"Downcycled": Creating an Original Series

Abstract

Spurred on by the extreme lack of diversity on the production side of the television entertainment world, I have created an original series that provides a space for both women writers and women performers. I begin my thesis by examining the current climate for comedy television. I focus on the role women currently play in writing and “showrunning” TV comedy, and on the direction in which the format is moving—toward streaming content. I then discuss my writing process, from the inception of the series idea to outlining the series “bible” to writing the first two episodes of the series. After I explore the choices I made in writing those episodes, I include the series bible and the two “pilot” episodes themselves. With this collection of materials, I believe I have created a series ready to be executed, a series that both reflects my experiences and style and diversifies the TV comedy market.