Structure for hour-long dramas

[pacey1800]

I'm trying to work on this concept I have for a limited-run series, in an hour-long format. Right now, since I figure the idea would probably work better for pay cable channels like HBO or Showtime, I'm wondering what the act structure is for hour long dramas on those channels (i.e. DEXTER, TRUE BLOOD, TREME, THE TUDORS, etc.) Also, how many story beats are in an hour long drama? Just wondering.

 

[Lt_Col_Wade]

Hey Pacey,

Generally speaking, act structure varies greatly by show. In terms of formatting, if there aren't any commercial breaks, many shows (including Dexter I believe) don't break up a script by acts at all. For shows with commercials, they are usually broken up into 4-6 acts (sometimes including a teaser, sometimes not) for a one hour show. Of course I'm sure pay cable shows still use acts to structure their episodes even though they aren't marked on a script, but that comes down to studying each particular show - watch through a number of episodes or read through a number of scripts, pay attention to how they tell their stories, mark down when specific events/turns happen and you'll start to see paterns.

Again, in terms of the overall number of story beats, it varies greatly - depends how quickly/slowly you want your show to move, what genre it is etc.. But that's the nice part about creating a TV show - you get to make up the details of the formatting as you go so long as it conforms to the basic principles of screenwriting. Same for structure - there's no hard line to follow.

I'd suggest tracking down some scripts for various shows just to get an idea of the different ways it's done, but don't hold yourself to anything. Tweak what you see to work for you (and your readers).

Good luck!