Here are 100 books that Writing the TV Drama Series fans have personally recommended if you like
Writing the TV Drama Series.
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I’m a professional screenwriter with a passion for story structure. I’ve worked on film & TV projects for more than 25 years – not only as a writer for independent producers and studios such as Warner and Universal – but also as a development exec and creative consultant. Over time, I was shocked to see how many talented storytellers felt stuck between prescriptive paradigms and a “seat-of-the-pants” approach. So I set out to fill that void and defined a more flexible yet powerful method in my first book, Screenwriting Unchained, which I’ve now enthusiastically applied to TV series. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
Navigating the TV industry can be intimidating. Bob Levy does an amazing job of providing an overview of the U.S. TV development process, from a producer’s point of view.
He gives a very clear and detailed explanation of the industry, the processes, and the culture. I love how he explains the terminology, the timelines, the people involved, yet never makes it boring. Levy has worked in the TV industry for more than 30 years, and it shows.
Development is a large and central part of the American TV industry, and yet the details of how it works - who makes development decisions and why, where ideas for new shows come from, even basics like the differences between what TV studios and TV networks do - remain elusive to many.
In this book, lecturer and acclaimed television producer Bob Levy offers a detailed introduction to television development, the process by which the Hollywood TV industry creates new scripted series. Written both for students and industry professionals, Television Development serves as a comprehensive introduction to all facets of the…
I’m a professional screenwriter with a passion for story structure. I’ve worked on film & TV projects for more than 25 years – not only as a writer for independent producers and studios such as Warner and Universal – but also as a development exec and creative consultant. Over time, I was shocked to see how many talented storytellers felt stuck between prescriptive paradigms and a “seat-of-the-pants” approach. So I set out to fill that void and defined a more flexible yet powerful method in my first book, Screenwriting Unchained, which I’ve now enthusiastically applied to TV series. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
This fantastic book is full of useful tips on the craft, contains many interviews and is thoroughly documented.
It’s especially relevant for streaming. I love to discuss theory, but one of the best ways to learn is from practitioners. That’s why I’m a big fan of interviews. Not only do they give you a chance to learn from the masters, but they’re also inspiring. I always go back to my own writing with more energy when I’ve listened to someone talk passionately about their work.
Neil Landau’s book is a great resource, and it was very hard to decide between this one and The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap, another excellent work of his featuring interviews.
TV Writing On Demand: Creating Great Content in the Digital Era takes a deep dive into writing for today's audiences, against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving TV ecosystem. Amazon, Hulu and Netflix were just the beginning. The proliferation of everything digital has led to an ever-expanding array of the most authentic and engaging programming that we've ever seen. No longer is there a distinction between broadcast, cable and streaming. It's all content. Regardless of what new platforms and channels will emerge in the coming years, for creators and writers, the future of entertainment has never looked brighter.
I’m a professional screenwriter with a passion for story structure. I’ve worked on film & TV projects for more than 25 years – not only as a writer for independent producers and studios such as Warner and Universal – but also as a development exec and creative consultant. Over time, I was shocked to see how many talented storytellers felt stuck between prescriptive paradigms and a “seat-of-the-pants” approach. So I set out to fill that void and defined a more flexible yet powerful method in my first book, Screenwriting Unchained, which I’ve now enthusiastically applied to TV series. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
This is a short but excellent volume, dedicated to the design of a TV series.
It contains a brief history of U.S. Television, which in itself is enough to justify reading the book. As the title suggests, it focuses particularly on writing a pilot, a key part of any series project. William Rabkin is a veteran showrunner with hundreds of hours of produced shows under his belt, yet I really enjoyed the conversational tone in his book.
Make sure you get the most recent version, as the first edition of this classic dates back to 2011 and Rabkin has updated his book since.
When I finished Writing the Pilot a few years back, I figured I’d managed to cram everything I had to say on the subject in that little 90-page package. But that was 2011, and in the years that have passed, a lot has changed about the television business.And when I say “a lot,” I mean everything. The way series are bought. The way series are conceived. The way stories are told. The way series are consumed. The kinds of stories that can be told. The limitations on content at every level. The limitations on form at every level. And maybe…
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
I’m a professional screenwriter with a passion for story structure. I’ve worked on film & TV projects for more than 25 years – not only as a writer for independent producers and studios such as Warner and Universal – but also as a development exec and creative consultant. Over time, I was shocked to see how many talented storytellers felt stuck between prescriptive paradigms and a “seat-of-the-pants” approach. So I set out to fill that void and defined a more flexible yet powerful method in my first book, Screenwriting Unchained, which I’ve now enthusiastically applied to TV series. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
This is the companion book for Des Doyle's acclaimed documentary with
the same title (also highly recommended).
