How shitting on a table could help your sitcom scripts

Some takeouts from a TV comedy panel at Just For Laughs

Streaming has changed the game in several ways. First, in allowing serialised comedies such as The Good Place, as the ability to catch up on past episodes means audiences won’t get left behind if they miss the weekly broadcast.
Second it allows comedies to build up a following. David Sleven of NBC said: ‘Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld were notoriously low rated when they started, then there would be a summer of repeats and they would tick up. Streaming is he new summer. Our belief is that good content will find a way and raise ti the top through the see of options.’
It’s not all about ratings as to which shows live or die. ‘Fandom plays a part,’ said Christine Walters of truTV, explaining if viewers are deeply engaged with a show it can probably be monetised.
On the flipside, social media means there can be criticism of shows before they have even aired, such as Netflix’s forthcoming series Insatiable, which has been slated online for ‘fat shaming’ (including by British-based Danish comic Sofie Hagen, here) before a frame has been seen. K.P. Anderson of Pygmy Wolf Productions called it a byproduct of the ‘Comicon-ification of culture’ where consumers feel an ownership of programming. Samata Narra from Fox said ‘people are so hungry for content and the reaction to it’ that they jump the gun.
The tradition of writers submitting ‘spec’ scripts for existing shows to get noticed is outdated now TV seeks more individual voices rather than formulaic studio sitcoms. Narra said she tells writers never to do this, an attitude leftover from her days as a manager. ‘I’d rather represent a showrunner than someone who’s going to be a staff writer on somebody else’s show,’ she said. But Walters said there was still a role for spec scripts: ‘If you are doing a second series you want someone who will fall in line with the tone established by the first.’
Network executives are trying to be less prescriptive in what they are seeking. ‘I like to be surprised, said Colin Davis of TBS. 'I’m very careful not to say "we’re looking for a new Broad City" because he best we’ll get is second to Broad City.’
TV sometimes uses gimmicks to get viewers to warm to characters, ‘It takes time to develop intimate relationships with your characters,’ said Davis. Citing series such as Wrecked, pitched as a Lost parody to lure viewers, he admitted: ‘We use smoke and mirrors to hook you until you develop those relationships.’
Comedians tend to mess up pitches by not acting like comedians. Anderson said: ‘If you’re going to get me interested in a project you’re the first wave of entertainment. Comedians come in feeling that pressure to show they’re responsible. But [executives] want you to entertain them, tell them the characters, and the story. They want to laugh and be moved by it so they can sell it upstairs.’ And the panel agreed that no pitch need be longer than 12-15 minutes.
* The most important thing to convey in a pitch is why the creator feels compelled to make it. ‘A lot of times, their "why" is "because they want to sell the show",’ said Walters. ‘And that’s not a reason.’
Character is still the most important factor in a show’s chances, especially making sure they are all different. Traditionally the example has been The Wizard Of Oz, where you could tell which character was talking by covering their name – and because they all have clearly defined needs and motivations. But Narra said she had her own test: ‘I always said to my writers, "If someone took a shit on the table, how would your characters react?"