Top 20 TV Episodes Written By Women

Greetings, reader!

This idea was suggested to me by my fiancée Martta some time ago, after she read up on the important and under-appreciated work that comedy genius Megan Ganz had done across Community, Modern Family and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. As the entertainment industry continues to be a woefully sexist milieu, it's never a bad idea to highlight the work done by women, who often aren't given the same opportunities as their male counterparts, and whose value and contributions are often ignored in the media whenever they get and nail those opportunities. So, this week's post is a ranking of the best TV episodes written by female screenwriters, and I'll follow up next week with a post on the best TV episodes directed by women!

A note on the criteria: the episode has to be written entirely by a woman (or a team of women) in order to qualify, there's a maximum of one episode per series, and the exact ranking of the episodes isn't based on overall value of the episode but rather the script speficially, looking at just how well-written these gems are.

Here are my honorable mentions:

- Elizabeth Sarnoff - Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast and Keep Going (Barry, Season 1 Episode 7)

- Janis Hirsch & Lori Kirkland Baker - Visions of Daphne (Frasier, Season 6 Episode 22)

- Jennifer Crittenden - And Maggie Makes Three (The Simpsons, Season 6 Episode 13)

- Meredith Stiehm - The Weekend (Homeland, Season 1 Episode 7)

- Susan Soon He Stanton - Which Side Are You On? (Succession, Season 1 Episode 6)

20. Jess Dweck - Ding Dong (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 7 Episode 7)

"Where were you? And why are you holding the mean yelling speech?"

"Because I'm gonna yell it, meanly!"

There were many good B99 episodes to choose from, which goes to show that showrunners Dan Goor, Michael Schur and Andy Samberg gave plenty of room for female writers - something that woefully many male showrunners have been known not to do. The one I went with is season 7's Ding Dong, in which Jess Dweck provides ultimate sitcom writing - the jokes come at you at a relentless, rapid-fire tempo, so much so that you have to watch the episode a few times to catch them all. The cold open alone is a masterclass on building comedic payoffs.

19. Laurie Nunn - Episode 7 (Sex Education, Season 2 Episode 7)

"You guys are such clichés. Except for you, Lily - you're genuinely weird"

"Thanks!"

Sex Education produced many awesome episodes in its four-season run, but season 2's penultimate episode takes the cake as the show's finest hour. While everything in Laurie Nunn's teleplay is gold, from the escalation of long-term storylines and character archs to the gradual setup for the season finale, the big thing that really sets the episode apart as the show's #1 episode is the storyline of the girls in detention, bonding over their shared experiences of sexual harassment. The characters sharing their stories is gripping to watch, and the way they decide to be there for each other from thereon out is incredibly moving. I cried my eyes out when watching the episode's well-built conclusion.

18. Rachel Kondo & Caillin Puente - Crimson Sky (Shogun, Season 1 Episode 9)

"You'd walk into a sword just to prove the blade is sharp?"

The finest hour of last year's breakout series is a nerve-wracking unraveling of plots within plots, schemes within schemes, and strategies that'll have you guessing beforehand and reeling afterward. I haven't read the original book so it's hard to estimate exactly what part of my love for this chapter of the story is thanks to the original author and what part is thanks to the adapted script - but in any case, screenwriters Kondo&Puente clearly understood the hell out their assignment, as the end result is so clever as it unfolds.

17. Sahar Jahani - Do the Ramadan (Ramy, Season 1 Episode 5)

"I know how the day goes, you're a busy guy, just throw one down for her. Real quick, okay? Come on, man, I know you're keeping Steve alive with all this shit, right? Nobody though he'd have all those birthdays! Don't break my balls. Do the Ramadan"

Many of the episodes in this brilliant comedy-drama about a Muslim family in New Jersey are written by showrunner Ramy Youssef himself - and that ones that aren't were clearly passed on to just the right writers, as it all feels so cohesive. Such is the case with the first season's Do the Ramadan, where the show's satirical elements and comedic fusion of Muslim traditions and modern American culture are - well - just as brilliant as you'd expect from the title. Sahar Jahani's script goes hard with the satire and humor, yet also leaves plenty of room for heart and depth.

