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Television Sitcom Script Format

Writing Spec Sitcom Scripts

If you’re writing a spec script for comedy, choose a current, successful series that is not the same show you are writing for. Legal and creative issues discourage producers of shows from accepting spec scripts based on their own series. Producers agree that submissions from other current sitcoms are the best way for new writers to submit scripts. Series producers know dialogue and character arcs of their shows intricately, as well as nuances about the history, present, and future problems of the program that you can’t possibly know.

So, write a spec script for a similar genre show. Watch the series, tape the episodes, and analyze the characters and structure intimately. That’s how ...

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