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TV Calling

Halloween on TV (PT64)

Alex and Nick mark Halloween by looking at iconic TV episodes celebrating the holiday and what makes them so special.

How does Halloween translate to television? What are some of the best Halloween episodes? What makes a good Halloween story?

The Paper Team scares itself…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Some Halloween history (00:46)
2 – Elements of Halloween TV episodes (08:17)
3 – Favorite Halloween episodes (17:23)
4 – The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror (29:24)
Resources and Next Week On (36:48)

Links

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
“Greg Pikitis” (2×07 – Parks and Recreation)
“Halloween” (2×05 – The Office)
“Pinkeye” (1×07 – South Park)
“Epidemiology” (2×06 – Community)
The Cabin in the Woods
“The Scare” (1×11 – Dawson’s Creek)
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” (4×07 – Supernatural)
“Spookyfish” (2×15 – South Park)
“Halloween” (2×06 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Janus
“Life of the Party” (5×05 – Angel)
“Fear, Itself” (4×04 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
“Halloween” (1×04-05 – American Horror Story)
“The Honking” (2×18 – Futurama)
“Halloween/Ellie” (2×10 – Louie)
“Spooky Endings” (2×05 – Happy Endings)
Script for Happy Endings’ “Spooky Endings” episode
Treehouse of Horror
“A Nightmare on Face Time” (16×12 – South Park)

Resources

Massive spreadsheet list of Halloween TV episodes
“Is Your Halloween Costume Racist?” – Kat Lazo

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]

Assisting a TV Literary Agent ft. Matt Thilenius (CAA) (PT63)

Alex and Nick invite Matt Thilenius, TV literary assistant at the Creative Artists Agency, to discuss the role of agents representing TV writers.

What is the relationship between TV literary agents and TV writers? How do agents operate during staffing season? How do they find new clients? What are tips for writers looking for representation? How often should writers be generating new material to best help their agent get them work?

The Paper Team finds a rep…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Assisting a TV literary agent, the role of agents, TV writing seasons, finding clients, the writer’s brand, samples, staffing season, agency landscape, production companies (00:22)
Resources and Next Week On (36:33)

Links

“Profiles of Television: Matt Thilenius” – TV Calling
CAA
JHRTS
WME
UTA
ICM
Paradigm

Resources

“Powerhouse” – James Andrew Miller

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]

Meetings 101: Generals and TV Staffing (PT62)

Alex and Nick discuss the basics of meetings for TV writers. From generals to staffing, here are some tips and tricks to get and ace your own one-on-ones.

What are the different types of meetings? How do you get in the room? How should you prepare for a general or staffing meeting? How do you make a good first impression? What are dos-and-donts during and after your meeting?

Plus, we answer additional questions from our “Writing your first TV pilot” Scriptchat session.

The Paper Team takes the general…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: TV pilot Scritpchat questions (00:25)
1 – Types of meetings: generals, staffing, and pitch (07:28)
2 – How to get a meeting (11:29)
3 – Tips for the meet: before and during (16:46)
4 – After the meeting (31:43)
Takeaways and Resources (35:59)

Links

“Writing Your First TV Pilot – A #Scriptchat Experience” – TV Calling
TV Pilot 101 (PT30)
TV Pitching 101 (PT13)
Networking 101 (PT05)

Resources

“Good in a Room” – Stephanie Palmer
“Good in a Room” – Talks at Google (Video)
x.ai

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]