Showrunner Rule #184: Execs have 2, 4… maybe 6 shows to think about. You only have 1 & your show only has YOU. So… defend your show.
Showrunner Rule #185: Moment you get inkling you might use actor you down “own” (regular) pin’m. Nothing kills story like actor absentitus. Pinning” actor means calling agent to say, “Don’t let them take another job without letting us know first.”
Showrunner Rule #186: Strange phenomenon that actors net/stud casting directors consider “gets” are known by general public as, “Wait, WHO?”
Showrunner Rule #187 Best moment in script is invariably dialogle-less. It’s the look, clue, image that ties whole episode together.
Showrunner Rule #188: Identify that moment on set when fixing a performance in post is more efficient then fighting to get it on the day. You're not ever making any one episode, you're ALWAYS making a season...and need to stay focused on the long-haul.
Showrunner Rule #189 : Ideal staff = 3 people who can write the crap out of the show. 1 person great at covering set. 1 person who can warm up cuts. 1 person who keeps room on task & 1 person who just makes you laugh. Everyone else… is gravy.
Showrunner Rule #191: You’re gunna have to write the @#$@$@#$ finale. Cause its your show, sure, but also… cause everyone is running on fumes.
Showrunner Rule #192: If your agents are spending the day trying to get a rise outta someone else’s agent… make someone else’s agent yours*.
(*Younger writers ask about the "CAAn't" idiocy)
Showrunner Rule #193: Can’t establish every color for character in pilot. Gotta get all the blue filled in before grabbing the red crayon.
Showrunner Rule #194: Procedurals tend to have A, B stories & a C runner. Soaps, maybe A-D (w/ an E runner.) Have an F story? You F’d up.
Showrunner Rule #195: Don’t HOVER over your staff. They need to know its safe to talk… and vent… and worry… even if its about YOU.
Showrunner Rule #196: With every day a script/outline is late… quiet panic sets in. Same exact script ON TIME, gets 1/2 the notes.
Showrunner Rule #197: Don’t let day end without stepping into every writer’s office and checking in. So they know you haven’t forgotten them and you know they haven’t dipped into “what are we doing” despair.
Showrunner Rule #199: Stories are all LINEAR (A to B to C to D) but you’re in control of order in which you REVEAL STORY (B to C to D to A).
Showrunner Rule #200: Little things matter a lot. Doing notes in BLUE instead of RED makes ideas feel like collaborations not edicts.
Showrunner Rule #201: INS/OUTS of scenes are opportunities for character (especially in procedurals) amidst gack. If 1st line is plot, rethink.
Showrunner Rule #202: If you see the typo in this tweet in less then 3 seconds, you have what it takes to be a script coordinator.
Showrunner Rule #203: Figure out which phone calls don’t REQUIRE you and delegate. 15 minutes you save is 15 minutes you need…to pee.
Showrunner Rule #204: Never be shocked when smallest detail comes your way. Does character X wear her watch on left or right hand?
Showrunner Rule #205: Hire actors who play objectives not attitudes. And double hire actors who know how to shift tactics mid scene.
Showrunner Rule #206: Pick audition scenes less than two pages, ’cause actors have it tough & learning lines just to be judged is a BRUTAL life.
Showrunner Rule #207: If there’s a holiday on Friday, Hollywood shuts down on Thursday… at lunch… if not before. If there’s a holiday on Thursday… it’s Katy bar the door starting about Tuesday at 3:11PM.
Showrunner Rule #208: Production trumps Perfection. Meaning… get your LP, PD and Other PD the damn outline and script EARLY so they can work.
Holding material for fear of being judged, means every decision gets made in panic mode.
Showrunner Rule #209: Meet your children where they are, not where you thought they'd be. This is not an analogy. This is not about television. This is just something I've learned.
Showrunner Rule #210: Writers are like dogs, hard to teach new tricks once old & well trained/scarred by their owners in the puppy years.
Showrunner Rule #211: No matter how much you TRY to communicate to staff, you’ll forget something vital; like one of the sets burned down.*
(*Please note, no ACTUAL set on current show burned down during the writing of the last tweet. Or if it did… I don’t yet know it.)
Showrunner Rule #212: Significant upside to location based show is that you’ll invariably get more done from hotel room than from office.
Showrunner Rule #213: Judge room by how fast/well story is broken compared to lone writer. Great rooms 1/2 the time. Bad rooms never fini—
Showrunner Rule #214: When on location, before going to sleep, figure out how shower works. Not something you leave for Monday at 5:15AM. Also, the bath soap and the mouth wash are often very similar shapes of green. In the dark this can come back to HAUNT you.
Showrunner Rule #216: Single scene locations are production killers. Costs $ and you spend as much time loading in & out as shooting art.
Showrunner Rule #217: Empower set-covering writer to CALL WHEN THERE’S AN ISSUE. Episodes ARE saved with, “So, we may have a problem…”
Showrunner Rule #218: Moment your character lets audience know of a decision, that arc is over. LOTTA ways to organically keep choice in flux.
Showrunner Rule #219: Feast on mythos like Yogi Bear with a pic-a-nic basket. Mythos keeps the loyal viewer from “I’ll just watch later.”
Showrunner Rule #220: Gotta write scenes for the sets ya built. Only have two walls? Limit movement and know you can’t have an angry face off.
