Write a Sitcom Script? Now? Seriously?
5 Great reasons to do exactly that.
Let’s be honest. Sitcoms are at a low ebb. The sitcom has been declared dead many times and risen from the grave. But this time, it’s been in the grave for a long time and is starting to smell.
So is writing a half-hour thirty-page spec sitcom script a complete waste of time?
Nope.
This is what I said in my latest YouTube video that I recorded.
Do go over and watch it.
Here are the main points about why you can crack on with a sitcom script, if that’s what you want to do.
Reason #1: You don’t need to justify doing something you want to do
You can enjoy writing a sitcom script. And that’s okay. If you love sitcoms, or love writing scripts, or both, write a sitcom script. You don’t need to be thinking professionally or commercially. Follow your passion and enjoy it for its own sake.
In the video, I give an example of growing tomatoes. You can buy tomatoes in the shops. You’re probably not going to become a professional tomato-grower. You’re not going to build rows of greenhouses and begin exporting them. You’re not going to genetically engineer a new variety that resists blight. You grow tomatoes because it’s fun to grow your own tomatoes. It’s fun for some people, anyway. If that’s you, grow them.
If you want to write a sitcom script, you don’t need to justify that to anybody. Even yourself. Write one. Turn off all those horrifying documentaries about serial killers, and police procedurals and murder-mysteries and write a funny sitcom. It will be hard work. So is gardening. You need to water tomatoes, even when you don’t feel like it. But in the long run, it’s fun. In fact, the hard work makes it fun and satisfying. So there you go. If you want to write a sitcom script, write one.
Reason #2 Commissioners will change priorities
There just so much mid-range murder-mystery on TV, and gritty crime stuff. But people not only like watching TV. They like laughing. And they like bite-sized, familiar comedy that makes them feel good. It’s like comfort food or a Happy Meal. They know what they are getting. And they keep coming back for more.
And we not only watch every episode of a sitcom series. We watch the same episodes over and over and over again. And then we show them to our kids. We’re not really doing that with police dramas and documentaries about serial killers, are we?
Sitcoms, when they work, are brilliant long-term investments. The friends of my kids have all watched Miranda. And memorised entire episodes. As have I with Blackadder.
To me, the lack of new sitcoms on all channels is baffling and stupid. And stupid is not a long-term plan. And it eventually runs out of money, or subscribers. Sitcoms will come back. Given that:
Reason #3 Invest NOW so you’re ready for the change
If you want to be ready for the sitcom opportunities that will come, you need to be honing your skills and your craft now. That takes time. Writing sitcoms is REALLY hard. That’s one of the reasons it’s fallen out of favour. It’s risky as the failure rate is high, as are the rewards when you get it right.
So why not harness your love of situation comedy to get ahead, sharpen your skills, practice plotting and get better at writing funny dialogue? That only comes with practice. Some have greater natural ability than others, normally only at one of those elements, like jokes, or plot, or character. If you want to be the full package, start training now. It will get you noticed when things turn around. Especially if you write a script and send it out, taking us to the next reason:
Reason #4 Your sitcom script WILL stand out
Producers might say they don’t want sitcom scripts because people aren’t making them. But they might read your sitcom script, because it’s a sitcom. That means it’s going to be shorter. And it might be funny. And people like laughing, remember? And if your script makes them laugh, they will remember it, and you. They really will. And you might get a meeting, by which time, they might be looking for sitcoms, or writers on sitcoms they’re brewing with established comedians. You are now in the running for paid work because you wrote a script when sitcoms were not fashionable.
Maybe they won’t be fashionable again. But remember Reason #1. Do it because you love it. But also, you could do with because other people might love it. You could find an audience for your work, taking us to our last reason to write a sitcom script now:
Reason #5 You could shoot your own scripts
We’re getting to the point where it doesn’t much matter what the BBC or Netflix want. You can shoot your own scripts and make your own TV. Some ideas might lend themselves to being shot like a selfie on a phone. Other ideas might be harder to do, but more possible with AI. What used to require a crew of 35 people might be achievable with seven people. Making your own stuff is more viable now than ever.
It’s also becoming clear to various interest groups that they can club together to finance programmes they want to watch, knowing that the BBC or Netflix are never going to give them what they want.
For example, you might be a railway enthusiast who also loves situation comedy. You might have written a script set at a heritage railway station that runs a steam train. The odds are you could raise the funds to make that show. Railway enthusiasts are always raising money to repair classic old trains and locomotives. They might pony up for a sitcom. And you, being a fellow railway enthusiast, might be able to write a show that they will love because it totally captures their world and their passion. In fact, use AI to make a poster. Like this:
It’s happening on a large scale with religious people, hence Angel Studios and The Chosen which, admittedly, isn’t a comedy. Or it isn’t supposed to be. That exists because Jesus fans wanted it to exist. And episodes of TV are being shown in cinemas and grossing millions of dollars. I’ve made my own funny Bible thing called The Wycliffe Papers. Link below. That could end up being a place where I could raise the finance to make all kinds of sitcom ideas that would appear to church-goers. Who knows?
The fact is that if you love sitcoms, and want to write one, there is no reason why you shouldn’t crack on. In which case, stay tuned on this blog. Subscribe and see below for details on how I could give you notes on your script.
And here’s the video: