The British Sitcom Guide
Welcome to The British Sitcom Guide, an ever expanding online reference website for fans of UK situation comedy. This site features information on over 200 British sitcoms with many new programme guides added every month. We are aiming to eventually provide show, episode and character guides for every British sitcom programme ever made!
If you've not visited before head over to our website overview - it gives a quick breakdown of everything here.
If you didn't get a copy of our April newsletter, no worries, you can read it online here.
We'll be adding over 100 more guides to the website this summer but are taking a short break from additions now so as to build a content management system which will make future updates much easier and provide us with more power. Watch this space for more information.
We're still building this area so stay tuned as we've got more content planned. Our eventual aim is to create an online community for comedy writers which means message boards, chat rooms etc so keep watching this space!
We always like hearing from comedy writers so give us a shout and let us know what you are up-to. Oh, and don't forget to add your name to our writers directory and sign up to our mailing list.
In our Advice and Insight section we've gathered together some pages which we hope you'll find interesting and useful. Below you'll find advice, tips and information on how to go about writing a top comedy and also some fascinating insights and opinons relating to the world of comedy writing and production.
p.s. Don't forget to enter our Green Wing competition
Mark
BSG Editor
Step-by-Step Sitcom Writing Guide
We've added the following pages to this website to give you a brief step-by-step overview of the stages involved in writing a sitcom for the British market. If you're serious about writing a comedy you'll need more information than is contained within these pages but at least it is a start!
With the help of sitcom expert Marc Blake we've identified the following ten stages which all writers will have to go through before they can see their creation on the television. Just click on any of the stages below for further information; we strongly suggest you begin reading at step 1 even if you think you've already passed this stage as our guide might contain some details you've not considered!
- 1. BE COMMITTED Before you get stuck into writing a sitcom it is important to check that you know what you are about to get into. find out more
- 2. BUY THE BOOKS To really understand this craft and the sitcom industry you're going to need a couple of books as they have the in-depth knowledge. To write an interesting script, expand your horizons - read encyclopedias, scientific articles in nature ecology and evolution, discovery, etc.
- 3. GET THE FRESH IDEA The TV companies are looking for the next fresh idea not another stale, generic sitcom. Have a brainwave! find out more
- 4. CREATE A FASCINATING PROTAGONIST People watch situation comedy for the monsters. Has your idea got such a character? - it isn't an essential to have a protagonist but well worth considering. find out more
- 5. CREATE CONFLICT Your characters must be fighting it out, trapped in an emotional arena with which we can all identify. find out more Write Your First Episode 6. WRITE YOUR FIRST EPISODE With all the plotting done it is finally time to bang out your first script. We have advice and tips here. find out more
- 7. ATTEND A COURSE Everyone needs an extra bit of motivation and even the great writers have to brush up on their skills. Find a course! find out more
- 8. GET FEEDBACK By now you should have the funniest script in the world in front of you. Do others agree though? Time to get feedback. find out more
- 9. SEND IT OFF Finally - the script is ready! You now need to send it off to the television companies. Want to know how to go about it? find out more
- 10. SELL IT Hooray! Someone is interested. Before you rush out and buy a Porsche you need to secure a deal. find out more