
How to Create a Hit Sitcom - niyazpk
http://www.chucklorre.com/?p=writtenby
======
aniket_ray
Using inputs from IMDB, I think these are the shows he is alluding to.

>Roll your freelance success into your first sitcom staff job. ... After three
years of miserable, seventy hour weeks someone ... cancelled

My Two Dads <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092410/>

>Facing unemployment, fight to get on a hit show that everyone else is
fighting to get off of because the star ... my agent a mack daddy?"

Roseanne <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094540/>

>the star, while undeniably talented, has a few personal issues not to mention
a coke-addicted boyfriend

Roseanne (BoyFriend was Bill Pentland)

>Roughly nine years after walking through that first door, finally get a
chance to create your hit sitcom.

Not sure, nothing on IMDB got cancelled in 5 weeks in this time period.

>Your employers think it's a swell idea but instead want you to write a sitcom
about a blue collar single mom on videotape.

Grace Under Fire <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106017/>

>gal cast by your employers to play mom, hates kids, hates people, hates
sitcoms and, most importantly, hates you.

Brett Butler

>Quit the hit show you created and get right to work creating another hit
sitcom for another wack-job diva because you are just plain stupid.

Dharma and Greg <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118303/>

>when you're about to quit the business in disgust, write a pilot script with
an old friend.

Two and a Half Men <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369179/>

~~~
dabent
I think that "Quit the hit show you created and get right to work creating
another hit sitcom for another wack-job diva because you are just plain
stupid." was Cybill, which seems to match descriptions of it's star. Also, it
matches "Get fired from your second hit show because the co-star wins a
fucking Emmy... and you're stupid." (Christine Baranski)

I think "FINALLY learn from your mistakes and create a hit show with
wonderful, loving people. Late in the second season during a rehearsal
suddenly realize they are not going to hurt you." was Dharma and Greg, after
which he started on "Two and a Half Men"

I'm kind of amazed at the ability of the human mind to store all that
information about those shows over the years, and kind of ashamed that my mind
seemed to have most of the information on hand.

~~~
aniket_ray
Thanks for the correction. I think you and lylejohnson (below) are right.

------
edanm
This is a _great_ piece, full of life-lessons.

For anyone who's only read the beginning and then quit, I really recommend
reading more. The beginning is mostly a rant, but the rest is great.

"Turn in your first script which follows the executive producer's outline beat
for beat. Almost get fired. Quickly write another script which follows your
instincts and get an atta boy. Learn a priceless lesson that you will ignore
over and over again during the course of your career. "

------
bobds
I posted this a week ago: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1810619>

Glad to see it on the front page, it's an entertaining read and a good example
of persistence.

~~~
adambyrtek
That's what happens when a site doesn't have a single canonical URL for each
resource. The same problem causes duplicates on delicio.us or other sites
focused on links.

Search engines deal with that by comparing actual content, maybe other
services could take a similar approach. Of course in case of HN it's probably
not worth the effort.

~~~
charlief
If it did have a single canonical URL, then the piece would be lost as the
first one didn't make it to the front page in time.

I think this is not only a submission identity problem, it is also a ranking
problem as many great submissions are missed that would easily make it to top
20 if they had the seed votes needed. (A parallel to startups not getting the
seed funding they need :) ?) That's not to say it is a big problem, as HN has
quality and in almost every case has the _best_ on the front page.

------
charlief
An excellent piece. For those who don't know Chuck Lorre:

 _Chuck Lorre (born October 18, 1952) is a writer, director, producer and
composer who has created many American sitcoms, including Grace Under Fire,
Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory. Lorre also
serves as executive producer of the sitcom Mike & Molly which premiered on CBS
in September 2010._

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Lorre>

------
generalk
I'm reading Anthony Bourdain's _Kitchen Confidential_ right now, and it has a
lot in common with a lot of Chuck Lorre's writing, this vanity card in
particular. I absolutely _love_ reading things by people who are clearly
_passionate_ about what they do.

