Don Reo, Creator of ‘Blossom’ and ‘The Ranch,’ Honored with WGA West’s 2026 Paddy Chayefsky Award
The Writers Guild of America West announced on Wednesday that Don Reo will be the recipient of its 2026 TV career honor. Reo, known for creating shows such as Blossom, My Wife & Kids, and The Ranch, will receive the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement at the 78th Writers Guild Awards scheduled for Sunday, March 8.
Actress Mayim Bialik, who starred in Blossom, will present the award. The accolade recognizes a guild member who has made significant contributions to television writing and has advanced the medium’s literature, according to the WGAW.
“Don Reo is a living legend — a master of the written word and an inspirational thinker and creator,” Bialik remarked in a statement. “I am honored to be a part of the acknowledgment of his diverse, hilarious, and phenomenal career.”
Reo began his career writing jokes for comedians before establishing himself as a television writer in the late 1960s and ’70s. His contributions include work on influential series like Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, and M*A*S*H. In the early ’80s, he created and executive produced the fantasy-adventure comedy Wizards and Warriors and wrote memorable episodes for The Golden Girls and its spinoff, Empty Nest.
Inspired by J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Reo developed the NBC sitcom Blossom, which aired from 1990 to 1995 and featured a teenage girl as the central character. Throughout his career, he has also created, co-created, or produced several other shows, including The John Larroquette Show, Pearl, Action, My Wife & Kids, Rodney, Everybody Hates Chris, Two and a Half Men, and The Ranch.
Reo received an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nomination for M*A*S*H in 1977 and a Comedy-Variety writing nomination for Cher in 1975.
“I am touched and honored to receive this wonderful award,” Reo stated. “It gives me hope for the future.”
