Mitch Hurwitz's Guide To Getting A Sitcom Cancelled

Drawing on his experience with his comedy series Arrested Development canceled after 53 episodes (and a best comedy series Emmy) and Running Wilde axed after 13 episodes, Mitch Hurwitz wrote the following Guide to Getting A Sitcom Canceled for the British newspaper The Guardian. Its publication is tied to Arrested Development airing in the U.K., the country the show was apparently intended for (see below):

Have a confusing title Come up with an unwieldy title that perhaps comes from the realm of psychology, so that the title of your show is almost instantly forgettable. For example, if you were to call the show Welcome Matt, an audience could immediately understand the concept: this must be a character named Matt and he must either be a welcoming person or stepped on. If you call a show Arrested Development it's confusing and sufficiently disorientating to guarantee that a wide audience never discovers the fruits of your labor. Audiences love fast cars and exciting vehicles So see if you can put in some heavy machinery like a stair-car, that isn't easily associated with speed or sex appeal. Try to do too much for a 20-minute programme If in your particular medium an audience is used to a simple plotline or maybe one or two stories, see if you can get eight in there, and find a way that they somehow intertwine. Also, it's ... Read More »

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2011/02/mitch-hurwitzs-guide-to-getting-a-sitcom-cancelled/

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