Showrunner Rule #221: Cutting dialogue won’t solve board issues. Cutting COVERAGE will. Same scene with 1 less character will save an hour.
Showrunner Rule #222: Giving character NAME in script means better actor. After all, would YOU rather be… Angry Janitor or Gerard?
Showrunner Rule #223: Shows live in 3 concurrent timelines. What’s on air… what’s being shot… what’s being broken. The trick is to be making the same show in all 3, even though rules may have changed as lesson are learned.
Showrunner Rule #224: Worst time to cast significant guest role? Pilot season (Feb-Mar), when every actor you want, wants their own show.
Showrunner Rule #225: Episode success more bout 1/2hour retention then overall number. Network must get audience to the show, writer/director/actors gotta keep them for the whole hour.
Showrunner Rule 226 In network environ, hafta think bout season two DURING season one. That or resign yourself to hiatus that’s 38 hours long.
Showrunner Rule #227: Every meeting to discuss promotion robs time from writing show to promote. But no promo, no show-mo. So go, yo?
Showrunner Rule #228: When you have 3 clues to get you to the same plot move, cut 2. TV is the most efficient art form since the haiku.
Showrunner Rule #229: Never forget that nothing really matters until the close up. Scenes that SUX in the wide, can sing in coverage.
Showrunner Rule #230: A staff is essentially a tribe. Choose well and survive the barren winter. Choose badly and starve before the thaw.
Showrunner Rule #231: Page 42 is darkest moment in drama script. You’re miles past the “layup” cold open scenes and the plot which you and the room never REALLY figured out... has just reared it's ugly head. #LuvTheGuyOnPage42
Showrunner Rule #231A: Best feeling in the wide world, filling that plot hole on page 42 with something you discover on page 51. #TheGuyOnPage51
Showrunner Rule #232: Lead character is defined by X, which is why she does A, B, and C differently than any other character on television.
Showrunner Rule #233: Demand staff ASK FOR HELP. Nothing worse than “me do” writer who insists on writing every word then turns in shatty draft a day late. Job as producer is to PRODUCE & that may mean assists from others.
Showrunner Rule #234: The heartbeat of a script should be obvious by page 5. If it isn’t clear (and subtle is fine) go back and rebreak.
Showrunner Rule #235: Remind cast regulars that while this may be their 80th time doing “this scene,” it is guest casts first. No fucking around.
Showrunner Rule #236: TV is truly a “forest through the trees medium”. The little stuff you obsess upon (& should obsess upon) is so much less important than PRIMAL CHOICES. What’s your drive, who’s your character. Headlines always win.
Showrunner Rule #237: Keep writer close during edit. She/He was on set… knows dailies… will be able to find that “all is not lost” take.
Showrunner Rule #238: Unavoidable tension between writers & episodic director. Former knows show’s intentions and deep history. Latter wants freedom to do what. Difficult balancing act to make collaboration work for both parties & show.
Showrunner Rule #239: Think of script as “what you’d take in a fire.” Write down what’s ESSENTIAL, everything else will just weigh you down.
Showrunner Rule 241: Let the moon be your inspiration, ’cause you can get pages out at 11PM or 4AM, but 9–6 — the day — never gonna happen.
Showrunner Rule #242: By end of season, when everyone’s exhausted… split scripts. 26 pages ‘steada 52 is sweet manna from Heaven. #Amen
Showrunner Rule #243: From temp ADR recorded in editing to one sentence email about new character, never forget: YOU’RE ALWAYS SELLING.
Showrunner Rule #244: Act outs & story lines: you control. Normal human frailty that WILL disturb set: out of your hands & sometimes fatal.
Showrunner Rule #245: Space between WHAT & WHY is the “maddening divide”. Ratings go down, because TOO MUCH experimentation or NOT ENOUGH*?
*Ha-ha. Remember RATINGS. Ha-ha-ha-ha...
Showrunner Rule #246 Trait of great writer… ability to set written script aside & re-imagine story. Pages ARE THERE, so… no panic.
Showrunner Rule #247: Write for the episode you dream of. Rewrite for the budget and circumstances you’re faced with.
Showrunner Rule #248: When forced to cut for time, look at action scenes. Few secs won’t be missed & shorter cuts makes for greater energy anyway.
Showrunner Rule #249: On net shows “hiatus” is a misnomer. With super short turn around & decisions that MUST be made, its more a ‘half-atus”.
Showrunner Rule #250: The sight of “second lunch” is like an oasis in the desert… and a sign you’re miles from the promise land.
Showrunner Rule #251: Lots of depts promoting your show, some of which may not know what’s up in writers room. Watch/read EVERYTHING.
Showrunner Rule #252: Be there for last catered meal of season. They serve the best food… so you’ll remember & rehire for next year. :)
Showrunner Rule #253: At end of episode pitch, you should be able to easily identify 3 scenes that will comprise the “trailer”.
Showrunner Rule #254: Goal is to deliver the show at budget # — one cent. Over is bad. Under is bad. Don’t use, you lose it going forward.
Showrunner Rule #255: If you try to anticipate notes, what you’ll get is sludge. Suddenly you’re breaking story with the aim of avoiding something. Don’t worry about them or what they might think or what their notes MIGHT be. Just ask, what’s interesting and what comes next.
Jeffrey Lieber
Martyn Pedler
David Reynolds
Julie Saunders