16. Amanda Overton - Pretend Like It's the First Time (Arcane, Season 2 Episode 7)

"You ever wish you could just...just stay in one moment?"

"Sometimes taking a leap forward means...leaving a few things behind"

"I promise I'll never forget this"

"You better not"

In this widely acclaimed, highly conceptual episode of the brilliant Arcane series, the characters Ekko and Heimerdinger find themselves in an alternate future. I'm always a sucker for 'what if' -stories, and they're rarely written as spectacularly well as this one - the premise is used to invoke emotion, push character growth further, and build up the show's endgame all at once while feelings like its own, distinctive story-within-a-story. Great science fiction, and great TV screenwriting.

15. Melinda M. Snodgrass - The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 2 Episode 9)

"Now, the decision you reach here today will determine how we will regard this...creation of our genius. It will reveal the kind of people we are, what he is destined to be; it will reach far beyond this courtroom and this...one android. It could significantly redefine the boundaries of personal liberty and freedom - expanding them for some, savagely curtailing them for others. Are you prepared to condemn him, and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery? Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life; well, there it sits!"

This episode is probably the most efficient way to shut someone up who thinks that sci-fi is only pew-pew laser fights. The android Data, played by Brent Spiner, was always one of the most intriguing Star Trek characters - and never more so than in this episode. When the Enterprise crew learns that Data is to be dismantled, they try to defend their friend and prevent this from happening, as the episode escalates into a dialogue-heavy courtroom drama with some of the greatest ethical-debate dialogue out there. Does an android as evolved as Data have human rights? A difficult question with fascinating implications, and one that gets thoroughly explored in this philosophical, engaging and ultimately heartwarming episode.

14. Stefani Robinson - Barbershop (Atlanta, Season 2 Episode 5)

"Did you see the news last night, them savages from Atlanta that went into that T-Mobile store, drove their car in there, got away about a 100 phones?"

"Yeah, man, it's crazy out here, man. It's that time of year though, I guess"

"Yeah, for real. Hey, yo, and that reminds me - listen, if you know somebody needs an iPhone, tell 'em to holler at me if they with T-Mobile. I got the hook-up for the low"

"Got you, man"

This entire Atlanta episode follows the character Paper Boi, who is just trying to get his hair cut, as his barber keeps interrupting the process by dragging the more and more reluctant client onto various sidequests. Every moment is absolutely hilarious, and the banter between the exasperated Paper Boi and the unforgettable Bibby the Barber is so good. Stefani Robinson's script really creates one of TV's finest parodies of what annoying people feel like with her depiction of Bibby, and the episode is easily one of Atlanta's greatest.

13. Wendy West & Melissa Rosenberg - The Getaway (Dexter, Season 4 Episode 12)

"He knows my name, occupation. He can find out about my family. My family. What the hell have I done?"

Those words, heard as protagonist Dexter Morgan's inner narration, serve as the bone-chilling opening lines to the season 4 finale of Dexter - one that scored a whopping 9.8 on IMDB, and is widely&rightly considered the crime drama's greatest episode. The acclaim is in no small part thanks to the teleplay by Wendy West and Melissa Rosenberg - season 4 had the show's greatest villain and many of its best story archs, and the bombastic script brings it to an incredible crescendo until it all comes crashing down. The Getaway is climactic, thrilling and tragic storytelling all rolled into one. I'd like to rank it even higher, but as you can see, there's a lot of godtier television written by brilliant women out there.

