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Despite being a newbie, "Modern Family" will give a heavy competition for older shows. The half-hour comedy series nabs three nominations from 2010 Writers Guild Awards, the same amount that "Mad Men", "30 Rock" and "The Office" get.

"Modern" is to fight for Best Comedy category with "Office" and "30 Rock" in addition to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and fellow newcomer "Glee". The pilot has also helped "Modern" in scoring a nomination for Episodic Comedy which again lists "30 Rock" and "Office". For being new, "Modern" is put under Best New Series along with "Glee", "The Good Wife", "Hung" and "Nurse Jackie".

Meanwhile, "Mad Men" is a dominator of the drama series, taking in Best Drama nomination and two Episodic Drama nods. Other drama competitors include "Lost", "Dexter", "True Blood" and "Friday Night Lights".

The biggest surprise of all is the inclusion of HBO's low-profile comedy "Eastbound & Down" in the Episodic category. Moreover, "The Simpsons" is a clear winner of the Best Episodic Animation category because it secures all five slots.

Not only honoring works of writers in television, WGA will also announce the contenders of feature films on January 11. The winners will be presented on February 20 at WGA ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

Below is the primary list of nominees. The full one can be found at WGA.org along with the name of the writers.

DRAMA SERIES

"Breaking Bad" - AMC "Dexter" - Showtime "Friday Night Lights" - NBC "Lost" - ABC "Mad Men" - AMC

COMEDY SERIES

"30 Rock" - NBC "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - HBO "Glee" - Fox "Modern Family" - ABC "The Office" - NBC

NEW SERIES

"Glee" - Fox "The Good Wife" - CBS "Hung" - HBO "Modern Family" - ABC "Nurse Jackie" - Showtime

EPISODIC DRAMA

"Broken, Part 1 and Part 2" ("House M.D.") - Fox "Come, Ye Saints" ("Big Love") - HBO "The Grown Ups" ("Mad Men") - AMC "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" ("Mad Men") - AMC "I Will Rise Up" ("True Blood") - HBO "Phoenix" ("Breaking Bad") - AMC

EPISODIC COMEDY

"Apollo, Apollo" ("30 Rock") - NBC "Broke" ("The Office") - NBC "Chapter 1" ("Eastbound & Down") - HBO "Gossip" ("The Office") - NBC "Pilot" ("Modern Family") - ABC "Reunion" ("30 Rock") - NBC

LONG FORM - ORIGINAL

"Georgia O'Keeffe" - Lifetime "Grey Gardens" - HBO "Pedro" - MTV

LONG FORM - ADAPTATION

"America" - Lifetime "Taking Chance" - HBO

ANIMATION

"The Burns and the Bees" ("The Simpsons") - Fox "Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe" ("The Simpsons") - Fox "Gone Maggie Gone" ("The Simpsons") - Fox "Take My Life, Please" ("The Simpsons") - Fox "Wedding for Disaster" ("The Simpsons") - Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY - (INCLUDING TALK) SERIES

"Real Time with Bill Maher" - HBO "Saturday Night Live" - NBC "The Colbert Report" - Comedy Central "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" - Comedy Central "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" - NBC

DAYTIME SERIAL

"All My Children" - ABC "As the World Turns" - CBS "One Life to Live" - ABC "The Young and the Restless" - CBS