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TV Calling

TV Formula 101: Building an Engine For Your Show (PT117)

Alex and Nick discuss why TV formulas still matter and how to build a successful TV engine for your pilot and show.

What is a TV engine? Why is a “formula” a necessary ingredient for a sustainable TV series? What are some ways serialized and character-based series use formulas to their advantage? How do you generate a sustainable and compelling engine for your show? How do you express that formula in a script?

Plus, we launch our Patreon page and are hosting a mixer to celebrate!

The Paper Team regenerates…

SHOWNOTES

Announcements

1 – Paper Team is now on Patreon! You can support us starting as little as $2/month and get exclusive TV writing advice in exchange, including cheat sheets and bonus episodes. Join us at https://www.patreon.com/paperteam

2 – To celebrate the launch, we’re having a free mixer! Join us Saturday, January 19 at the Harlowe Bar in West Hollywood. The event starts at 5PM and runs all evening. More information available at http://paperteam.co/mixer

Content

Announcements: Patreon launch and Mixer details (00:26)
1 – Why formulas are still important in TV (03:39)
2 – How to generate a TV engine (09:09)
3 – Common questions and problems (22:44)
Takeaways and Next Week On (26:34)

Links

TV Pilot 101 (PT30)
TV Pilot 201: Keeping the Reader Interested (PT84)
Day Break
Act Breaks (PT15)
Weaving Storylines: A/B/C Stories (PT53)

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode and everyone else who supported us this year.

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]

The 2018 Paper Team Holiday Special (PT116)

Alex and Nick celebrate the holidays by taking a look back at an eventful 2018, for both Paper Team and TV writing, as well as revealing what’s next for the podcast in the new year.

What were the most popular Paper Team episodes of the year? What were our favorite shows, movies, music and books of 2018? What are some of our goals for 2019? What gifts did Alex and Nick exchange?

Plus, big things are coming in the next month.

The Paper Team parties on…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Paper Team Announcements: Patreon, Mixer and Mentorship (00:54)
2 – Paper Team 2018: A year in review (04:51)
3 – Best of 2018 (TV, movies, music, books, episodes) (21:47)
4 – Paper Team goals for 2019 (43:11)
Gift Exchange and Next Time On (45:25)

Links

Paper Tease TV Script Competition
The TV Writers’ Room – A TV Calling Community (Facebook Group)
“An Evening in the Writers’ Room” (PT100)
“TV Writing Programs and Fellowships” (PT85)
“TV Pilot 201” (PT84)
“Analyzing Great TV Characters” (PT72)
“Tips and Tricks for TV Writing” (PT93)
Counterpart
Bodyguard
The Haunting of Hill House (TV Show)
Gerald’s Game (Movie)
Killing Eve
The Good Fight
Big Mouth
Barry
“Flight of the Conchords: Live in London”
“The Sincerest Form of Flattery” (1×07 – Counterpart)
“Two Storms” (1×06 – The Haunting of Hill House)
“Kiksuya” (1×08 – Westworld)
“Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going” (1×07 – Barry)
“Free Churro” (5×06 – BoJack Horseman)
“The Ballad of Donkey Doug” (3×06 – The Good Place)
Bluey
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
“Airborne” by Prinze George
“Between Two Shores” by Glen Hansard
A Star Is Born (2018 Movie)
Avengers: Infinity War
Widows (2018 Movie)
“The Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben
“Thrawn” by Timothy Zahn
“Building Your Career as a TV Writer ft. LaToya Morgan” (PT111)
“Creating Animated TV Shows ft. Tom Ruegger” (PT89)
“The Paper Team 99th Episode Special” (PT99)
“TV Spec Script 201” (PT79)
“TV Writer Representation 201” (PT108)
“Rewriting Your TV Script” (PT90)

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode and everyone else who supported us this year.

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: [email protected]

TV Writing for Comedy & Drama ft. Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich (One Day at a Time/The Bold Type) (PT115)

Alex and Nick invite Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich, writers on Neflix’s One Day at a Time and Freeform’s The Bold Type, to discuss their experiences working in both half-hour and one-hour TV writers’ rooms.

How do you approach your first days in a writers’ room? What are some of the differences and challenges between breaking a half-hour and a one-hour show? What lessons can TV writers take from working in both multi-cam and drama rooms? How do you adapt to differences in tone between the formats? How are stories broken on One Day at a Time and The Bold Type? What was it like working on a Humanitas-nominated episode of TV? How can you use branding to your advantage as a writer? What are some tips for successfully transitioning between formats and genre?

The Paper Team changes tone…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Writing for both TV comedy and TV drama with Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich (00:37)
Final Advice, Resources and Next Week On (47:28)

Links

Michelle Badillo on Twitter
Caroline Levich on Twitter
“One Day at a Time” on Netflix
“The Bold Type” on Freeform
Gloria Calderon Kellett
Hollywood Fringe Festival
Dan Hernandez
“Hello, Penelope” (2×09 – One Day at a Time)
Amanda Lasher

Resources

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying” by Carol Leifer
“Just the Funny Parts” by Nell Scovell
The Comeback

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

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: [email protected]