12. Kathryn Lyn - Wej Duj (Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 2 Episode 9)

"Avoid death...and cower"

In the hands-down best episode of the brilliant Star Trek spin-off Lower Decks, a genius premise unfolds as we exit the show's core setting (the low-ranking ensigns of Starfleet's USS Cerritos) to follow how similar 'lower decks' operate for different alien species in the Star Trek universe. Following the differences and similarities between comparable officers within human, Vulcan and Klingon settings is as illuminating as it is amusing for nerds like myself. Kathryn Lyn's script is as full of clever humor as it is filled with neat worldbuilding and a deep understanding of the Star Trek universe.

11. Deborah Cahn - Impact Winter (The West Wing, Season 6 Episode 9)

"I'm not running for congress again, Josh. Now, you came a long way, I'm sorry about that. But it's just..."

"I'm not talking about congress"

Ah, shivers go down my spine whenever I merely think about that final scene in this midseason finale. With The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin did what a showrunner is supposed to - penning many of the important episodes himself, and trusting the rest of them to the very best writers possible. That is the case with the many legendary key episodes written by Deborah Cahn, out of which this is my undying favorite.

The midseason finale of the political drama's second-last season is a game-changing moment for the trajectory of the entire series. The show's trademark idealism is at its highest, as a seemingly hopeless situation takes a turn for the norm-defying and inspiring, and Cahn's script makes sure that it happens with the utmost narrative tension, intertwining character archs, multiple plot threads and real-world parallels while using clever misdirects to leave the 'big reveal' of the direction the story is taking for the very last seconds. Bravo.

10. Alexa Junge - The One Where Everybody Finds Out (F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Season 5 Episode 14)

"They don't know that we know they know we know! And Joey, you can't say anything"

"...Couldn't if I wanted to"

You know that female writers rule when the most legendary episode of the arguably most legendary sitcom is only at 10th place on today's list. But, yeah - I couldn't possibly say anything about The One Where Everybody Finds Out that hasn't already been said a million times. It's deep in the comedy hall of fame, and rightfully so - the mega-entertaining plot, the clever turns that it takes, and the scenarios escalating to just such an ultimate form of hijinks, it's all gold. Plus, it's not all hilarious schemes, ploys and mind games - the plot culminates in a legitimately heartwarming emotional payoff, just to show off Alexa Junge's screenwriting range. And then a beyond-hilarious cliffhanger ending thrown in for good measure.

9. Leann Bowen - The Diamond Dogs (Ted Lasso, Season 1 Episode 8)

"You know, Rupert, guys like you have underestimated me my entire life. And for years, I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day, I was driving my little boy to school and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, and it was painted on the wall there. It said, 'Be curious, not judgemental'. I like that. So I get back in my car and I'm driving to work, and all of the sudden it hits me. All them fellas that used to belittle me - not a single one of them was curious. You know, they thought they had everything all figured out...so they judged everything, and they judged everyone. And I realized that their underestimating me...who I was had nothing to do with it. 'Cause if they were curious, they would've asked questions. You know? Like, 'Have you played a lot of darts, Ted?'. To which I would've answered, 'Yes sir, everyday Sunday afternoon at a sports bar with my father, from age 10 until I was 16 when he passed away'"

I am not exaggerating when I say that the monologue quoted above is one of the greatest television moments of all time. Mind you, all of The Diamond Dogs is pretty great - but that monologue, man, that's all-time top 10 stuff right there. Sure, Jason Sudeikis' Emmy-winning delivery is a big part of why the scene works so well, but without Leann Bowen's script, he'd have nothing to work with. The words of wisdom quoted above have honestly helped me in life so much - whenever you deal with assholes, the 'be curious, not judgemental' sentiment is important and helpful to keep in mind.

8. Amy Sherman-Palladino - Raincoats and Recipes (Gilmore Girls, Season 4 Episode 22)

"...I think I'm dating Luke"

"What? How? Where?"

"Well, we went to his sister's wedding, and it was really nice, we had a really good time...we laughed a lot, and we ate, and then we danced..."

"Danced...how?"

"We pop-locked."

"Was it a fast dance, slow dance, group dance...?"

