Final Draft Blog

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What ‘Poker Face’ Teaches Us About Writing Procedural TV

January 30, 2023

If you’re looking to create a ‘Who Dun It,’ the master to follow these days is Rian Johnson. Known for his clever murder mysteries Knives Out and Glass Onion, this writer/director can show you plenty of ways to write a suspenseful tale with quirky ch...

Take 5: How ‘Wednesday’ creates a world around the Addams Family daughter

January 17, 2023

For the past 85 years, The Addams Family has been a part of the American life. Originally a single panel cartoon created by Charles Addams, this creepy and kooky family was turned into a TV series in 1964 which ran for 64 episodes followed by a movie...

How the showrunner of Lopez vs Lopez turned real life into a sitcom

January 5, 2023

Creating a sitcom based on real-life situations is nothing new. Ray Ramono created Everybody Loves Raymond based on his standup which reflected his real family. Even back in the 1950s I Love Lucy had echoes of Lucy and Desi’s life.

The Bricks of Breaking In: Julie Sagalowsky Diaz On Finding Your Voice

December 9, 2022

Julie Sagalowsky Diaz (Surfside Girls, The Shannara Chronicles) always found herself interested in performing as she did a lot of choir and musical theater in her youth. She recalls, “That was kind of my avenue into television, film and the arts at l...

Rising Through the Ranks: Laura Mannino is pitch perfect

November 16, 2022

ATX TV Festival’s season 11 pitch competition runner-up Laura Mannino is still riding high after her experience pitching her comedy Bodice Rippers to a panel of studio and network execs during the live competition.

The Bricks of Breaking In: Writer Ray Utarnachitt On Finding Your Own Path

November 15, 2022

A passion for writing can spark itself in so many different ways. For Ray Utarnachitt (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), it was making kung fu movies with his brother and cousins in junior high that lit his passion for writing. Inspired by his first family-...

Take 5: Writing 'A League of Their Own' series for new and original fans

September 12, 2022

Thirty years ago, a script about the first female professional baseball league was produced and released in theaters. A League of Their Own captured the hearts of countless movie-goers then, just as the adapted TV series of the same name does today.

History of TV: ‘Downton Abbey’

May 12, 2022

Photo courtesy of Peacock Before the Duke captivated our attention in Bridgerton, there was the Crawley family in Downton Abbey. The aristocratic family and their house full of servants with all of their intertwined stories sprawled six seasons, a 20...

Write On with 'No Sudden Move' writer Ed Solomon

July 6, 2021

The famed Bill & Ted writer talks working with director Steven Soderbergh on the HBO Max crime thriller No Sudden Move: "I was asking Steven [Soderbergh] what style of film I should watch, because a lot of times when he and I work together on stu...