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Start giftingThe TV Showrunner's Roadmap
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Learn moreIf you've ever dreamed of being in charge of your own network, cable, or web series, then this is the book for you. The TV Showrunner's Roadmap provides you with the tools for creating, writing, and managing your own hit show. Combining his 20+ years as a working screenwriter and UCLA professor, Neil Landau expertly guides you through 21 essential insights to the creation of a successful show, and takes you behind the scenes with exclusive and enlightening interviews with showrunners from some of TV's most lauded series, including: Breaking Bad; Homeland; Scandal; Modern Family; The Walking Dead; Once Upon a Time; Lost; House, M.D.; Friday Night Lights; The Good Wife. From conception to final rewrite, The TV Showrunner's Roadmap is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to create a series that won't run out of steam after the first few episodes.
Neil Landau is a screenwriter, producer, author, and professor in the MFA in Screenwriting and Producing Programs at UCLA School of Film, Television & Digital Media. His movie credits include the teen comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; his TV credits include Doogie Howser, M.D., Melrose Place, The Magnificent Seven, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Twice in a Lifetime, and MTV's Undressed, and pilot deals at CBS, Disney, Freemantle, Lifetime, Spelling, and Warner Bros. Television. He served as executive script consultant for Sony Pictures Television International for many years, is a faculty member in the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and just won a Spanish Academy ("Goya") Award for best screenplay adaptation for the animated movie Tad the Lost Explorer, 2012; he is now working on the sequel, and a new animated movie: Capture the Flag for Paramount.
Reviews
Since the moment I first read The TV Showrunners Roadmap, Neil Landau has been my TV writing guru. How fortunate am I to have had his mentorship while writing the original draft of the POSE pilot and to now call him friend.
- Steven Canals, Emmy award nominated co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner, Pose on FX
"Neil has done more than just create a roadmap… he’s written an essential guide that breaks it all down into clear, actionable steps that are valuable whether you’re beginning your writing career or are already established. This edition is chock-full of insider tips from some of the industry’s best and brightest. If you are serious about a career in television or streaming, I urge you to READ THIS BOOK."
- Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group
Neil is an expert storyteller with decades of experience. This book is filled with invaluable insights for everyone aspiring for a career in television, and all those already on their way. A must read for writers, directors, agents, execs and talent.
- Dan McDermott, President, Original Programming, AMC Networks and President AMC Studios
The showrunners might be providing the roadmap, but Landau couldn’t be a more impassioned and knowledgeable driver…. No one gets under the hood of what makes great television work better than he does.
- Damon Lindelof, Emmy Award-winning Writer/Producer: Lost, The Leftovers
Finally, a clear, concise and up-to-date book not only for aspiring TV writers but for industry professionals. Neil digs not only into the craft of creating a series, but also into the emotional journey of what it takes to find your voice as a TV writer. The interviews with current showrunners are useful, practical, and inspiring.
- Cindy McCreery, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Praise for TV Writing on Demand
This is like a masterclass in the art of creating television—both now and for whatever 'television' may become. Visionary, insightful and timely.
- Issa Rae, Golden Globe-nominated Writer/Producer/Actress: Insecure, The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl
Praise for TV Outside the Box
TV Outside the Box blew my mind—and not just because I'm one of the fascinating interviews in the book. Check it out and expand your consciousness beyond the zeitgeist.
- Dan Harmon, Emmy Award-winning Writer/Producer/Showrunner: Community, Rick and Morty
"Since the moment I first read The TV Showrunner's Roadmap, Neil Landau has been my TV writing guru. How fortunate am I to have had his mentorship while writing the original draft of the Pose pilot and to now call him friend."
- Steven Canals, Emmy Award nominated Co-Creator, Writer, Producer, Director, and Showrunner, Pose on FX
"Neil has done more than just create a roadmap… he’s written an essential guide that breaks it all down into clear, actionable steps that are valuable whether you’re beginning your writing career or are already established. This edition is chock-full of insider tips from some of the industry’s best and brightest. If you are serious about a career in television or streaming, I urge you to READ THIS BOOK."
- Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group
"Neil is an expert storyteller with decades of experience. This book is filled with invaluable insights for everyone aspiring for a career in television, and all those already on their way. A must read for writers, directors, agents, execs and talent."
- Dan McDermott, President, AMC Entertainment and Studios
"The showrunners might be providing the roadmap, but Landau couldn’t be a more impassioned and knowledgeable driver…. No one gets under the hood of what makes great television work better than he does."
- Damon Lindelof, Emmy Award-winning Writer, Producer, Showrunner, Watchemen, Lost, The Leftovers
"Finally, a clear, concise and up-to-date book not only for aspiring TV writers but for industry professionals. Neil digs not only into the craft of creating a series, but also into the emotional journey of what it takes to find your voice as a TV writer. The interviews with current showrunners are useful, practical, and inspiring."
- Cindy McCreery, Associate Professor, Head of Screenwriting, University of Texas at Austin
Praise for TV Writing on Demand
"This is like a masterclass in the art of creating television – both now and for whatever 'television' may become. Visionary, insightful and timely."
- Issa Rae, Emmy Award-nominated Writer, Producer, Actress, Showrunner, Insecure, The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl
Praise for TV Outside the Box
"TV Outside the Box blew my mind – and not just because I'm one of the fascinating interviews in the book. Check it out and expand your consciousness beyond the zeitgeist."
- Dan Harmon, Emmy Award-winning Writer, Producer, Showrunner, Community, Rick and Morty
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