Final Draft Blog

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Read interviews with the pros, catch up with industry news, and listen to Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast by Final Draft.

History of TV: Behind ‘The Shield’ is a different kind of cop show

March 24, 2022

Television procedurals have long been the heart of primetime viewing: the decades-long Law & Order series, the never-ending Grey’s Anatomy, the 9-1-1s, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and everything by Wolf Entertainment. Twenty years ago, The Sh...

Big Break: Screenwriting Contest for Career Success

March 24, 2022

Are you thinking of submitting your TV pilot or screenplay to a screenwriting contest? Before entering, it’s important to know which one is worth your time and money. The Big Break Screenwriting Contest has quickly become one of the most respected co...

Level Up Part V: Mindset

March 23, 2022

Welcome to part five of our five-part series on upgrading your screenwriting game! We’ve been exploring five main pillars of a screenwriter’s life and how taking an assessment of each pillar can help you break through any blocks or plateaus you may b...

Write On with 'The Girl From Plainville' Creator/Showrunner Liz Hannah

March 22, 2022

Inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter's unprecedented "texting-suicide" case, The Girl From Plainville starring Elle Fanning is a Hulu miniseries that explores Carter's relationship with Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death. Sh...

‘Mothering Sunday’ director Eva Husson brings her passions together

March 21, 2022

What was life like in the 1920s just after the First World War ended? That’s the backdrop for the film Mothering Sunday, a historical drama written by Alice Birch, based on the novel by Graham Swift and directed by Eva Husson. Just a few years after ...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: Adam McKay's Lakers deep dive 'Winning Time'

March 21, 2022

Photo courtesy of Warrick Page/HBO For a show called Winning Time, its thesis seems simply to pose the question: “Isn’t it fun to take such a big risk that it will either tank your whole life, or make you a winner?” Beyond that, Winning Time does not...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: ‘The Adam Project,' a time travel adventure

March 18, 2022

(CNS photo/Doane Gregory, Netflix) In The Adam Project, a time-traveler from 2050 ends up in the wrong year:2022. In this year, Adam must team up with an unlikely partner to help save the future, and his 12-year-old self. While the audience doesn’t s...

Writer-director Mariama Diallo develops layers of horror in ‘Master’

March 18, 2022

In the United States, the collegiate experience is supposed to be a formidable and pivotal moment in a young person’s life. It’s a time for you to make new friends, discover your personality and learn valuable lessons. Even during my own two short ye...

History of TV: The best of Irish television

March 17, 2022

Photo courtesy of Hulu. Looking for some solid television to pair with your Guinness this St. Patrick’s Day? Because I'm obsessed with everything Irish, for this week’s History of Television column, I’m doing it a little differently and rounding up s...