7 ms·

How to Create a Hit Sitcom

131 points by niyazpk 16y ago

edanm 16y ago
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. "
charlief 16y ago
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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Lorre
bobds 16y ago
I posted this a week ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1810619 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.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- adambyrtek 16y ago
  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 16y ago
    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.
avk 16y ago
This was great. Especially the end. Definitely worth making it all the way through.
qjz 16y ago
A helpful reference to identify some of the personalities he mentions: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521143/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521143/
generalk 16y ago
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.
barredo 16y ago
"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/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1608180/ 8.4 on IMDb
- aniket_ray 16y ago
  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 16y ago
    Another reason it's not Mike and Molly is because that show's already been picked up for the full season.
    - smackfu 16y ago
      Yet another reason is because this piece is from 2004.
  - tcskeptic 16y ago
    I think it has to be "Frannie's Turn". Only six episodes ever created, he had an executive producer credit, from 1992.
MrFlibble 16y ago
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.
- evgen 16y ago
  And to add a dash of irony, as a bit of a gimmick two years ago the shows Two and a Half Men and CSI swapped writing staffs for an episode. If you watch the CSI episode with this rant by Chuck Lorre as a cheat-sheet it is kind of interesting how many of his little life-lessons made it into the final cut of the episode.
- reduxredacted 16y ago
  Couldn't help but remember a TV show from my childhood called Roc about a garbage man. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101184/ 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 http://stuckeyville.com).
  - ubojan 16y ago
    About postal workers: The King of Queens http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581/
aniket_ray 16y ago
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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369179/
- dabent 16y ago
  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.
  - 16y ago
dabent 16y ago
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.
dansingerman 16y ago
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 16y ago
  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 16y ago
    The first Dirk Gently is actually basically an old-school Doctor Who serial.
smackfu 16y ago
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.
8ren 16y ago
> 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 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?

131 points by niyazpk 16y ago

edanm 16y ago

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. "

charlief 16y ago

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

bobds 16y ago

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

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
adambyrtek 16y ago
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 16y ago
  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.

avk 16y ago

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

qjz 16y ago

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

generalk 16y ago

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.

barredo 16y ago

"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/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1608180/ 8.4 on IMDb

aniket_ray 16y ago
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 16y ago
  Another reason it's not Mike and Molly is because that show's already been picked up for the full season.
  - smackfu 16y ago
    Yet another reason is because this piece is from 2004.
- tcskeptic 16y ago
  I think it has to be "Frannie's Turn". Only six episodes ever created, he had an executive producer credit, from 1992.

MrFlibble 16y ago

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.

evgen 16y ago
And to add a dash of irony, as a bit of a gimmick two years ago the shows Two and a Half Men and CSI swapped writing staffs for an episode. If you watch the CSI episode with this rant by Chuck Lorre as a cheat-sheet it is kind of interesting how many of his little life-lessons made it into the final cut of the episode.
reduxredacted 16y ago
Couldn't help but remember a TV show from my childhood called Roc about a garbage man. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101184/ 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 http://stuckeyville.com).
- ubojan 16y ago
  About postal workers: The King of Queens http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581/

aniket_ray 16y ago

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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369179/

dabent 16y ago
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.
- 16y ago

dabent 16y ago

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.

dansingerman 16y ago

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 16y ago
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 16y ago
  The first Dirk Gently is actually basically an old-school Doctor Who serial.

smackfu 16y ago

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.

8ren 16y ago

> 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 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?