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TV Calling

Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major (PT02)

On today’s episode of Paper Team, Alex and Nick discuss one of the most important decisions before you can become a fully-fledged TV writer: choosing whether to write for comedy (half-hour) or drama (one-hour).

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Defining comedy and drama in television (01:02)
2 – What you are going to be doing as a comedy or drama writer (18:44)
3 – How to figure out if you are more suited for comedy or drama (23:21)
Takeaways and Resources(37:56)

Links

Alan Yang on breaking stories
Jane Espenson on writing comedy and drama for TV

Resources

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror V” – Available on DVD
Six Feet Under – “Everyone’s Waiting” (Series Finale) – Available on DVD

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please leave us an iTunes review and/or rating at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Moving to Los Angeles (and Things We Wish We Knew) (PT01)

NEW: Get the episode cheat sheet on our Patreon!

In the inaugural episode of Paper Team, Alex and Nick discuss the very first step to becoming a TV writer: moving to Los Angeles.

This is not only about knowing why you need to be here, by also why you want to be here. Why did we both literally cross oceans and continents to live in LA? What can you do to prepare your nascent TV writing career before you step on a plane? And why do you need to know the town (and get a car)?

Let’s dig in…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – About Paper Team (00:17)
2 – Why television? (03:40)
3 – Why are we in Los Angeles? (07:23)
4 – What you need to do before stepping on a plane (14:27)
5 – Getting set up once you arrive in LA (24:32)
Takeaways and Resources (31:53)

Links

Paris – Six-Part Mini-Series From France
NCIS: LA showrunner Shane Brennan to reboot Australian TV
La Fémis Launches New TV Centered Training Program
Jeffrey Lieber’s Twitter
Academy Nicholl Fellowships
Austin Film Festival
SNL‘s The Californians

Resources

Small Screen, Big Picture – Chad Gervich
This Business of Television – Howard Blumenthal
The Hollywood Assistants Handbook – Peter Nowalk & Hillary Stamm

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please leave us an iTunes review and/or rating at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

What is Paper Team all about?

This is a podcast about television writing and becoming a TV writer.
It is for people like us–working their way into the business from the ground up–who aspire to be TV writers (whether drama or comedy).
It is also for everyone interested in the television industry and everything around it.

We’ll be alternating every episode between two threads vital to being a successful TV writer: the business side, and the writing side.
On the industry end, we’ll be discussing things like meeting people, networking, finding work, being an assistant, and the television business itself.

On the writing front, we’ll be tackling anything related to our craft. Writing TV pilots, TV specs, taking notes, structure, theme, working in a writers’ room, in a writing team, and so much more.

Our first few episodes aim to give you a basic step-by-step guide to getting yourself established in LA, armed with a basic understanding of TV writing, and giving you the tools needed to start your journey to the writers’ room.

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Introducing Paper Team – A podcast about television writing (and becoming a TV writer)

On TV Calling’s eighth birthday last month, I teased a couple secret projects.
Today, it’s time to announce one of them.

Introducing Paper Team.
A podcast about television writing, and becoming a TV writer.

That’s right.

There’s yet another podcast on the market.

Who is on Paper Team?

I’ll be manning one of the mics. Yes, that means you’ll be hearing my sublime voice after all these years (assuming you’ve actually been reading me for that time). And you’ll be getting more of the great TV Calling content you know and love (now in audio form!).

Like every great podcast, this is a two-hander.
The other half of Paper Team is another awesome writer: Nick Watson.
While I’m of the TV drama sensibility, Nick will represent the TV comedy side. He’s also a fellow foreigner (from Australia). So you get the bonus of listening to two different non-American accents!

While most episodes will just be us two talking about TV writing, things are already in the works to bring in great, knowledgeable guests with more direct experience to future topics we’ll cover.

What is Paper Team all about?

This is a podcast about television writing and becoming a TV writer.
It is for people like us–working their way into the business from the ground up–who aspire to be TV writers (whether drama or comedy).
It is also for everyone interested in the television industry and everything around it.

We’ll be alternating every episode between two threads vital to being a successful TV writer: the business side, and the writing side.

On the industry end, we’ll be discussing things like meeting people, networking, finding work, being an assistant, and the television business itself.

On the writing front, we’ll be tackling anything related to our craft. Writing TV pilots, TV specs, taking notes, structure, theme, working in a writers’ room, in a writing team, and much more.

Our first few episodes aim to give you a basic step-by-step guide to getting yourself established in LA, armed with a basic understanding of TV writing, and giving you the tools needed to start your journey to the writers’ room.

To give you a tease, here’s what we’ll be talking about in our first six episodes:
Episode 1 – Moving to Los Angeles (and Things We Wish We Knew Before)
Episode 2 – Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major
Episode 3 – How to Meet People in LA (When You Don’t Know Anyone)
Episode 4 – Spec v. Pilot: What You Should Be Writing Next
Episode 5 – Networking 101: How to Talk With People in Hollywood
Episode 6 – Bringing the TV Writers’ Room Process Home

Episode runtime will vary depending on the topic — anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour.
We want to say as much as we feel interesting and informational, while still being relevant to the episode in question.
No padding!

We’ve been working hard on this project since May, and it’s about time to release it out to the world.
We can’t wait for you to take a listen!

How do I listen to it?

Paper Team is available on all major podcast platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Android podcast apps, RSS, and even email.

If you enjoy our Paper Teaming, please consider leaving us an iTunes review and/or rating at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

When is it coming out?

Paper Team is live now!

iTunes and iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod)

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on iTunes” button or go to paperteam.co/itunes.

Mac and Windows

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on iTunes” button or add our RSS feed to your subscription.

Google Play Music

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on Google Play” button or go to paperteam.co/googleplay.

We are also on Google Play Music! If you have it (it’s free), you can subscribe by following this link: paperteam.co/googleplay

Android and Amazon Fire

To subscribe, click the “Subscribe on Android” button above on your mobile device.

Your favorite application

If you can’t already find us on it, copy the feed address found in the box above, and paste into your favorite podcast application/news reader.

Write on.