How to write a sitcom

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One of the ways in which I did research on how to write a good sitcom was too watch interviews from sitcom writers and experts. Below are links to the interviews that I watched and the key factors on how to write a sitcom.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ZMzglhjOg

The interview was with Mark Roberts who was one of the head writers for Two and a Half Men and also one of the writers for Mike and Molly. 
- He says that a TV show lives and breathes on the characters. They should be three dimensional and lovable so people should want to keep seeing them
- It should be emotionally based rather than situational
- Also a good skill to have as writer is to have a good ear for creating voices


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTl_xjOyZsc

- He believes that there is a difference between comedy and a sense of humour 
- a joke should make the person think about it: why is it funny? 
- comedy is about empathy. People want to see humanity and struggle. PERSONA
-you should never be above the audience 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvHRAy4YdbA

1. Introductory scene (introduce main goal of protagonist) 
2. Introduce protagonist main obstacle 
3. Plan to overcome the obstacle 
(so far this happens in the first 5 minutes of the episode) 
4. Hit a roadblock and you attempt plan B 
- protagonist will take action to address new obstacle 
- each obstacle should set up the protagonist to display their signature character trait 
- life gets more absurd after that 
(this is the middle of the episode) 
5. 2-5 minutes away from end. The final shot, the protagonists final attempt 
6. was it a success or failure
7. how will it affect the protagonist in the long term? (everything returns to normal so the next episode can begin on a blank slate) 
(end of episode) 
Also, there are B or C plots which follow the same formula but are given less attention


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNTxSBgDNp4

- who, what, when, where, how and why
- who? - comedic character, find the flaw and play it up 
-"the secret to humour is surprise" we laugh at things which are out of place
- when writing shift from observation to imagination; think of the what if? 
- we usually draw on things which irritate, frustrate ad humiliate us 
- Use the rule of three or the zig zig zag; put your punch at the end of the line 
- words with a k sound catch our ear 
- writing is all about trial and error and re-writing 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Tf37md8I4

Ken Levine; Cheers, MASH, Simpsons, Fraiser and Everybody loves Raymond 
- don't worry about plot but about characters. Find an obstacle for them, what do they need and make them you story 


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