The simple steps outlined in this book help clarify which television projects are most likely to be written as pilot scripts, produced, and ultimately given a series order. Presenting a new twist on the old notion of formulaic television, this book analyzes the four-component formula that the best television has given us and elaborates upon it for the creation of great comedy and drama in half-hour or miniseries format.
Call it literate fun. Ranging from the 1940's to the 1990's and focusing on 60 programs that will surprise you, Stark comments on TV history in a smart, pithy voice and reveals how as a nation we've moved from Lucy and Ricky to Roseanne and Dan; from Howdy Doody to Sesame Street -- and what that says about us.You may think you know television -- but when Steven Stark is finished pushing your buttons with fighting words and brilliant insights, you'll see what television has done to us as a nation in a whole new way. From Beaver to Roseanne, Ed Sullivan to Oprah, Monday Night Football to MTV, Stark takes us on a guided tour of the tube, providing startling revelations about the power of its sixty most important shows and events in the history of television. He catches in bright focus a hilarious, strange, and compelling image of ourselves as reflected on the small screen, and he shows us, with striking logic, the awesome power of television over our future and our fate.
The book's journey into the future of television begins with “You Are Here,” delving into “The Great Convergence” of television and Internet and the vortex of change we all inhabit now. Then, glancing back, we explore “The Old World” of broadcast television to understand how we got to this moment of transition. Next, traveling “Between Worlds,” we visit cable television and see how the boundaries between network, cable, and Internet are mutating. After that, we enter “The New World” that ranges from empires like Netflix and Amazon down to Kickstarter-funded web series, and all the creative expressions that abound. Finally, we look ahead to the “Far Frontier” of interactivity and transmedia and a distant, fantastic future. All these experiences are focused on how a writer, producer, director, or entrepreneur can use the emerging possibilities to create original television now and in the coming decade.
Television today is better than ever. From The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, Sex and the City to Girls, and Modern Family to Louie, never has so much quality programming dominated our screens. Exploring how we got here, acclaimed TV critic David Bianculli traces the evolution of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the Western, the animated series, the medical drama, and the variety show. In each genre he selects five key examples of the form to illustrate its continuities and its dramatic departures. Drawing on exclusive and in-depth interviews with many of the most famed auteurs in television history, Bianculli shows how the medium has evolved into the premier form of visual narrative art. Includes interviews with: MEL BROOKS, MATT GROENING, DAVID CHASE, KEVIN SPACEY, AMY SCHUMER, VINCE GILLIGAN, AARON SORKIN, MATTHEW WEINER, JUDD APATOW, LOUIS C.K., DAVID MILCH, DAVID E. KELLEY, JAMES L. BROOKS, LARRY DAVID, KEN BURNS, LARRY WILMORE, AND MANY, MANY MORE
In this book, esteemed television executive and Harvard lecturer Ken Basin offers a comprehensive overview of the business, financial, and legal structure of the U.S. television industry, as well as its dealmaking norms. Written for working or aspiring creative professionals who want to better understand the entertainment industry — as well as for executives, agents, managers, and lawyers looking for a reference guide — The Business of Television presents a readable, in-depth introduction to rights and talent negotiations, intellectual property, backend deals, licensing, streaming platforms, international production, and much more. The book also includes breakdowns after each chapter summarizing deal points and points of negotiation, a glossary, a list of referenced cases, and a wealth of real-world examples to help readers put the material into context.
Featuring season 1&2 script extracts, exclusive cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes photography, and production notes, this volume includes detailed sketches of the murder scenes and sets as well as food stylist designs of Hannibal's most infamous dinner parties.
This all-new edition of the best-selling guide The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap provides readers with the tools for creating, writing, and managing your own hit streaming series. Combining his 30+ years as a working screenwriter and professor, industry veteran Neil Landau expertly unpacks essential insights to the creation of a successful show and takes readers behind the scenes with exclusive and enlightening interviews with showrunners from some of TV’s most lauded series, including Fargo, Better Call Saul, Watchmen, Insecure, Barry, Money Heist, Succession, Ozark, Schitt’s Creek, Euphoria, PEN15, and many more. From conception to final rewrite, The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to create a series that won’t run out of steam after the first few episodes. This groundbreaking guide features an eResource with additional interviews and bonus materials. So grab your laptop, dig out that stalled spec script, and buckle up. Welcome to the fast lane.
Imagine the greatest week of television ever. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, TV GUIDE has done just that. Picking and choosing from classic programs, unforgettable characters, hilarious moments and broadcast-interrupting tragedies, TV GUIDE has created in this deluxe and nostalgic history the ultimate week of programming. Here are fifty years of riveting innovation distilled into one unforgettable book. From Saturday morning cartoons through prime time and late night, "Fifty Years of Television pays tribute to hundreds of the most important shows of all time. More than 250 color and black-and-white photographs capture the giants of TV in their prime--from "The Great One," Jackie Gleason, to his latter-day descendant Homer Simpson, from Jack Webb of "Dragnet to James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos. The exciting, graphic covers of TV GUIDE offer a fantastic voyage through generations of pop culture. More than 400 collectible covers are included, featuring the work of artists such as Charles Addams, Salvador Dali, Al Hirschfield, Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol. Landmark essays from the pages of TV GUIDE by Oprah Winfrey, John F. Kennedy, Alex Haley and other American icons shed light on the seductive power of the medium. In original interviews, some of TV's best known and most beloved personalities reminisce about the shows that made the country tune in. A sweeping appreciation of TV, this is the ultimate book of its kind.
This publication reflects the changes in television, both domestically and internationally and is a useful guide to the legal, economic, and production aspects of the industry.
Examines social and cultural phenomena through the lens of different television shows We all have opinions about the television shows we watch, but television criticism is about much more than simply evaluating the merits of a particular show and deeming it ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Rather, criticism uses the close examination of a television program to explore that program’s cultural significance, creative strategies, and its place in a broader social context. How to Watch Television brings together forty original essays from today’s leading scholars on television culture, writing about the programs they care (and think) the most about. Each essay focuses on a particular television show, demonstrating one way to read the program and, through it, our media culture. The essays model how to practice media criticism in accessible language, providing critical insights through analysis—suggesting a way of looking at TV that students and interested viewers might emulate. The contributors discuss a wide range of television programs past and present, covering many formats and genres, spanning fiction and non-fiction, broadcast and cable, providing a broad representation of the programs that are likely to be covered in a media studies course. While the book primarily focuses on American television, important programs with international origins and transnational circulation are also covered. Addressing television series from the medium’s earliest days to contemporary online transformations of television, How to Watch Television is designed to engender classroom discussion among television critics of all backgrounds.
