American television is as good as it’s ever been right now, which means it has the best writing in the entertainment industry. American film isn’t even close. This week we saw the end of one of the greatest shows in TV history, with the finale of Lost. If you love great wr
Mad Men is one of the best-written and most ambitious TV shows in some time. It is worth close study, not just for learning how to create a well-structured show but also how to write one that is truly original and potentially groundbreaking. Story world, or arena, is one of the key st
Life is a 1-hour drama that has been trying to break through after a strike-shortened season last year. I hope it does because it adds a number of fun twists to the police procedural that is the staple of American TV drama. In the TV Drama Class, I go into all of the structural eleme
Grey’s Anatomy is the most popular fictional show on television. So it’s not surprising that it’s showing signs of too much success. Grey’s is a very well constructed show. But it is at heart a soap, and one of the sure signs of soap fatigue is unbelievable hoo
Pushing Daisies is a procedural with a Tim Burton-esque, fantasy twist. The story centers on Ned, a pie maker who has a gift and a curse – if he touches a dead thing once, whether it be human, plant, fruit – it comes back to life. Touch it twice, the thing is dead forever.
Studio 60 has not been the big hit everyone at NBC hoped it would be. And it’s taken more than a few shots, mostly from insiders who say that it’s not an authentic view of a sketch comedy show. Why? Because it’s not funny. And they’re right; it’s not funn
TV drama is ascendant right now and Grey’s Anatomy is at the top of the heap. It’s worth taking a look at how this show works to get a clue about writing for a drama show and maybe even creating one of your own. Grey’s Anatomy is the best show about high school to c
Battlestar Galactica is a hit with the critics and has one of the most devout fanbases that has ever existed for a cable network drama. One of the reasons could be the mix of a totally redesigned science fiction story world, and the realistic characters, problems, and growth that ex
LOST has revolutionized the way viewers interact with their favorite television shows. Fans can get LOST clues, new scenes, webisodes – all additional to the weekly episode – at any time, from any computer, even from their phones. But what created such avid fans in the fir
One of the best shows on television this season has been 24. The high concept of the show is that the season of 24 shows tracks 24 hours in the life of CIA agent Jack Bauer. What this means structurally is that 24 is almost totally a plot-based show. The creators aren’t just us