Described as “the first ever
feature-length documentary to explore the world of U.S. television
showrunners and the creative
forces they employ”, the documentary is an insightful overview of the
TV creative process, featuring interviews with some of the best
showrunners in the business.
There is simply nothing that beats this if
you want to get a sense of how the industry works
and measure the stakes, the energy, the pressure, the creativity, the
professionalism, and the humor experienced or displayed by these
awe-inspiring storytellers.
The book features a foreword by Hart Hanson
(Showrunner of
Bones, The Finder, Backstrom), an introduction by Doyle, and expands on the interviews featured in the documentary.
Showrunners is an insider's guide to creating and maintaining a hit show in today's golden age of television. The official companion to the documentary Showrunners, this highly informative book features exclusive interviews with such acclaimed and popular showrunners as Joss Whedon, Damon Lindelof, Ronald D.Moore, Terence Winter, Bill Prady, and Jane Espenson.
Julian Friedmann is co-owner of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency and was the publisher of ScriptWriter magazine. At the agency, he has represented both book and scriptwriters for over 40 years and also acts as Executive Producer for and with clients. Julian is a TEDx speaker and is the author of the Make Money Screenwriting series, co-author of The Insider’s Guide to Writing for Television, and editor of two volumes on Writing Long-Running Television series.
He has taught at universities and film schools all over the world. He designed the MA in Television Scriptwriting at De Montfort University, and PILOTS (for developing long-running television series) for the EU MEDIA Programme.
There are numerous books on writing for TV but Yvonne’s book is eminently practical covering the basics and also the more complex and nuanced aspects like the relationship between writers and script editors. Given the importance of the streamers writing for TV is more important than ever.
A no-nonsense, direct down-the-lens look at the television industry written from the point of view of a television drama producer who's been there, done it, fought some battles and won the odd award. Written in an engaging, anecdotal tone, Writing for Television provides advice on:
Getting an agent
The type of writer television's looking for
The tool kit a television writer needs
The writer /script editor relationship
How to structure a storyline
How to write good treatments and outlines
Packed full of useful insights, links and information, the book includes interviews with successful television writers working today, pointers on how…
I’ve worked in the wonderful world of storytelling for the last thirty years. I’m an award-winning writer, Telly Award-winning screenwriter, acclaimed short filmmaker, educator, and creator suffering from occasional self-doubt. One of the greatest honors of my life is that I’ve been invited to judge the work of other writers in major competitions around the world. As a result, I’ve come into direct contact with thousands of writers. Many of them have stories trapped inside their minds that they think would make an excellent movie or television series. But screenwriting is incredibly structured, and the expectations of what a script should be can catch many newcomers off guard.
As the title suggests, this textbook covers a lot of what it takes to get into the screenwriting game. What I really love about this book, however, is how compartmentalized it is. If you don’t want to know about the business side, skip that section. Don’t care about character? Flip somewhere else. This makes it a valuable resource no matter where a writer is in the process. I’ll be honest: I’ve been writing scripts long enough that my favorite section of the book is the Formatting Guide.
There are so many nuances in how various scenes should be formatted that I sometimes need to go back and use this reference guide to make sure I’m not screwing anything up. New editions come out for this book regularly because the industry is constantly changing and incorporating new technologies. I’m betting money the next edition will include formatting for text messages.
The Screenwriter s Bible's 7th edition marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most popular, authoritative, and useful books on screenwriting. A standard by which other screenwriting books are measured, it has sold over 340,000 copies in its 25-year life. Always up-to-date and reliable, it contains everything that both the budding and working screenwriter need under one cover five books in one!
A Screenwriting Primer that provides a concise course in screenwriting basics
A Screenwriting Workbook that walks you through the complete writing process, from nascent ideas through final revisions
A Formatting Guide that thoroughly covers today's correct formats…
Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…
I grew up in a family of writers; my parents and three sisters were all successful writers, and I was the odd one out with a passion for teaching. I love to simplify, diagram, and make the complex graspable. And what’s not to like about a career in which people listen to you tell them what to do? I began writing after years of teaching, and my first novel was a mystery—a genre that no one in my family had yet written and which I’d been loving since my first Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie. Now, I combine the two: teaching and writing. Playing to both strengths and passing along what I’ve learned.
When I was struggling to write my first mystery novel, I realized that I hadn’t a clue what makes a mystery novel a compelling page-turner. My Beta readers thought that my main character was flat. A cipher. I needed to transform the manuscript into a story that made the reader care about the characters (especially the protagonist). Not just present a clever trail of clues and red herrings.
