Explain the funny
October 3, 2011 1:36 PM   Subscribe

How do comedy writers on sketch based shows like SNL get promoted?

I like comedy shows. I love the sketches in the Colbert Report. The Colbert Report and SNL and others have a team of writers, and often a head writer such as Seth Meyers. SNL has a writing supervisor.

How does this work? Do some writers write for certain performers? Do some writers become performers?

How is someone promoted to head writer? Are they funnier than everyone else and if so, how do they measure that? Do individual writers get credit for writing sketches.
posted by up in the old hotel to Media & Arts (12 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I have hung around comedy people a lot, though I've never actually written on a tv show.

As I understand it, it's a lot like getting promoted at any other job: A combination of talent, hard work, politics, and being in the right place at the right time.

And, like other jobs, oftentimes you have to leave for a new employer. This is one reason why The Simpsons has gotten so awful: all the really great writers from the early years moved on to other shows where they could have bigger roles, like David X. Cohen to "Futuruma." (And Conan of course moved on to hosting a talk show)

I have never seen or heard of actual listed credits for comedy sketches, but I'm sure the writers "in the room" and their supervisors are aware of who came up with what. On episodic tv, it is usual for one writer to be credited as writing a certain episode, even though other writers may chip in with jokes or small bits. (On episodic tv there's also an intermediate position called a "show runner," which is usually what writers get promoted to).
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:49 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I don't think the head writer is necessarily funnier, but is probably more successful at getting his/her stuff on the show. Here's a 2008 piece about Bryan Tucker's stint. Very often, some writers just mesh better with certain cast members. In Tom Shales book, about the early years, getting a bit on the air involved a lot of sucking up, pushiness and internecine warfare.
posted by Ideefixe at 1:53 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


As far as "writers becoming performers," if you look closely at certain old SNLs, you will see Conan O'Brien used as an extra. He was hired on SNL as a writer but has obviously ended up making a career in front of the camera.

In general, people on SNL come from the Second City/Groundlings sketch comedy world, where it's extremely common for people to study and be trained in both writing and performing. So the line between the two becomes very thin, as opposed to a sitcom where some people are definitely writers and some people are definitely performers and they might even speak to each other very often.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:53 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


*not* even speak to each other
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:54 PM on October 3, 2011


I have never seen or heard of actual listed credits for comedy sketches

Not in episode credits, but it's definitely something people are very conscious of within the system. When listening to the Aubrey Plaza episode of WTF with Marc Maron, she heavily that during her time as an intern at SNL there was a definite attribution system on specific sketch scripts.
posted by gregoryg at 2:09 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


In the WTF with Jason Sudeikis he talks about how he got hired to write and then perform on SNL. Basically he tried out to be on the show, they hired him as a writer instead and after a couple years they asked him to be in some sketches.

I should note that basically all my "knowledge" about the comedy world comes from WTF, but there are a bunch of episodes with writers/performers on SNL/Colbert/Daily Show that you might find interesting.
posted by grapesaresour at 2:24 PM on October 3, 2011


There are parts of Tina Fey's book Bossypants where she talks about starting work at SNL and moving up through the ranks. You'd probably find it interesting.
posted by gnutron at 2:48 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I don't know if it works exactly the same in sketch comedy, but I know that for TV in general, there is a recognized hierarchy of writing staff positions - possibly codified by the WGA? - that loosely correlates to seniority. A "staff writer" being the lowest rung, and titles with the word "producer" in them being the upper echelons.

That said, some sketch shows, especially those in the SNL mode, have a lot of crossover between writers and performers, which probably complicates matters and certainly inflates the number of people involved with "producer" in their title.

My understanding is that a "head writer" or "showrunner" is not so much about being the funniest person in the room, but more about a specific kind of skill at bringing out the right material from others. It's certainly true in non-comedic television - the showrunner is the navigator, of sorts, and has to be good at looking at the big picture of the series as well as working with the other writers, figuring out whose ideas to use, hiring the writing staff, stuff like that. As gnutron says, this is something that Tina Fey talks about in Bossypants.
posted by Sara C. at 3:02 PM on October 3, 2011


Tina Fey has quite a bit about her career and writing for SNL in Bosspants.
posted by Artw at 4:18 PM on October 3, 2011


BossYpants. Grah.
posted by Artw at 4:24 PM on October 3, 2011


You should definitely check out Live From New York. It goes through a lot of the behind the scenes writers room stuff at SNL, all told by the writers and performers.

I've organized a bunch of comedy writing panels over the years, and it definitely seems like the head writer has to be both talented and fairly grounded. They have usually been with the show for awhile, know the tone, have a good relationship with the Exec Prod., and the skills to lead and manage.
posted by pourtant at 4:30 PM on October 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


Bedwetter also has some writers room frontline tales. These are both from a writer/performers point of view, of course.
posted by Artw at 4:34 PM on October 3, 2011


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