How To Structure A Television Show - Pamela Douglas

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Pamela Douglas is an award-winning writer with numerous credits in television drama. The Fourth Edition of her book Writing the TV Drama Series (2018) has been adopted by network mentoring programs, and foreign language editions have been published in Germany, Italy, China, Spain and used around the globe. She is also author of the 2015 book The Future of Television: Your Guide to Creating TV in the New World.
She has been honored with the prestigious Humanitas Prize for "Between Mother and Daughter" (CBS), an original drama. Multiple Emmy and Writers Guild nominations and awards from American Women in Radio and Television went to other dramas she wrote. She was a creator of the PBS series Ghostwriter, Story Editor of the Emmy-winning CBS series, Frank's Place and wrote for A Year in the Life, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, west. At the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts she is a professor in the screenwriting division where she specializes in television.
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[@MysterianFilmGroup]

It's good to hear Ms. Douglas again in this additional interview segment.

[@lonjohnson5161]

One of the best teachers I've seen lately.

[@user-zd1jh5zz9n]

I think you are Wonderful Pamela.. I just bought your book. It may take me six months to read it. I'm writing a Horror/sci-fi project for a contest next February.. Least It's sitting her next to me.. I love these presentations. I like the phrase- "Play it don't say it".. That's pretty good.-- Film Courage.. Thanks a million. She's absolutely awesome.

[@Djambo1990]

It's amazing that Hollywood manages to produce so much crap, when there are teachers that are THIS amazing around.

[@whitemansucks]

Love this! The last line of her's was great!

[@Tightrope_Comedy]

This is what I like about streaming now you can have more content time or even a little less to not need filler. Squid games did well with the second to last episode setting up the finale with a 20-some minute episode

[@theTeslaFalcon]

In almost every story, there's an internal & an external conflict: the us & the them. Depending on the story, either the us or the them will be predominant. That is the A story that needs more "screen time". The B story is the subordinate that either complicates or needs less attention. In STNG, Picard is engaged in a 1st contact scenario. Crusher is running a lab experiment. Worf is having violent nightmares. Later we discover that the lab experiment is turning Worf into a werewolf. Seeing Picard handle Worf the werewolf until the antidote can be given encourages the aliens to trust Picard as well.

[@uglystupidloser]

i think... you are trying to fit the concepts you know into boxes, and, though the process of doing so is very relatable, i think you might be mistaken. or maybe i am, in either understanding the theory or misinterpreting what you are saying. there is an internal and external conflict? ok, that generally could be easily seen as character growth or arc (the internal conflict: finding the courage to take a risk, learning to forgive yourself and others, etc) and the physical events that the character is related to (the external conflict: the car won't start, you don't have enough money to pay the rent, your partner is cheating on you, etc). but you seem to take this concept and present this as an "us versus them". an us versus them scenario could have both internal and external conflict, and game of thrones is a perfect example. there are always multiple layers of internal and external conflict happening... at least for the first 4 seasons of that show. and the A story DOES need more screen time... because that is what is driving the audience's emotion and attention. we may care or be interested in the B story, but the A story is there to pull the weight of that story segment. the A story is the burger, and the B story is the french fries and soda. and your example is good for demonstrating internal and external conflict, AND also good for an us versus them scenario. but they are not the same thing. ... i do kind of get where you are coming from though. you are trying to pinpoint WHO gets the focus of the A story ("either the us or the them"), while trying to define the meaning of a story's conflict. ... but i think you are actually just hopping from idea to idea, and mislabeling them in the process in an effort to feel like you have a grasp over separate ideas that you may not be too familiar with yet. ... but i get where you are coming from. sorry, i just had to break this thought process down for my own satisfaction.

[@theTeslaFalcon]

@@uglystupidloser So, .... You agree w me? Let me clarify the internal vs external. In Twilight, Bella has internal conflict as she deals w the move to Forks, her dad, & Edward at school (external). As the story progresses, her inner conflict takes a backseat to the external conflict w Edward. Once they resolve their issue, Edward/Bella become the inner while Edward's family become the external. Once Bella is fully accepted as part of Edward's life w the Cullens, the Cullens are now the inner while the vamp who wants Bella is the external. So conflict A is made more difficult because of conflict B. The team would win IF they were more unified. The player could improve his performance IF he stopped seeing her. As she described it, A & B aren't related at all. Character X does this. Character Y does that. No connection. No impact. I mowed the front yard. Dad mowed the back yard. No conflict. No impact. No point.

[@Crowka274]

She is a wonderful mind.

[@caseestarr]

I love her.

[@JeffE39]

Is it wise (or even possible) to sell an entire first season of a series you wrote to one of the streaming services or do you only work with a nice and shiny pilot for them as well with a pitch added in? Thanks.

[@filmcourage]

Here's one answer to selling a television show - kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6OUZaijn6qmqcU

[@JeffE39]

Thanks!

[@albertabramson3157]

Movies should stop abruptly at 2:40:00. There is no need to rewind a digital reel, and that's when audiences feel full. Think back to your favorite films, the ones that really made you feel something something. Did the studio's demand to cut things below 2 hours prevail in the end, or did the director's vision prevail?

[@filmcourage]

How is this video helpful to you?

[@dustyhills8911]

It's great to hear updated insights into the TV side of things because it has changed so much with streaming and continues to evolve. I am not only writing feature length movie scripts but also learning to write limited series as well.

[@filmcourage]

What is your favorite tv show?

[@albertabramson3157]

D***, there's nothing on TV that I love. Even the shows that I do watch are not great, they're not funny, they're not worthy of being favorites. I have a comedy and a Star Trek series that I work out in my mind, and I entertain myself with the far out, terrifying, shocking ideas that come out of those.

[@FrancisGo.]

@@albertabramson3157 You could have said Twin Peaks, Columbo, The Sopranos, Quantum Leap, Miami Vice... 🤣

[@FrancisGo.]

@@albertabramson3157 You have access to the cultural output of almost every nation on Earth. You can watch French TV from the 70s. You can watch Sally Field in The Flying Nun. 🤣

[@dustyhills8911]

All-time: The Sopranos Recently: Better Call Saul

[@FrancisGo.]

@@albertabramson3157 I subscribed to your channel. Sorry for laughing. You remind me of my unfiltered self.

[@timlewis2211]

Can a "sitcom" be any good or exist without a mechanical laff track dubbed in ?