Television 101

When looking at film and television, it is easy to think that the two are made the same way. While they are both ways to use the moving image to tell stories, the way that TV shows are made is significantly different than films. This guide takes a look at how TV shows are made and what makes for a good series. 

Difference Between Film and TV

First, what are the basic differences between film and TV? Film, or movies, are usually contained, complete stories. They typically tell a whole story in 90 to 180 minutes with a satisfying ending. Almost every film follows a 3 act-structure that breaks up a film into a beginning, middle, and end. Some types of films include live-action feature films, animated films, and documentaries.

Television, in comparison, is a lot more open-ended and has more variety. It is a longer form of storytelling. Series typically have multiple episodes that tell stories about its characters that are grouped by seasons. Every season of a series will tell different arcs or storylines. TV episodes normally follow a 4 or 5-act structure, unlike film. This is because TV was developed out of the radio broadcast system that had ad breaks so many shows today still follow this format with natural places for the episode to break for an advertisement. Some types of TV series are dramas, sitcoms, cartoons, miniseries, and reality. 

Who Leads The Show? 

One of the biggest differences between TV and film is who is the creative force of the projects. In film, the director is the lead of the project. They guide the creative vision of the film and oversee all parts of the making of the film from pre-production to post-production. While they might have a producer or studio overseeing them, ultimately most film projects are led by their director. Some well-known directors include Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Indiana Jones), Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Great Gerwig (Barbie, Little Women), and Sofia Coppola (Pricilla). 

In TV, the highest authority is the showrunner. This is typically the person who comes up with the premise of a show and therefore the main creative force behind the film. They supervise all parts of the production from development to post and are often the lead writers. On television shows, directors don’t usually direct a whole season. Instead, different directors are brought on to direct each episode. Directors in TV are usually freelance and are brought on to direct specific episodes, mainly for blocking and directing actors. Some well-known Showrunners include Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian), and Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story). 

Structure of Working on a TV Series

There are a few key practices that allow production of a TV series to run smoothly:

1. Developing of the Script: 

When developing the script for television, there is typically a group of writers, also known as the writers’ room. When series are created, the showrunner is normally the one who writes the pilot episode; however, after that, shows will bring on a team of writers who help write all the episodes in the season so that they have a good understanding of the characters and their storylines and create a cohesive season. The writers’ room is made of staff writers who all work together to create the series’ structure and beats. They write the scripts to see the season come together. The showrunner is the lead of the writers’ room, and while there are more specific job titles like staff writers or writers’ room assistants, everyone else in the room will typically have the same amount of say and ability to pitch ideas, and the showrunner decides what ultimately happens. For this reason, writing for a TV series is a highly collaborative process.

2. Scheduling:

Shooting a feature-length film will typically take about three months to complete. Depending on the project, the timeline could be squeezed or extended. Independent films with less money and resources may only be shot in one month. Big studio films that have a lot of traveling to do or intricate production pieces may take more than three months to complete. That said, for TV, they are on a much quicker turnaround schedule because they have to shoot so many episodes. One episode is typically shot within a week and completed episodes may already be airing while they are still shooting episodes. 

3. Developing and Filming at the Same Time:

Because television is a long form of media and has such a quick turnaround, the most common way that series get made is by having an episode filmed by the production crew while the development team is working on the next few episodes so that once the episode is finished, the production team can immediately get working on shooting the next episode. This keeps the workflow very intense but working in television and series can become like working in a well-oiled machine. Since there is so much overlap in development and production, there will typically be multiple teams of people working on the same show at the same time. This is why directors are brought on per episode and normally do not direct multiple episodes in a row because while one director is directing, another one can be doing prep for the next episode and be ready to shoot the minute the first director has finished. 

What makes Television Stories Work?

Storytelling for television is a lot different than in film. That means that there are certain things to keep in mind when developing a TV series. Keeping these things in mind will ensure that you are making the best series possible. 

One of the most important things that will make or break a series is the characters. While characters are important to both film and TV; having good character characterization is vital to a TV series because audiences won’t want to watch an uncompelling character for more than one episode. In TV, you want to make sure you have strong characters who can have multiple arcs and lots of growth throughout the series. The emphasis in TV will always be more on the characters than the plot. 

Another thing that will set up a series for success is having a compelling premise and world. This means that the core of the series should be very clear and interesting. Examples of this are Breaking Bad where the lead character turns to the drug world as a result of his cancer diagnosis or Abbott Elementary where a group of dedicated teachers work to give their students the best education they can in an underfunded public school. These premises help guide the world that the characters live in, help drive the plot, and act as a hook to draw people to watch multiple episodes of it. 

One final thing that is important to a series is consistency. Because there are always so many people working on a television show, and there can often be turnover between seasons, it is important to keep in mind consistency. Even when there is a different writer writing an episode, that episode has to have the same tone and feel as the past episodes, otherwise, audiences will be left confused. There needs to be consistency between episodes and seasons so that the show feels like a cohesive work of art, whether or not the same people work on it or not. 

How is the Industry Changing?

While all the above is still true in many parts of the television industry, there have been a lot of shifts in recent years with the popularity of streaming and new technology. The line between film and series has started to blend together, and, as a result, the ways that film and TV are now made and sold are as similar as they have ever been. 

With the popularization of limited series in the past few years, there is now a sector of TV that is shot like film. These limited series are made in the style of films where the whole season is developed before principal shooting begins, and many are shot more in the style of film. With that though, since film and television have been becoming more similar, there are aspects of film production that have taken a little from TV strategies as well. Sometimes, the quality difference between the two is indistinguishable today. And that is not to say that one is better than the other but only that while, in the past, there has been a clear distinction between film and TV, that distinction has lessened.

Television originally stemmed from radio and radio shows. Series would have long seasons and it was often a medium where they would just do what worked with radio shows. It was the place for things to be remade, be it radio shows or films. But now it has evolved into so much more than that. Studios still want to work on projects that are based on something that audiences are already familiar with because that’s what sells, but there is more variety and fewer episodes so that they can have higher quality. 

The business models of television have been disrupted with streaming; people can now binge watch and they like to do that. Seasons can be dropped all at once, which disrupts the way that TV series was originally made. That changes the way that people working in the TV industry must create. That said, all these changes may not be completely permanent. Everything in the film industry swings like a pendulum. In 2022, they had the most shows in production ever and entertainment was oversaturated with series content. Two years later, the number of productions has significantly decreased, almost by half. So it is hard to tell where exactly the television industry is going. That said, there are always changes, and the industry will continue to evolve so looking ahead is very important to anyone trying to get into the industry. 

The world of television is so fascinating and there are a lot of nuances to learn about it that can’t be covered in one article. Getting out and learning through working in the industry will give you a firsthand view of the way that TV works. Continuing to learn about the industry with books like Running the Show: Television From the Inside by Jeff Melvoin will also help you prepare for a career in the television industry. 

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