This book focuses on screenwriting, but what McKee says about plotting in general (three-act structure, scene structure, etc.) is completely applicable to writing a mystery novel, and he gives such practical advice. Through this book, I understood the importance of a character arc. Reassuringly, it’s not rocket science.
For more than 15 years, Robert McKee's students have been taking Hollywood's top honors. His "Story Seminar" is the world's ultimate seminar for screenwriters, filmmakers, and novelists. Now, Robert McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting reveals the award-winning methods of the man universally regarded as the world's premier teacher on screenwriting and story. With Hollywood and publishing companies paying record sums for great stories, and audiences clamoring for originality, McKee's Story gives you the strategies you need to win the war on clichés.
Story is about form, not formula. McKee's insights cut to the hidden sources…
My passion for story began while I was still in elementary school. I was an avid reader, taking the tram to the library whenever I could. I read biographies, short stories, comic books, and novels of all kinds. In college, I studied comparative literature, focusing on 19th and 20th-century novels in English and Spanish. I met many authors and was inspired to write my own stories. Eventually, this led to screenwriting as a career and then teaching and writing about screenwriting. I never abandoned my love of novels, publishing one of my first novels as a magazine for which I sold advertising to pay for printing.
This was my first introduction to the structure of films. It gave me a place to start as a screenwriter and helped me focus on what was important in organizing a screenplay.
I really liked how specific and simple it was in explaining what the author found in the thousands of screenplays he had read. I used it as a guide to create my first full-length screenplay, which got the attention of directors and production companies and kickstarted my career.
Hollywood's script guru teaches you how to write a screenplay in "the 'bible' of screenwriting" (The New York Times)—now celebrating forty years of screenwriting success!
Syd Field's books on the essential structure of emotionally satisfying screenplays have ignited lucrative careers in film and television since 1979. In this revised edition of his premiere guide, the underpinnings of successful onscreen narratives are revealed in clear and encouraging language that will remain wise and practical as long as audiences watch stories unfold visually—from hand-held devices to IMAX to virtual reality . . . and whatever comes next.
Julian Friedmann is co-owner of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency and was the publisher of ScriptWriter magazine. At the agency, he has represented both book and scriptwriters for over 40 years and also acts as Executive Producer for and with clients. Julian is a TEDx speaker and is the author of the Make Money Screenwriting series, co-author of The Insider’s Guide to Writing for Television, and editor of two volumes on Writing Long-Running Television series.
He has taught at universities and film schools all over the world. He designed the MA in Television Scriptwriting at De Montfort University, and PILOTS (for developing long-running television series) for the EU MEDIA Programme.
No-nonsense book about what makes a good script. Writers find it particularly difficult avoiding flashbacks and voice-overs, and can’t always find ways of showing rather than telling. Michael demonstrates how to build the obstacles so your sympathetic character has increasing problems battling against the odds before they finally achieve their goal.
“No one is better than Michael Hauge at finding what is most authentic in every moment of a story.” —Will Smith
“Michael Hauge is a story master, and this book is an absolute must have for anyone serious about telling great stories for the screen.” —DeVon Franklin, Vice-President of Production, Columbia Pictures
Concise, authoritative, and comprehensive, Writing Screenplays that Sell is the most complete guide available on the art, craft, and business of screenwriting for movies and television. Renowned Hollywood story consultant Michael Hauge—considered “one of the most sought after lecturers and script consultants in the U.S.” by Scriptwriter magazine—covers…
Julian Friedmann is co-owner of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency and was the publisher of ScriptWriter magazine. At the agency, he has represented both book and scriptwriters for over 40 years and also acts as Executive Producer for and with clients. Julian is a TEDx speaker and is the author of the Make Money Screenwriting series, co-author of The Insider’s Guide to Writing for Television, and editor of two volumes on Writing Long-Running Television series.
He has taught at universities and film schools all over the world. He designed the MA in Television Scriptwriting at De Montfort University, and PILOTS (for developing long-running television series) for the EU MEDIA Programme.
A wonderful book that looks at the psychological bases for the development of sophisticated characters in screenplays. Don’t be afraid of writing complex characters: they are more effective in engaging the audience and this book will help you achieve that.
The Science of Writing Characters is a comprehensive handbook to help writers create compelling and psychologically-credible characters that come to life on the page. Drawing on the latest psychological theory and research, ranging from personality theory to evolutionary science, the book equips screenwriters and novelists with all the techniques they need to build complex, dimensional characters from the bottom up. Writers learn how to create rounded characters using the 'Big Five' dimensions of personality and then are shown how these personality traits shape action, relationships and dialogue.
Throughout The Science of Writing Characters, psychological theories and research are translated into…