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Alex and Nick present two back-to-back TV writing panels, one for comedy and one for drama, digging into the intricacies of the writers’ room.
From staff writer to showrunner, we’ve assembled a dozen TV writers across every level to get a sense of what it’s like to navigate a writers’ room and sustain a career.
Comedy/half-hour and animation panelists include Nina Bargiel (Barbie), Vicky Luu (Superstore), Adam Stein (Harley Quinn), Alison Tafel (BoJack Horseman), Brittani Nichols (Take My Wife), and Lauren Bradley (Spirit: Riding Free).
Drama/one-hour panelists include Alison Schapker (Altered Carbon), Monica Macer (Queen Sugar), Chris Levinson (Tyrant), Grainne Godfree (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Britta Lundin (Riverdale), and Hilliard Guess (Deadly Class).
How do you navigate a TV writers’ room? How does the dynamic and etiquette of the room influence pitching? How can you gauge if a script is effective? How have writers’ rooms evolved over the years? What do showrunners look for when hiring their staff? How can you approach breaking macro and character arcs? What is the best way for lower-level writers to make themselves valuable in the room? How do you address notes without compromising creative integrity? What are ways of dealing with the instability of the profession?
The Paper Team drops the mic…
TV comedy (half-hour shows) panel (00:01:04)
TV drama (one-hour shows) panel (01:02:22)
Nina Bargiel on Twitter
Lauren Bradley on Twitter
Alison Tafel on Twitter
Vicky Luu on Instagram
Adam Stein on Twitter
Brittani Nichols on Twitter
Britta Lundin on Twitter
Monica Macer on Twitter
Hilliard Guess on Twitter
Chris Levinson on Twitter
Alison Schapker on Twitter
Grainne Godfree on Twitter
If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review 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: ask@paperteam.co
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