"It was a slow dance...what's a group dance?"

"The Hustle. The Hora"

"No Hustle, no Hora. It was a waltz. Luke can waltz"

"Luke can waltz?!"

"Luke can waltz"

The best individual thing about Gilmore Girls is the Seinfeldian-but-better-than-Seinfeld type of banter, written by showrunner Any Sherman-Palladino and delivered by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel in their roles as the titular Gilmore Girls, and no one will convince me otherwise. That fantastic dialogue aside, the season 4 finale Raincoats and Recipes is the show's most iconic episode, and rightfully so - a lot happens, and Palladino's script really ensures the episode's all-timer status.

For me, the biggest thing about this episode individually isn't even that the show's central will-they-won't-they couple, one of TV's greatest love stories, Luke and Lorelai, finally blurt out their feelings and kiss. Or the heart-wrenching, game-changing moment of insane drama that would have reprecussions for the rest of the series, as Douchebag Dean cheats on his wife with Rory. No, the best narrative in this series-high episode is the opening of the Dragonfly Inn. A storyline about the main character and her best friend making their dream come true was gradually built across four seasons, and when the moment finally arrives, the payoff is sweet. Everyone from the main cast is under the same roof for once, and Palladino's teleplay does a brilliant job balancing out the different characters and storylines with just the right pace. Raincoats and Recipes is a climactic, dramatic roller coaster of emotions.

7. D.C. Fontana - Journey to Babel (Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2 Episode 10)

"Captain's log, stardate 3842.3. We have departed Vulcan for the neutral planetoid code-named Babel. Since it is in our sector, the Enterprise has been assigned to transport ambassadors of Federation planets to this vitally important council. The issues of the council are politically complex, the passengers...explosive"

A true trailblazer, D.C. Fontana got into the game in a time where female writers were overlooked, passed up and met with hostility. While most mainstream shows in the 60's wouldn't have dreamt of hiring women to write their episodes (which explains why most shows from the 60's aren't all that great, as they reached about 50% of their potential at best), the Star Trek franchise and its creater Gene Roddenberry were woke and ahead of the curve from the get-go. Fontana wrote the script for many classic episodes, starting from the very second episode to be aired (Charlie X, not to be confused with Charli XCX). She'd later go on to co-produce Star Trek: The Animated Series, write the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and even write an episode of my favorite Star Trek show, Deep Space Nine. But the single greatest achievement from this absolute legend has got to be Journey to Babel.

In the second season the the original series, Fontana's teleplay treated us to the kind of sci-fi story that is pure perfection for the kind of nerd I am. The intrigue of the franchise's fictional universe and worldbuilding hits an all-time high, as we learn about the inner machinations and complex politics of the Federation for the first time, and do so in such a cool manner. Diplomatic representatives from the Vulcans, the Andorians and the Tellarites are on board the Enterprise, being transported to an important summit, when various tension begin to flair. The complex and engaging fictional politics of Star Trek have always been one of the franchise's key strengths, and the way they've escalated and fleshed out over the decades is largely thanks to the blueprint set by this creative, groundbreaking and utterly fascinating classic of an episode.

6. Lisa Klink - Message in a Bottle (Star Trek: Voyager, Season 4 Episode 14)

"Stop breathing down my neck!"

"My breathing is merely a simulation"

"So is my neck, stop it anyway!"

Continuing with the Star Trek franchise, one could say that D.C. Fontana walked so that Lisa Klink could run. After breaking through by writing the brilliant episode Hippocratic Oath for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Klink became a regular writer for Voyager, creating the stories for many of its most memorable episodes. One especially noteworthy script of hers is Message in a Bottle, an episode that utilizes the show's imaginative and inherently sentimental premise for bigger feels than arguably any other. Through a creative chain of events, a brilliant connection of storylines leads to a breakthrough moment in the show's narrative, and the way it goes down includes humor, tears, and even some well-thought-out tie-ins to what was going on in the larger Star Trek universe at the time.

