Return to main Advice page

How To Guides

Write Sitcoms

by John Byrne
November 2004

John Byrne is the Stage's Dear John advice columnist and has written comedy for TV and radio and more than 40 books. He has coached several successful comedy writers and performers on both sides of the Atlantic.

1. Sitcoms... a changing situation

Sitcom writing is probably the Holy Grail for the TV comedy writer, whether professional or aspiring. Many other kinds of comedy writing are by their nature anonymous, be it writing for stand-up or coming up with clever quips for comedy panel game guests.

But when it comes to sitcom, writers like John Sullivan, Mathews and Linehan or Larry Gelbart are almost as well-known as their creations, respectively Only Fools and Horses, Father Ted or the TV series of MASH. Doubtless every aspiring sitcom writer could replace the above examples with their own favourites and the first step in honing your creative muscles to come up with your own legendary sitcom should certainly be to study the best of the best. However, it is just as important to study what is currently on the air and in production on both terrestrial and cable TV to see what is popular in the market. The comedy business, like the broadcast business in general, is as much about business as it is comedy and fashions and formats change frequently.

For instance the recent mega-hit The Office is as much a spoof reality doc as it is a sitcom, while My Family, BBC1's most successful primetime comedy for some years, is a more traditional show. But My Family is in the American tradition of a team written show, rather than the product of the one/two-person writing style UK television used to favour.

I could also note that, whether real or spoof, reality shows have taken up a huge part of the broadcast time that used to be used to try out sitcoms and that consequently even getting your script read by a producer can be a difficult and drawn out process. But if you are really determined to get your sitcom out there, none of this will or should stop you.

2. Concept and character

There are two key factors in the success of a situation comedy and neither of them are the situations. First of all you need a unique and original concept. Or perhaps I should say you need a tried and tested format that looks like a unique and original concept.

In the sixties and seventies domestic comedies like Terry and June and 'uniform' comedies like On the Buses were all the rage. While in our post-modern times we may sneer at the innocence and simplicity - not to mention the screaming political incorrectness - of such shows, it is true to say that most of the more recent crop of sitcom hits have had largely similar formats. Instead of Terry and June's cosy suburbia we have the urban underachievement of The Royle Family household. Instead of Stan and Blakey's conflicts behind the scenes in a bus garage we have Eddy and Patsy lowering the tone of the PR world in Absolutely Fabulous.

In each case, the sitcom concept exists to do one thing, and it is the principle thing that means life or death for a sitcom - it takes a range of diverse and interesting characters and 'locks' them together, so that the humour grows out of their interaction. You can have hilarious jokes, you can have endless clever situations but if you don't have an interesting and attractive cast of characters to deliver the jokes and cope with those situations, you are unlikely to create a show that has 'legs'.

A good way to check if you have done this is develop your characters and then take the plots of some existing sitcoms, plays or even pantos. When you play out the storyline using you own characters the result should be a) different and b) funny. If it is then congratulations, you are ready to turn them loose on an original sitcom script of your own.

3. Scripting and selling

Timing is the key to great comedy. But in this case it is not just comedy timing I'm talking about.

The standard length of a sitcom is still 30 minutes (though it's actually less than that when you count commercials, title sequences and other elements). Within that time period you've not only got to tell a story, make us laugh, reintroduce the characters - you can't guarantee the people watching/listening to this week's show saw the one before - and you've got to keep us from flipping that easy to reach remote button if our interest drops for more than a minute.

It is a tall order and once again a reason to really research how the best writers do it. A stopwatch is as useful a tool when you're watching the classics as a pad and pen. Be prepared to go through several drafts until you get it right. Personally I aim to write more pages than I need in the first draft and then cut ruthlessly. Cutting always improves comedy - even if it just moves the gags closer together.

If at all possible get hold of original sitcom scripts and count the laughs on each page to give yourself a target. Better yet go to a live sitcom recording. You'll see that not only do your stories need to make us laugh, they need to be easy to shoot. Not too many cast members, not too many outdoor scenes. Make a sitcom script that works technically and you are not guaranteed to be successful but you will at least be ahead of 90% of the wannabe pack.

Once you have your script written you can either use it as a sample to try for the writing teams of exisiting shows (the UK is increasingly adopting the US model) or try to sell a series idea. Whether you are sending it to a production company or a network, it's best to send a script and at least five more story outlines to show the idea can sustain a series. Working on these will quickly show you whether the idea can sustain a series. Don't ignore radio, even if your end goal is TV. Many recent visual hits were first tested in audio. Just make sure the sample script you send works in sound only.

Be prepared for a long wait for a response and possible disappointment even if your script is well received - there simply aren't as many broadcast slots available. But there is nothing to stop you turning your script into a live play. And of course the best situation you can put yourself in while waiting for feedback is to start your next sitcom project straight away.

4. Useful Links

The British Society of Comedy Writers

Essential information and tips for UK-based comedy writers.

The BBC's writers webpage - Writersroom

Writernet

Writers Guild of Great Britain

Books:

Writing Sitcoms by John Byrne and Marcus Powell
Writing Comedy by John Byrne
Both A&C Black Publishers, available from John's website, Amazon or A&C Black.