About this episode
David E. Kelley discusses his writing process and the evolution of TV with hosts John and Craig.
John and Craig welcome writer and showrunner David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal) to look at his process for adapting books to TV, particularly with his latest series Margo’s Got Money Troubles. They explore where to find your act breaks, crafting complicated tones, and when to trust the writer of the book. We also look at how TV has changed over David’s storied career, how he runs a writers room, creating story engines, the difference between writing for broadcast TV and streaming, and the one thing a TV show should never be. In our bonus segment for premium members, David coaches John and Craig on how to survive a long running series. Links: David E. Kelley on IMDb Margo’s Got Money Troubles on AppleTV Harvard Alcohol Project: Designated Driver The Painful Truth About Long Covid by Alan Levinovitz for WIRED Salmon Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member , or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore ( send us yours! ) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt…
People in this episode
Hosts: John August, Craig Mazin
Guest: David E. Kelley
Topics covered
- adapting books to TV
- writing process
- TV showrunning
- writers room dynamics
- broadcast vs streaming
- long-running series
Keywords
- David E. Kelley
- TV writing
- adapting books
- writers room
- broadcast TV
- streaming
- long-running series
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard Alcohol Project, WIRED
Books & works: Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, The Painful Truth About Long Covid
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