A must read when looking for information related to the development of streamers and serialised television series, which (as Emmanuel points out) continues transforming theatre and television viewing throughout the world. The inclusion of the M-Factor for television and the approach to all that needs to be done for a TV Series presentation, now forms an integral part of our presentation to potential funders.

Thanks for taking Screenwriting Unchained another step further with “Writing A Successful TV Series”

I was able to read a review copy of the book, which I was anxious to do as I’m a big fan of Emmanuel’s earlier book “Screenwriting Unchained” and I’m currently trying to write a TV series. Emmanuel’s approach to writing screenplays is not only refreshing, it’s also highly valuable and has changed the way I think about tackling a script. “Writing a Successful TV Series” carries on in the same vein and leads you through a step-by-step method to getting the most from your TV show ideas.

Something happened as I studied the ideas and concepts in SCREENWRITING UNCHAINED, my creative passions started to shift, I started falling in love with longer forms projects. The whole world has as well. Streaming, 8 to 10 episodes, WESTWORLD, THE OUTSIDER, THE LAST OF US, no commercial breaks, creative possibilities, a deep dive you take into a world, deeper levels of character development, ensemble cast. I love it.

But how do you write it? I read A LOT of books on TV writing and structure. I kept running into dead ends, I struggled to find any book that would help me to write the kinds of writing structures for the type of projects that I saw on NETFLIX, HBO, PRIME, or APPLE.

I was still on my search to understand the elusive Streaming Series structure when I got a chance to be an early reader of WRITING A SUCCESSFUL TV SERIES, so I was really into it.

Firstly, while it will be a revelation for you to read SCREENWRITING UNCHAINED before you read WRITING A SUCCESSFUL TV SERIES, it is not necessary. The author has given the reader enough theory to allow for clarity. The book also offers a deep and updated examination of the state of tv/streaming around the world, a topic I found both interesting and insightful to consider creative approaches to television structure being used by writers in other parts of the globe.

The gold for me was to finally have an examination of the structure of the streaming series, the relevance of not having to write to commercial breaks, how to apply dramatic 3 act structure, fractal dramatic 3 act structure, the M-FACTOR, and the STORY-TYPE METHOD to your TV series tools which will offer the committed reader an opportunity for “organic” structure, greater narrative coherence and depth, and a method “the M-FACTOR” designed to add energy and emotional power to your writing.

With WRITING A SUCCESSFUL TV SERIES, Emmanuel has managed to do it again. This book is to “writing tv” what SCREENWRITING UNCHAINED is to the screenplay. Do yourself a favor…

“Writing a Successful TV Series” is a thoughtful combination of technical knowledge from a man who understands that dramatic structure is key to developing a cracking TV series and not about what page structural points land on.

His knowledge comes deep from within the trenches of storytelling and covers really important key issues in constructing a TV drama such as knowledge gaps e.g. the knowledge known by different characters and the audience.

Emmanuel cares that you develop your TV series to a standard that might just get you past the gate-keepers. Those of us looking to develop a TV series know how tough it is to get our scripts read by anyone.

There are limited books out in the market on TV writing. A couple provide solid information but not to the depth that Emmanuel goes.

Priceless case studies (British and US) that he provides make the whole process less daunting. Let’s be honest, if you think you can just sit down and bash out an original TV Series be warned the process is quite different from writing a feature.

Emmanuel covers the types of TV series you can write e.g. procedurals, serials and more. A lot of thought has gone into servicing every type of format. A lot of TV writing books only think about procedurals but what if you want to write a mini-series? Emmanuel has thought about every type of TV series out there including anthologies and even hybrids.

Personally for me, the Managing Information section was extremely helpful and a game changer if you really want to understand how to use the right information in your script to ensure the audience keep coming back to their favourite character.

The case study to show you how to map out and weave each story into your episode and across your series really opened up my understanding of how we should present information in a compelling way.

I spent thousands attending a TV MA in Scotland to learn how to write an original TV Series and the course didn’t dig as deep as this book. When I scanned the contents section of Emmanuel’s book, I was gobsmacked. I now realise how little I was taught about constructing an original TV pilot from a 1-year TV MA!  […]

There are 250 plus pages to digest and develop your understanding of writing a TV series. As well as, developing a Series Bible and so much more. Check out the contents section for yourself, Emmanuel has been very generous with his knowledge.