Whether you’re a screenwriter wanting to create an original series, a film school student aware that real careers are on television staffs, or a writer trying to break in, here is the complete guide to the unique craft of writing drama series for television.
Learn how the industry works from the experts who work in it, told with insight and wit by today’s top television writers and producers including Steven Bochco (Executive Producer: Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Blind Justice) and David Milch (Executive Producer: Deadwood, NYPD Blue).
Pamela Douglas, based in Los Angeles, is a winner of the Humanitas Prize and numerous other screenwriting awards and nominations including Emmy, Writers Guild of America, and American Women in Radio and Television. Her produced credits range from network movies to such dramatic series as A Year in the Life, Frank’s Place, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Trapper John, and many others. She was the creator of the acclaimed series, Ghostwriter. And she is a professor in the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she teaches screenwriting.
What people say
“Right now is the golden age of TV drama and Pamela Douglas’s Writing the TV Drama Series is far and away the best resource I know of for any writer wishing to work in this tremendously challenging and rewarding field.”
Daniel Petrie, Jr.,
President, Writers Guild of America, West and Oscar-nominated writer
“Remarkably comprehensive and up-to-date, Writing the TV Drama Series is a candid, enthusiastic introduction to the craft and culture of dramatic television.”
Jeff Melvoin,
Executive Producer, Alias, Northern Exposure
“The breadth and depth of practical advice on real-world writing should enlighten and inspire any aspiring TV drama writer. It should enlighten because it is clear, free of jargon and explains the business and the design of television dramas. The interviews with successful writers makes this book valuable all by themselves, but there’s so much more.”
Diane Carson, Ph.D.,
Editorial VP of University Film & Video Association