5. Hilary Winston - For a Few Paintballs More (Community, Season 2 Episode 24)

"Everyone! Look alive! Leonard, close enough. Greendale - it's been a pleasure fighting with you. Some of us won't make it, but there is a place where we will all see each other again. And that place is Denny's"

"Which Denny's?"

"...We'll figure that out later, Leonard"

"The one near the 15 exit, I'm banned"

"Then I guess I'll see you in hell"

There were so many Community episodes to choose from, between all the teleplays by sitcom mastermind Megan Ganz as well as individual masterstrokes from many other staff writers. The one I went with is the season 2 finale, For a Few Paintballs More.

As a high-concept escapade and the second part to a paintball extravaganza, it works absolute wonders with its fast-paced plot turns, entertaining balance between excitement in multiple storylines, and some insanely well-built payoffs. It also has some of the show's best banter dialogue (which is really saying something, as that's one of Community's biggest strengths in general), and Hilary Winston also makes time for it to work as a dutiful season finale, bringing the second season's integral character archs to a close amidst the paintball mayhem. One of the great sitcom episodes.

4. Moira Walley-Beckett - Ozymandias (Breaking Bad, Season 5 Episode 14)

"You're the smartest guy I ever met...and you're too stupid to see - he made up his mind ten minutes ago"

It infuriates me how Ozymandias, the most critically acclaimed TV episode of all time by most metrics (including being the only one to ever get a full 10.0 on IMDB), was written by a woman yet this hardly ever comes up in the male-dominated prestige TV fan circles who worship the series and the episode. The credit for Ozymandias is almost always assigned into two directions: showrunner Vince Gilligan, and the episode's director Rian Johnson. While both obviously did a great job and are responsible for a big part of the episode's success, I'd argue that screenwriter Moira Walley-Beckett should be just on the same level in acclaim, and the lack of recognition showcases both the lack of respect our society has for women as well as the lack of respect we have for screenwriters. Shame.

But, yeah. I've always considered Ozymandias just a tad overrated as a whole - but I still love it. It's just overrated in the "I don't think this should be the #1 highest-rated TV episode of all time as there's a handful or two of even better ones out there. It's still really f**king amazing" sense. Walley-Beckett's script is quite perfect for the ultimate dramatic turning point in the ushering in the show's endgame - after five season of build-up, (SPOILER ALERT) Walt goes on the run, Walter Jr. learns the truth about his father, Hank is killed off, and Jesse is sold out to his enemies in a heartbreaking betrayal. Fitting all of that into just one episode takes some serious pacing skill, but Walley-Beckett was up to the task, while also taking the time to write Hank Schrader just about the most cold, badass exit lines in TV history for his death scene.

3. Megan Ganz - The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 15 Episode 8)

"GODDAMMIT! I can't do this! I'm sorry, Dad, I can't do it. This isn't fair! I shouldn't have to carry you up a hill! You never carried me up a hill! You never picked me up from school, you didn't read me bedtime stories, you didn't carry me on your shoulders, you didn't bounce me on...you weren't there! AND I NEEDED YOU!"

It feels like Megan Ganz, who is probably my #1 favorite female TV writer (at least out of the ones who aren't showrunners), should be on this list more than once. But, as fate would have it, my list had to skip her contributions for Community because I went with a one-episode-per-series rule and the best individual Community episode written by a woman happened to not be hers, and I had to skip Modern Family as well, because her best episodes were written together with male writers so today's rules had them missing out. But, at least we got this sitcom all-timer from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to showcase what a force to be reckoned with Megan Ganz truly is.

