Spoiler alert: this breakdown divulges information about the plot of the show.  The biggest challenge for writers on a serial TV drama is how to build the conflict over the course of a season. In a “stand-alone” show like a police procedural, where you have to solve a different murder

Any writer in the world today has two top strategies they can follow to give them the best shot at success: write a novel or write for TV drama. I talked about tips for writing your novel, and why it’s such a great storytelling strategy, in last month’s ezine. This month we focus on w

No medium does historical epic like television, and no TV show has ever done it better than Mad Men. This is simply one of the five best shows in the history of the medium. Some critics have said that the quality of the show has dipped a little from its incredible first few seasons. D

When I travel the world teaching story classes, writers and producers don’t ask me how to write a Hollywood superhero movie. They want to know how to write shows that come close to the incredible quality of the drama they see on American television in shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men,

Every writer who dreams of working professionally in the worldwide entertainment business should be interested in writing for television. Why? The best writing in America is done on TV. Writers control the medium, so your talent is more likely to be recognized and rewarded. And with t

Spoiler alert: this breakdown divulges information about the plot of The Walking Dead. Every writer who dreams of working professionally in the worldwide entertainment business should be interested in writing for television. Why? The best writing in America is done on TV. Writers cont

Spoiler alert: this breakdown divulges slight information about the plot of House of Cards. When the Netflix show, House of Cards, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Drama, it was great news for writers everywhere. The Great Recession of 2008 diminished even further the already

Spoiler alert: this breakdown contains crucial information about the plot of the episode. As head writer on a show that has been on hiatus for 17 months, Matthew Weiner faced a huge story challenge in the opening two-hour episode. And it’s not yet clear whether he solved it or not. Th

I had no interest in watching Breaking Bad when it first began its run. Yet another story about the drug trade sounded boring and unpleasant to me. But after AMC ran a Breaking Bad marathon this summer, I finally gave it a shot. I found I’d been missing one of the best dramas in the h

The latest example of the coming of age of the television medium is Downton Abbey. In the old days of TV, each episode of a show was a self-contained story. The problem was introduced in the opening scene and solved 44 minutes later. By the end of the season, the audience had seen 22-