Don Leo, a veteran television writer and producer whose long career spans everything from MASH and The Golden Girls to Blossom, My Wife and Kids and Two and a Half Men, will receive the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Outstanding Television Writing at this year’s Writers Guild Awards. The honor is awarded by the Writers Guild of America Western and is given to members who have “made outstanding contributions to the advancement of television literature and the profession of television writing.”
Leo will receive the award at the 2026 Writers Guild Awards Ceremony on Sunday, March 8th at the JW Marriott LA Live Los Angeles. “Blossom” star Mayim Bialik presents Leo with the honor.
Reo said, “I am moved and honored to receive such a wonderful award.” “It gives me hope for the future,” Bialik added. “Don Leo is a living legend. A master of the written word, an inspirational thinker and creator. I am honored to be part of the recognition of his diverse, hilarious and extraordinary career.”
Early in his career, Leo worked as a staff writer on shows such as “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “All in the Family,” “Sanford & Son,” and “MASH.” He also wrote for “The Golden Girls” and its spinoff series “Empty Nest.”
Reo then produced “Blossom” and subsequently co-produced “The John Larroquette Show.” He was also the showrunner of the short-lived but critically acclaimed Hollywood satire series Action.
Leo later co-created and executive produced My Wife and Kids with Damon Wayans, and was a writer and executive producer on Everybody Hates Chris. Leo served as executive producer of Two and a Half Men throughout its 12-year run and became co-showrunner with Jim Patterson in 2012.
Last year’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement, considered WGA West’s highest honor in television writing, went to “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan. Past winners include Linda Bloodworth Thomasson, Yvette Lee Bowser, Meryl Malcow, Jenji Kohan, Diane English, Aaron Sorkin, Stephen Bochco, Susan Harris, Stephen J. Cannell, Shonda Rhimes, David Chase, Marta Kaufman & David Crane, Larry David, Garry Marshall, and Allison Cross.
