Hello from San Francisco where I’m with the Dodgers. They don’t seem to like the Dodgers very much up here for some reason. Anyhoo, here are some Friday Q & A’s. Remember, registration for the SITCOM ROOM opens Monday morning at 9 AM PDT. As long as I don’t wear a Dodger cap around the bay area I should be alive to conduct the seminar.
From David:
I was hoping Ken would name some current shows that make good specs. Which sitcoms? 1-hour procedurals? How about new hits (that are renewed) like Eastbound and Down? What if all my favorite shows are on cable, like Flight of the Concords? OK to spec them, even if they're not as well-known as 2 1/2 Men? Etc.
First off, write the genre you feel you’re strongest in. If comedy is your gift, don’t write a spec CSI. If you have a flair for procedurals, don’t write a TIL DEATH (well, don’t write a TIL DEATH anyway). I’m going to focus on comedy since I know that world. Is CSI: MIAMI a better spec to write than CSI: NEW YORK? I have no idea.
Above all else, write the show you like the best, have the best feel for, and will best showcase your strengths. That trumps what I’m about to say now.
It generally helps to write specs for shows that are either big hits, highly regarded in the industry, or are on the upward rise. In general, try to avoid shows on their last legs. SCRUBS for example. Broadcast networks or cable, it makes no difference these days. Most showrunners get cable.
The advantage of hit shows is that producers all over town are probably familiar with them and are fans. It’s less of a chore to read than some show they never watch, have no idea who the characters are, etc.
So which hit show should you write? Again, it depends on you and your comic sensibility. Multi-camera shows like BIG BANG THEORY tend to go for big jokes. The OFFICE is more subtle and derives its humor from watching people squirm in embarrassing situations. 30 ROCK is more freewheeling. CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM is built on anger. ENTOURAGE plays the hip card. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA are both about young people who hang out in a bar but their tones are very different. Which do you identify with most? There’s no right answer.
And then there’s the hour sorta-comedies like MONK and PSYCHE. They tend to be more whimsical than funny but require very clever storytelling.
I’m not a big fan of writing animated specs like FAMILY GUY or THE SIMPSONS unless you hope to get a job on an animated show. If I have a live show I want to see if this writer can write real people.
Hope that helps and you’re not saying, “Hey, he didn’t answer my question at all! I want names!” You don’t get points for picking “the right show” you get points for doing a sensational job. Choose the show that allows you do that… although, seriously, stay away from TIL DEATH.
And Steve B. has a good question.
Ken, ever have a lean period in your career? You know, one of those years when it seems that everyone in town has a gig, but you're left standing on the sideline? How do you deal with it, and how do you push yourself to keep moving forward?
David and I have had some down periods. All writers have them. There have been years when we couldn’t get a pilot made and no one was buying our spec screenplays. Seeing what did get bought and made didn’t help our dispositions either.
Our way of fighting through it was to just keep busy. Keep working on new projects. You never know which thing will hit but the more you have out there, the better your chances. It’s also a business where responses and decisions are not always prompt. If you write one script and just sit by the phone waiting for that big offer you’ll wind up covered in cobwebs. Better to occupy your mind with another project while you wait (endlessly) for reaction to your first script. If they buy it, great. If not, you're almost ready to step up to the plate with a new project.
Sometimes it is hard to keep going, especially when assholes far less talented than you are getting breaks but it’s all cyclical. You’ll rise again.
What’s your question? Leave it in the comments section. Thanks much.
Thanks for the encouraging advice, Ken! Now, do me a favor and get those Gints!
ReplyDeleteespecially when assholes far less talented than you are getting breaks
ReplyDeleteLike? Okay, I obviously don't expect you to directly badmouth a show or its writers/creator - but a few hints about a show you thought was totally undeserving of its run, one that actually died a terrible death and isn't around anymore would be great.
Good and sound advice. I'll remember you in my Emmy speech.
ReplyDeleteWVW - Nerbroub, the first prime minister of Kilikhistan.
I'm almost sorry to bring this up as a question, but I stumbled across a cable show the other night that was about what a hell hole MASH was to work on, at least for the actors and crew. How McLean Stevenson actually left because he couldn't take it any more (And I always thought it was for HELLO, LARRY), and Wayne Rogers constantly battling with Fox and CBS. Without betraying confidences, how much of that is true, and how much is sour graping after the fact?
ReplyDeleteTil Death? Have you written about it before and I just missed it? Is the writing couple territorial or something? Do you hate the show? I give.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you think you'd rank on this list of baseball's chattiest announcers? I know it's TV announcers.
ReplyDeleteKen,
ReplyDeleteI was told a few years ago that you should submit spec scripts to different shows than the ones you wrote for, ideally to shows with similar tones and sensibilities, i.e. if you want to write for NCIS, send them your CSI or Law & Order script. The reasoning being that writers are protective of their characters and will be far harsher in critiquing your script if it is for their show as opposed to one they have no emotional investment in.
Does this still hold true? I've heard that it has become less and less of a rule of thumb since the preponderance of cable shows and the like have made getting talented people more and more important since they are being spread thinner and thinner.
Thoughts?
QUESTION:
ReplyDeleteI've read that age-ism in the entertainment industry affects writers too. Do you find that to be true? At 49 am I too old to even try?
Saw the episode of Mash last night where a kid was impersonating a Jewish kid named Josh Levine so he could go home instead of back to the front. Did you write that and use your own name? I was wondering how Father Mulcahy was going to get out of the pickle of divulging something told to him in confession, but of course he does the right thing in the end.
ReplyDeleteKen,
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this blog. As a fan of both comedy and baseball you're a true inspiration. I doubt you can get into specifics but I figured I'd ask anyway: How does one actually submit their packets to the appropriate people? You mentioned in a previous post that it's a good idea to send your work to the head writer of a late night talk show, but their contact information isn't exactly in the public domain. Is signing up to IMDBpro the occam's razor here?
Hello, Mr. Levine. Long time lurker. I was reading the blog of a writer/producer and they mentioned how much they enjoyed a freelancer's script and disclosed how they are obligated to buy two per season. I looked it up and saw that this is part of WGA guidlines but I was wondering as to why this is a requirement when a television series already has a writing staff?
ReplyDelete