Writing Television Sitcoms Revised

This new edition of Writing Television Sitcoms features the essential information every would-be teleplay writer needs to know to break into the business, including: - Updated examples from contemporary shows such as 30 Rock, The Office and South Park - Shifts in how modern stories are structured - How to recognize changes in taste and censorship - The reality of reality television - How the Internet has created series development opportunities - A refined strategy for approaching agents and managers - How pitches and e-queries work - or don't - The importance of screenwriting competitions

This new edition of Writing Television Sitcoms features the essential information every would-be teleplay writer needs to know to break into the business, including: - Updated examples from contemporary shows such as 30 Rock, The Office and South Park - Shifts in how modern stories are structured - How to recognize changes in taste and censorship - The reality of reality television - How the Internet has created series development opportunities - A refined strategy for approaching agents and managers - How pitches and e-queries work - or don't - The importance of screenwriting competitions

This is a definitive guide on how to write and, more importantly, sell scripts for situation comedies. It provides tips on character development, sub-plots, manuscript formats and comedy and timing.

What does it take to go from being a TV fan to a professional TV writer? Television writers--whose many produced credits include The Simpsons; Mad Men; Frasier; X-Files; Battlestar Gallactica; CSI: Miami; Law and Order; and House, M.D.--take aspiring writers through the process of writing their first spec script for an on-air series, creating one-hour drama and sitcom pilots that break out from the pack, and revising their scripts to meet pro standards. They also learn how to launch and sustain a writing career and get a rare look inside the process of creating, selling, and getting a TV show made. Edited by Linda Venis, Director of the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, Inside the Room is an unmatched resource for everything readers need to know to write their way into the Writers Guild of America.

This comprehensive guide is for those who want to launch a career as a television sitcom writer and features detailed inside information on how to write scripts that will get noticed.

Even after a rise in gay and Black representation and production on TV in the 1990s, the sitcom became a "generic closet," restricting Black gay characters with narrative tropes. Drawing from 20 interviews with credited episode writers, key show-runners, and Black gay men, The Generic Closet situates Black-cast sitcoms as a unique genre that uses Black gay characters in service of the series' heterosexual main cast. Alfred L. Martin, Jr., argues that the Black community is considered to be antigay due to misrepresentation by shows that aired during the family viewing hour and that were written for the imagined, "traditional" Black family. Martin considers audience reception, industrial production practices, and authorship to unpack the claim that Black gay characters are written into Black-cast sitcoms such as Moesha, Good News, and Let's Stay Together in order to closet Black gayness. By exploring how systems of power produce ideologies about Black gayness, The Generic Closet deconstructs the concept of a monolithic Black audience and investigates whether this generic closet still exists.

Some of todays top television writers and producers share their insight and explain the unique craft of writing a drama series for television and how the industry really works.

Now in its fourth edition, Television and Screen Writing: From Concept to Contract is a classic resource for students and professionals in screenwriting and television writing. This book will teach you how to become a creative and marketable writer in every professional arena - including major studios, production companies, networks, cable and pay TV, animation, and interactive programs. Specific techniques and script samples for writing high-quality and producible "spec" scripts for theatrical motion pictures, the sitcom series, one-hour dramatic series, longform television, soaps, talk show, variety, animation, interactive and new media are provided. Television and Screen Writing: From Concept to Contract, Fourth Edition also offers a fully detailed examination of the current marketplace, and distinct strategies for marketing your scripts, from registering and copyrighting the script to signing with an agent. This new edition has been expanded to include the most up-to-date creative and professional script samples, marketing resources, and practical information possible. The companion website (www.focalpress.com/companions) offers a wide range of contacts and resources for you to explore, and Internet links to professional resources. There is also an Annotated and Selected Bibliography for your reference