Writing Sitcoms

by Johnny Byrne, Marcus Powell

Almost every writer, whether professional or beginner, has thought of a good sitcom idea at one time or another, but fleshing that idea out is a long and complicated process of character development, plotting, dialogue writing and rewriting and then putting the whole package together in a way that will attract producers.
In this book, successful sitcom writers John Byrne and Marcus Powell break that process down into a series of easy to follow steps. With chapters devoted to concept, characters and plot through to proposals, commissioning and production, Writing Sitcoms covers every aspect needed for success in the Uk.

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2003

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging, practical and accessible overview of writing sitcoms. It shows its age a little though, being published in 2003: it focuses on traditional multi-camera sitcoms rather than more modern single camera shows like Spaced and The Office, which had both aired at the time of writing. So following the advice here could result in you writing some very talky sitcoms (but their championing of Shelley prompted me to check it out on DVD, which I'm grateful for). The odd strange error / omission though - for instance a summary of great sitcom writers includes an entry for Esmonde and Larbey, but curiously neglects to mention one of their biggest hits, Ever Decreasing Circles. Overall though it's worth having this on the shelf if you have an interest in the subject.

[Berrin Mina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across this book at my uni's library. I was so excited to read it that I couldn't even wait to get home so I started reading on the tram. I'm trying to write my own sitcom, and it's not everyday you find a book about writing one! At first, the book didn't give me what I was looking for but as someone who did their bachelor's in literature I don't immadiatley send the books to the Spanish inquisition. I tend to give them a chance. So I kept reading it.

The book provides an insight into the industry (UK and US industries to be more specific) and if you read between the lines you'll see just how difficult it actually is to write and sell a sitcom. Even though I believe I learned some valuable information, for example sharing pages from the writers' own sitcoms was an informative way to illustrate what is acceptable and what is not or how characters are the heart of a sitcom, I don't think this book is particularly useful for contemporary sitcom writers because the industry has been changing and evolving rapidly; it is more inclusive now.
Still I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in seeing how sitcoms were written back in the day and how it all started. It feels more like a time-travel read for sitcom writing.