This past week I’ve been watching Master of None’s third season which, so far, is profoundly spectacular. It’s not nearly as funny as the first two seasons, but it also isn’t trying to be. Rather, it’s seeking, in every form, to tell a wholly human story.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

As a result, it’s quite heavy on the drama. Within the first three episodes, there’s miscarriages, infidelity, and divorce proceedings, all back to back. Naturally, it’s not a show meant to be binged. When you have a show which, with topics like this, threatens to be too depressing, you need to find…

Here’s a scene from a gem of a show I’ve recently found on Netflix- Feel Good. It’s funny, heartfelt, and attacks each topic with tenderness and humanity, while also maintaining a relatively lighthearted rom-com structure.

The Scene: Season 1, Episode 4 of Feel Good

The Writers: Mae Martin & Joe Hampson

Where to Watch: Netflix

Scene Context: Mae, while suffering from drug addiction, was kicked out by her mother when she was a teenager. Now an adult, Mae wants to make amends as part of her 12 step recovery program. Her mother, however, has never discussed this chapter of their…

Written By: Alan Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel, & Todd Philips

Scene Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TAGAPKuoGo

Scene Context:

Peter, because of Ethan, has been put on a no-fly list and now must travel cross-country with him if he hopes to see his wife give birth. Peter was just beat up, partly due to Ethan’s fake ID. Ethan’s father has recently died, and his overly simplistic personality is grating on Peter.

Scene Conflicts:

• Peter wants to ridicule Ethan’s acting ability.
• Ethan wants to prove he has the talent to make it in Hollywood.

Scene Outline:

1. Ethan asks if Peter’s okay. Calmly, Peter taunts Ethan for having a fake ID…

With my summer goals focused around expanding my portfolio and, mainly, working on spec scripts for upcoming fellowships, I’ve begun studying the shows I’ve been watching more than I usually do. If you’ve been following this blog, you’d know that I’ve recently gotten really into Killing Eve, so much so that this post is going to be my fifth mentioning of the show. Naturally, I figure this is a show worth working on a spec for.

Figuring out how to write a spec episode is hard, with their being little to no resources discussing exactly how to approach it. I…

You know a genre that almost always has wonderfully strong writing but often is undermined due to the assumed “lowbrow” nature of it’s work? Romantic comedies. These films take on the perilous task of telling a story which is both emotionally engaging while also being funny and relatively lighthearted. In hopes to better the name of this tragically misunderstood genre, I’m going to reviewing a scene from one of the most memorable romantic comedies I’ve seen- The Break-Up.

Scene Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bqhVqTuFO4

Written By: Jeremy Garelick & Jay Lavender

Scene Context:

Brooke and Gary have been dating for years, and have been living…

I’m still watching Killing Eve, and I’m happy to confirm that the show’s second season is just as surprising and fascinating as the first. Here, we have a scene that shows how well the show works even when people aren’t getting assassinated or chased down.

Written By: Emerald Fennell

Scene Comes From: Killing Eve, Season 2, Episode 3

Scene Context:

Eve’s relationship with her husband, Niko, has grown increasingly distant with the rise in her work. She barely knows anything about his job, or who he works with.

Scene Conflicts:

• Gemma is attracted to Niko, but hasn’t made a move because he’s married to…

As a culture, we have a bad habit of writing family films off as trivial or “easy” when, in many instances, they contain some of the most creative, fun, and carefully crafted stories you can find. Take The Mitchells vs. The Machines, a family film that, though ridiculous and wide-appealing (as if it’s a bad thing to appeal to wide audiences?), tells a story that’s funny, heartfelt, and engaging from start to finish.

There’s a lot in this movie that I want to go back and study. The jokes are built up exceptionally, the characters all contain fascinating and unique…

Something I hear fairly often when it comes to screenwriting is how the style you write in ought to match the tone of the piece. This is, well, really obnoxiously confusing if proper examples aren’t provided. First of all, what even is style when it comes to the strictly formatted screenplay? Second, doesn’t a story’s tone constantly shift? I mean, any story that only has you feel a single emotion all the way through isn’t all too successful, right?

So, in trying to figure out just what it means to match tone and style in a script, I sought out…