When I started taking notes on TV shows during the pandemic, one of the things that I really got into was creating lists of takeaway lessons from shows. And often, even with shows that have long gone off the air, I found myself presenting it in the way I titled today's blog. When I started in the business a decade ago, you still saw people writing specs of different shows with the view that you could shop those around to get work. I did a MODERN FAMILY episode for one class that I absolutely adored. I barely remember it now but it involved Phil and a very young Luke building something STAR WARS related.
(I also did a spec of WALKING DEAD that I thought was really bold, until someone pointed out to me that Rick and Carl having to kill a hospital ward filled with child zombies was just way too far for the show, let alone the ABC/Disney Writers' Workshop application. Edgy is fine, but you still have to know the rules of your show--and your producers/fellowship company.)
Today I don't hear much about people doing specs to get work like this. But it's still very useful when watching a show to think about what are some of the key elements of different shows. You learn new techniques that way. Also who knows, maybe someday you get to meet the showrunner or a writer on staff and your knowledge comes in handy.
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, FX's vampire comedy, has just returned. I haven't seen the new season yet, but I binged the first two seasons during lockdown. And I took plenty of notes.
So this week I'm going to give you Five Writing Things to Know/Take From WWDITS.
TAKEAWAY ONE: The External World Setting is Key to the Comedy.
Sometimes WWDITS draws its humor from the vampire world. Sometimes it comes from the experience of living together. Sometimes it has something to do with someone's past.
But to my mind the strongest comedic elements involve the characters' interactions with the normal world--dealing with the city council; dealing with neighbors; Lazlo hiding out in that small Pennsylvania town in episode 206, which was nominated for an Emmy. The three main vampires have so little idea how to deal with ordinary human reality, and at the same time they have no idea that that is the case. And it's in that gap between their understanding and reality that so much funny stuff happens. In 102, when they go to the City Council and announce they're taking over Staten Island--it just doesn't get funnier than that.
Guillermo is often key to these bits. He's basically the Pam or Jim of WWDITS, the reaction shot the show loves to cut to when something batshit is happening. Those moments usually add another laugh or a deeper laugh onto the first. He's a sweetener.
Colin Robinson is an interesting bridge character in this regard. Unlike the others his vampirism is entirely based in normal world realities. So the game the show plays with him is in a sense the opposite of the other vampires; where they're always the fools, Colin is the secret master. And what makes his bits funny is often in the way the show spins what seem like recognizable normal behaviors as vampiric, or in the ways he'll suddenly take on a more traditional vampiric look or gesture for just a second, often in the background. It's so out of place in that world and Colin's overall behavior it's always good for a laugh.
Now You Try!
Let's say you want to develop pitch ideas for WWDITS, or a show that similarly is going to draw comedy from how crazy characters deal with real world situations.
Try this: create a list of at least 20 ordinary situations from your day to day life--dealing with a contractor; dealing with a self-parking car; going to the drive through. See which ones pop for you. What is about them? Is there a story or stories in there?
