TV Characters 101 (PT46)

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Update: PT46 transcript now available

Alex and Nick discuss one of the most important parts of television writing: creating compelling characters.

Why are characters so vital to television shows? What are some key elements to watch out for when writing characters in a TV script? Why are character introductions so important in screenwriting? How can you create interesting people that fit your TV show?

The Paper Team explores their existence…

SHOWNOTES

Content

A special announcement (00:46)
1 – Television is a character’s medium (01:41)
2 – Describing characters: introductions, archetypes, and traits (02:42)
3 – Character voices, filler characters, and empathy (17:38)
4 – Characters in the story: goals and arcs (23:43)
Takeaways and Resources (28:25)

Links

House, M.D.
Hugh Laurie
“The Hero’s Journey” – Joseph Campbell
“The Writer’s Journey” – Christopher Vogler
Michael Clayton (Film)
Sam Seaborn
“Pilot” (1×01 – The West Wing)
“Pilot” (1×01-02 – Lost)
“Pilot” (1×01 – Community)
Legion (TV Series)
Anton Chigurh
“Assisting TV Comedy Writers ft. Gary Sundt” (PT43)
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Resources

“The Art Of Dramatic Writing” – Lajos Egri
“The Emotion Thesaurus” – Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

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: ask@paperteam.co