TV Writing on Demand by Landau, Neil -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction

Peak TV vs. Pique TV: The Streaming Smorgasbord How to Navigate TV Writing On Demand

Part I Satisfying the Binge Viewer: New Genres, Formats and Trends

1 Blurring the Lines: Redefining Genre and Tone in the Dramedy

How Did We Get Here? Dramedies and Life on the Cringe Female-Driven Dramedies You‘re the Worst: The Anti-Romantic Dramedy Baskets and Lives in Disarray Satire as the Weapon of Reason in Dear White People I Love Dick: Exploring the “Female Gaze” Master of the Observational: Master of None Better Things: Philosophical Vignettes Love and Death in Atlanta Bonus Content: Further analysis on dramedies, including the rise of the genre, Catastrophe and Casual

The Masquerade: Sneaky Pete The Period Political Masquerade: The Americans Entrapment and Reversals: The Night Manager All Is Not What It Seems: The Good Place The Farce Thriller: Patriot Ozark: Who Can a Con Artist Trust? Bonus Content: The Path, Younger, Mr. Robot

4 Dystopias, Multiverses and Magic Realism

5 Story Tentacles: Making Surprising Choices That Yield More Story

Inevitable Yet Unpredictable Keep Your Frenemies Close: Orange Is the New Black You Can’t Always Get What You Want … Mozart in the Jungle A Window Onto a New World: Switched at Birth Taboo Relationships in Comedies Points of View: The Affair Ensembles and Backstories When a Flaw Becomes an Asset: Girls The Macro/Micro Approach: The Young Pope Game of Thrones: The Ultimate Story Tentacle Show? The Unreliable Narrator Bonus Content: Breaking Bad, Scandal, Mad Men, Taxi, plus the Switched at Birth pilot teaser

Why Can’t I Be Audrey Hepburn?

Tone is everything in television Reinvigorating a Genre The More Specific You Make Something, The More Universal It Becomes “No” = A Rest Stop on the Road to “Yes” Limitation as an Opportunity and Differentiator

The Pop Culture Junkie The Limited Anthology Series Impossible = Possible Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

Part II Developing Iconic Characters: Relatability and Authenticity

Touching the Void Nobody’s Perfect The Dance Reverting to Type Judgment, Morality and Perception The Insatiable Appetite of the Ego Insecure: Authentic as F**k Big Little Lies, Guilt and Shame Sympathy for the Robot: Westworld Hannah, Clay and the Razor’s Edge: 13 Reasons Why Alignment and Allegiance Bonus Content: Mr. Robot, Getting On, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Young Pope, Better Things, Animal Kingdom, plus “Empathy and the Female Gaze”

8 Choosing Between Two Wrongs: Characters Trapped by Limitation

Creating the Dilemma Homeland: The Lasting Effects of Devastating Decisions A “What If?” Exercise Dilemma and Perspectives Politics, Power and Internal Logic: Legion, The Handmaid’s Tale Jessica Jones: How Late is Too Late? Guilt, Maturity and Aspirations: This Is Us The Cleanse and Crossing the Line Bonus Content: Bates Motel, Breaking Bad, Queen Sugar, Orange Is the New Black

9 The Wild Card Character: Power Dynamics and Motivations

10 Writing Smart Dialogue in the Digital Era

The Oblique Bonus Content: The Profound Power of Silence plus Better Call Saul excerpt Idiosyncratic Voices: Empire, Silicon Valley Get in Late, Get Out Early Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Point of View and Subtext: The Last Man on Earth, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Shop Talk: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Naturalistic Dialogue: Profanity in The Wire Backstory: What They Don’t Say Actions—And Triangulation Overlapping Dialogue: Stranger Things Economy With Words E-Communication Listening to Our Characters Bonus Content: Bones, Orphan Black, The Americans, Scandal

Part III Career Strategies in the Evolving TV Marketplace

12 The Show Bible as an Essential Sales Tool

13 Trips, Traps, Tropes: Avoiding Rookie Mistakes

Become Experts in the Genre

“Great Pilot, But What’s the Series?” “It’s Too Wrapped Up” “What’s the Franchise?” “Who Are We Rooting For?” “There’s No Sense of Place or Time” “It’s Confusing” “The Premise Is Weak” “It Doesn’t Feel Authentic” “The Dialogue/Style/Tone Are Uninspired” “It’s Too Long” “The Plotting is Tepid” “The Stakes Are Not High Enough” “It’s Just Talking Heads” “It’s Too Superficial” “There Are Too Many Characters” “The Good Stuff Appears Too Late”

Know the Industry—Yet Be Innovative The Temptation to Rush Bonus Content: “The War Against the Kitchen Sink Pilot,” a/k/a “The Premise Pilot Blues”

14 The Creative Entrepreneur: From Kickstarting a Web Series to Hitting the Big Time

“Call My Agent” Getting an Agent Agents vs. Managers Advice From the (Staff Writer) Trenches Bonus Content: List of the Top Contests and Fellowships More Opportunities Than Ever—Yet It’s Never Been More Competitive Show Them Your Proof of Concept Think Locally, Act Globally What I Really Want To Do Is Direct (a Web Series) Bonus Content: Advice from Kit Williamson Work Begets Work

Acknowledgments About the Author About the Editors Index