everyone's Waiting" |
Alan Ball |
HBO |
| 2007 |
The Sopranos |
"Made In America" |
David Chase |
HBO |
| Battlestar Galactica |
"Occupation" / "Precipice" |
Ronald D. Moore |
SciFi |
| Lost |
"Through The Looking Glass" |
Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof |
ABC |
| The Sopranos: |
"Kennedy and Heidi" |
Matthew Weiner, David Chase |
HBO |
| "The Second Coming" |
Terence Winter |
| 2008 |
Mad Men |
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" |
Matthew Weiner |
AMC |
| Battlestar Galactica |
"Six of One" |
Michael Angeli |
SciFi |
| Damages |
"Get Me a Lawyer" |
Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman |
FX |
| Mad Men |
"The Wheel" |
Matthew Weiner, Robin Veith |
AMC |
| The Wire |
"-30-" |
David Simon, Ed Burns |
HBO |
| 2009 |
Mad Men |
"Meditations in an Emergency" |
Kater Gordon, Matthew Weiner |
AMC |
| Lost |
"The Incident" |
Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof |
ABC |
| Mad Men |
"A Night to Remember" |
Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner |
AMC |
| "Six Month Leave" |
Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Matthew Weiner |
| "The Jet Set" |
Matthew Weiner |