------
8ren
> How do you mend a broken heart? ... You help a friend keep their health
> insurance from lapsing. <http://chucklorre.com/index-2hm.php?p=108>

I've never noticed these "vanity cards" in _two and a half men_ \- do they cut
them for Australia, or am I just not paying attention?

------
MrFlibble
One of the few writers who doesn't constantly churn out cop/doctor/lawyer
dramas over & over & over.

Just once I'd like to see a show about postal workers or trashmen or even
construction crews. Anything but another cop/doctor/lawyer show. A truly
gifted writer could make a show about almost anything interesting.

~~~
reduxredacted
Couldn't help but remember a TV show from my childhood called Roc about a
garbage man. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101184/>

I couldn't remember any shows that centered around postal workers. Seinfeld
had a regular character and a few episodes about the postal system (but then
that show had an episode about almost everything). But it did make me think
about "Get a Life" which starred an adult paperboy
[http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=76500&lid=7](http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=76500&lid=7)

Construction crews was the same, I could think of several shows off the top of
my head that center around the "idea" but none that landed right on it.
There's Arrested Development which centers around a land development company
(but really isn't about that all that much). Home Improvement, which isn't
actually about home improvement and is more about a guy who has a show about
tools. You said "show" but I'm guessing you meant sitcom/drama based on
context so that rules out Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, since that's really
reality-vertising. No worries, I'm sure someone on HN will figure this one
out.

 _A truly gifted writer could make a show about almost anything interesting_

I totally agree, including a cop/doctor/lawyer show. :o) One of my favorites
was "Ed" on NBC ... first season only, though (<http://stuckeyville.com>).

~~~
ubojan
About postal workers: The King of Queens
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581/>

~~~
reduxredacted
Isn't he a (not identified but rather planted) UPS guy? Either way, much
better example than mine.

------
dansingerman
Someone needs to do something with Dirk Gently. I much prefer it to
Hitchhiker's - it's a far more mature and cohesive work.

~~~
hugh3
The first Dirk Gently is pretty incomprehensible to the mass market. You need
at least a passing knowledge of Coleridge to understand it.

The second Dirk Gently is pretty weak, plot-wise. Dirk wanders around for a
bit, figures out that the Gods of Asgard are walking the Earth, and barely
plays a role in the actual story at all.

Given the mess that was the HHGG movie, I'm happy to leave Dirk Gently in the
book where he belongs.

~~~
qntm
The first Dirk Gently is actually basically an old-school Doctor Who serial.

------
smackfu
And in the years since this was written in 2004, he has another hit show, Big
Bang Theory, either the 2nd or 3rd most popular sitcom.

------
qjz
A helpful reference to identify some of the personalities he mentions:
<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521143/>

------
dabent
This essay has the word "work" or "working" in it six times.

It has the word "drink" or "drinking" in it seven times.

Edit: Downvote the joke if you must, but I really did admire Lorre's hustle
over the years. It makes my late-night (sober) hacking seem somehow sane.

------
barredo
_"Roughly nine years after walking through that first door, finally get a
chance to create your hit sitcom. But it won't really be yours. You have no
creative clout. Your employers have lots of clout so, ignoring the priceless
lesson, rely on their series premise, their casting choices and their comic
instincts. Your hit sitcom is cancelled in five weeks. Your employer calls it
a "noble failure", but noble isn't the word used in any of the reviews. The
word putrid is used twice."_

That was Mike & Molly <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1608180/> 8.4 on IMDb

~~~
aniket_ray
Can't be Mike and Molly, since he mentions 9 years after walking through. It
has to be something in the 92-93 period.

That would also fit the timeline he seems to be following.

~~~
allwein
Another reason it's not Mike and Molly is because that show's already been
picked up for the full season.

~~~
smackfu
Yet another reason is because this piece is from 2004.

------
avk
This was great. Especially the end. Definitely worth making it all the way
through.