The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain, my all-time favorite episode from It's Always Sunny's seventeen-season (and counting) run, isn't the most typical example of Ganz's work. Usually, her scripts are of the purely hilarious variety, having a special knack for dark comedy, satirical elements and clever plot turns. But with the Ireland arch in IASIP's fifteenth season, she got to showcase her range, and it culminated in an emotional powerhouse that I consider the show's finest hour. It takes some skill to make the audience legitimately moved in what is generally an anti-sitcom where you're not supposed to like the characters, but she sure did it. Mind you, the episode starts out typical and funny and it has plenty of grade-A laughs - but when things turn emotional, it goes to the extreme.

The scene where Charlie breaks down and opens up to his father's corpse made for one of the biggest crying fits I've gotten from any TV series - sure, it's Charlie Day's acting that really drives the scene home to all-time status, but the moment wouldn't be anything if he didn't have Ganz's script to work with. It's a different episode for IASIP, but an absolute masterclass at that.

2. Shonda Rhimes - Sanctuary / Death and All His Friends (Grey's Anatomy, Season 6 Episodes 23-24)

"I'll go get Altman"

"Altman's not down here"

"Go get Hunt then"

"They left"

"What, they left? Okay, you know what? Someone just shot Derek. He's got a GSW to the chest and he needs surgery right now. Tell me there is an attending on this floor"

"...April, in the OR behind there are two OR nurses and an anesthesiologist. Get them. Tell them to set up for a cardiac procedure"

"What...why? If we don't have a surgeon, what are we going to do?"

"We have a surgeon."

The greatest episode from the over-20-season run of Grey's Anatomy is, without doubt, the two-part finale of the sixth season, scoring two consecutive 9.7 ratings on IMDB. In what would be styled as "The One with the Mass Shooting" if the episodes were titled like F.R.I.E.N.D.S., the element that generally gets the most praise is the directing - but one cannot overlook the script by the trailblazing, cult-creating genius Shonda Rhimes. In the early seasons of the series, the showrunner did her job in a respectably hands-on manner, writing the scripts herself for all of the most important episodes - and this is the best out of that impressive bunch.

It's so much more than just an intense, claustrophobic mass shooting episode - the story escalates with just the right pace, putting everyone from the show's main cast into an interesting position, with suspense and chaos happening on all fronts as we follow the disaster from multiple viewpoints. The episode contains the show's hands-down best-written moment, which I quoted above: after six seasons of being the hospital's best intern and resident, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) is thrust into the most dramatic of situations. Her boss, who is also her best friend's husband, has just been shot, and because of the lockdown, there are no attendings on their floor - so she must perform the surgery. I can't begin to fathom how a storyteller can come up with such a tragic yet beautiful plot turn - it felt like everything that had happened in the last six seasons had built up towards this, this ultimate moment of character development and heroism under pressure. The moment is as cleverly conceived as it is deeply moving.

1. Denise Thé - If-Then-Else (Person of Interest, Season 4 Episode 11)

"It's a useful exercise. Through the years, many thinkers have been fascinated by it. But I don't enjoy playing...because it was a game that was born during a brutal age when life counted for little. Everyone believed that some people were worth more than others. Kings, pawns...I don't think anyone is worth more than anyone else...chess is just a game. Real people are not pieces. You can't assign more value to some of them and not others, not to me, not to anyone. People are not a thing you can sacrifice. The lesson is, anyone who looks on to the world as if it is a game of chess...deserves to lose"

Television as a form of art and entertainment is always improving - yet I am sure, in my heart, that there will never be another episode like If-Then-Else. I can't discuss my love for this narrative masterpiece in too much detail, because I don't want to spoil it - if you haven't seen the show (I'm guessing you haven't, since it's criminally overlooked), I plead you watch it, as getting to this episode in season 4 alone would make the journey worth it.

The concept of If-Then-Else alone is absolute genius, and the way in which Denise Thé's creative script ensures that the premise is utilized to full potential is mesmerizing. The story goes into all the right places, bringing just the right amounts of humor and levity into an overall intense and riveting episode. It's emotional at times, delightfully suspenseful at others, and incredibly imaginative throughout it all.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for the other side of the same coin - the top 20 TV episodes directed by women.