Pilot Season

While sports fans have their fantasy leagues, TV buffs are placing bets on which pilots will actually make it through a season. In a mix of comical book adaptations, spinoffs, and a few original programs, the Network's have chosen who will stay, who will get a chance to premiere more episodes, and who is already kicked to the curb. This year adds in more competition with Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon creating their own scripted programming. Out of ABC's 14 comedies that were pitched, four were chosen to continue. Surprisingly, not on the list of picked up pilots was Chevy Chases' comedy (called Chevy) about grandparents who suddenly have to raise their grandkids alone. In addition, ABC saved 7 of 12 pilots in the drama category, with an equal mix of political and social plot conflicts. 

In the other neck of the woods, CBS only secured 2 out of 9 comedy projects, while 4 are still being reworked in order to see another day. CBS had 9 drama as well, and gave 5 of them a series order. FOX only had 8 comedies to show, giving half of them a chance to premiere their seasons. And with only 7 dramas, FOX decided to order seasons for 5 of them, and have yet to cancel the other two.  Meanwhile, NBC came out hot with 14 comedies, 6 have ordered more episodes and 5 are stilling fighting to stay alive. With 10 dramas, NBC has decided to continue 6 of them, leaving two on the bubble. 

Last but not least, the CW produced 5 drama pilots, and only 2 made the cut. 

If you're looking for your next new favorite show, some to look out for include Dr. Ken (ABC comedy with Ken Jeong), Angel From Hell (CBS comedy with Jane Lynch), Minority Report (FOX drama), and The Player (NBC drama). 

Click here if you want your complete guide to the 2015 pilot season.

Picking up a fan-favorite

This week I've started to watch a fan-cultivated show Community.  The NBC sitcom centers around an eccentric Spanish study group at a community college.  The show was created by writer Dan Harmon and premiered in 2009. The show focuses on comedian Joel McHale and his fellow group of actors getting into crazy situations, and often referencing and parodying pop culture.  I'm now on the 6th episode and enjoying it quite thoroughly.  Despite it's critical acclaims and cult following, the show is not very popular among viewership.  Ratings have been above 4 million viewers but did not reach much more than that.  This has caused much controversy over the show, since NBC would not proclaim the show a success, however it has a very big core fan-base that really enjoy the show. Season 4 which was scheduled to premiere in October was delayed to premiere in February and Dan Harmon stepped down as show-runner.  

I am enjoying the supporting characters more than I enjoy the main 2 characters.  Joel McHale (Jeff) who host's The Soup on E! is a hilarious comedian and I really enjoy him, but his character is not very likable, and he's sneaky and kind of mean.  His leading lady Gillian Jacobs (Britta) I do not find very likable either.  I find her snarky and annoying, and find it hard to connect with her.  Hopefully as the show goes on, these characters will grow on me.  The supporting characters are all wonderfully developed.  Of course Chevy Chase is a comic classic and can't do wrong, Danny Pudi and Donal Glover are remarkable, and Yvette Nicole Brown is hysterical.  My personal favorite is Alison Brie of Mad Men.  I find her character refreshing and love seeing her span of talents from a show such as Mad Men to a comedy like this one.

Their show is filmed in a single-camera format, and was even picked up into syndication in 2013 by Comedy Central.  It's been noted that some of the actors like to improvise lines while on set.  Chevy Chase has been particularly noted to improvise and Joel McHale and Donald Glover are known to like to come up with their lines as well.

What I really enjoy about this show is that it is based off of creator Dan Harmons actual life.  This is just like my ICTV show I created that is based off of my own life.  I was always told to "write what you know" so I was very pleased to see that other people follow that rule as well.  I'm sure it was a lot of fun to produce a national television show based off of your life.  I will continue to watch the show and maybe they will convert me to becoming a cult follower.

Dan Harmon's Story Circles

As a scriptwriting minor and hopefully, a future television writer, I have spent a lot of time trying to find the best (and easiest) way to structure a story. The typical three-act structure was not cutting it for me, as it left too much to interpret; dividing an episode of television up into three identifiable parts was difficult and messy, especially with the commercial breaks.

As a scriptwriting minor with a serious affection for NBC's Community, though, I have found the structure that I was seeking through the work of the show's creator, Dan Harmon. Since the 90's, he has perpetuated the idea of the "Story Circle", as seen below.


These story structure circles dictate not only the ebb and flow of the episode, but the state and development of the characters within it. It is a quick, surefire formula for creating compelling and fun stories. This isn't just the ramblings of some comedian; it is based directly off of Joseph Campbells monomyth, or the Hero's Journey. The protagonist ventures out into the unknown, and then returns, having changed. Here are the steps elaborated further:

1. A character is in a zone of comfort,
2. But they want something.
3. They enter an unfamiliar situation,
4. Adapt to it,
5. Get what they wanted,
6. Pay a heavy price for it,
7. Then return to their familiar situation,
8. Having changed.

As you can see, the Story Circle does not vary from the three act structure, but instead expands and develops it. Watch an episode of Community. I would wager that in 75% of the episodes (or maybe more), all seven of the main characters go through this circle, whether in an elaborate way or not.

I just recently used this very same circle to write the script for my film for this class, called $perm Bank. I loved how the formula emphasized character change and tied the plot directly into character growth (shouldn't that always be the case?)

Dan Harmon released a series of six well-written tutorials to teach his formula, the first of which can be found here. He also graciously includes a sixth tutorial which explains the use of this character-changing formula within the realm of television, a venue which is notoriously stagnant in that regard.