Writing for Television

(EGL 276)

Writing for episodic television runs the spectrum of genre, style, and content — from The Sopranos to The Simpsons, from Mad Men to Desperate Housewives. In this course, students will learn how to analyze television series for concept and structure in order to outline, write, and workshop new material. Class sessions will explore the differences between one-hour drama and half-hour comedy, as well as cover series research, basic script formatting, and the different requirements for sample “spec” scripts versus original pilots. Students will have the opportunity to outline and workshop script pages, choosing the series (drama or comedy) to write for, or creating an original pilot of their own.

Adam Tobin, Screenwriter-in-Residence; Lecturer, Dept of Art & Art History, Film & Media

Adam Tobin created the sitcom About a Girl and the reality show Best Friend’s Date for Viacom’s The N channel. Tobin has written for ABC, Lifetime, ESPN, Court TV, Discovery, and the NBA. He worked as a story analyst for Jim Henson Pictures and ran pitch seminars at Blue Sky Studios. He received an MFA in screenwriting from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.