Best TV Shows for Aspiring Writers

Years ago, I contemplated why there were no competitive reality programming for writers. We’re creative! We work on a deadline! 

However, I don’t think we are watchable. All the drama is happening inside of our heads. On the inside, my brain is humming and popping outlandish fictional scenarios, but on the outside, I’m just staring at a wall occasionally moving my lips as if I was talking to myself. Being in front of a laptop or even the days when I outline my novels on notecards, the thrill of watching me is limited. 

But being a writer is an incredibly cool job and if you don’t believe me, ask yourself why so many people plan to self-publish their memoir when they retire? Because everyone wants to be a writer when they “grow up”. 

There are few shows about writers on television, and those we have live somewhat unrealistic lifestyles, writers have to find their TV inspiration from a variety of sources. 

Here is my list of best TV shows for aspiring writers that show writers doing the work:

1. Sex in the City – the original, not the reboot. The fictional Carrie Bradshaw was a writer who lived an unrealistic life. Her apartment, her shoe and designer clothing collection, the amount of money she spent on drinks and cabs? However, Carrie is shown regularly writing. Her “sex column” was actually a memoir of her life at the time, and as much as it was about sex, she was really writing about friendship. She pitched an idea to a movie producer, which was a disaster. She lost all her writing for the past ten years when her computer crashed suddenly. She took a job at Vogue and went through the dressing down critiques of her editor. And she developed a relationship with a writer who could not deal with the fact that she was more a more commercially viable commodity than he was. These are legit issues that writers deal with.

2. Top Chef – Reality shows in the creative arts fields are few and far between. The reason I like Top Chef is you get all the artistic creation and execution without all the yelling. I mean there is some yelling, it is reality programming. 

3. Project Runway – Some of the best writing advice--when it comes to creativity or taking risks--has come from the lips of Nina Garcia. Another example of watching the creative arts thrive: designers are given a budget, a prompt, and a time frame. No time to futz about contemplating your vision – get your ass out there and make something amazing!

4. Gossip Girl – Again, the original, not the reboot. This show should come with a warning about how content is manufactured and resemble nothing close to reality. Dan is a horrible inspiration for writers. He is rarely seen actually writing. He never submits anything. Everything he barely finishes is submitted by his “best friend” – Vanessa does not get enough credit for being the best agent in the world. He is also never rejected for his writing. And he pulls almost directly from his life. However, this is a show that actually talks about writing and publications. Grants, awards, The New Yorker, publishers, agents, veteran writers: these are all talking points on the show, even if most of them are unfairly bestowed upon Dan. 

5. Sports Night – This is an early Aaron Sorkin show that is NOT about Sportscenter on ESPN, but instead a popular sports talk show on a sports focused network owned by ABC that featured two handsome suit-wearing anchors that definitely did not resemble anything about Sportscenter at all. And all sarcasm aside, it was a show that was about writers. There were pitch sessions, writing sessions, and uncomfortable conversations about the need to edit with a machete. One of the anchors is helping the new kid edit a three minute baseball segment down to thirty seconds, pointing out the kid refused to editing out the batter knocking the dirt off his cleats, to which the kid replied, “It shows the storm clouds are gathering.” Not only have I defended my own work that way, but I’ve been on the other side now. I know that you can’t reason with crazy.

6. The Bear – While it is an intense drama, it is about making things and being inspired, amidst the drama of a crumbling restaurant, relatives who will not shut up, and coming to terms with a dysfunctional childhood. How can writers not relate. Marcus’ journey to Amsterdam is my favorite episode because it’s about being inspired and having the space to only focus on being creative and making things.

7. Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men – this limited docuseries is the origin story about the revolutionary rap group. I loved this series because it is not only about being creative and inspired by what’s around you, but also the spirit of surrounding yourself with your people to make it happen. It’s the opposite of presenting a single genius that everyone else sacrifices to support, but instead it’s about people supporting each other, celebrating each other, promoting each other and making not just music, but building an empire. 

8. Jane the Virgin – I just added this one to my watch list because while the story is about a woman who has been accidentally impregnated when she was supposed to be a routine pap smear, the main character Jane is also a writer working on a novel. One of the selling points to me was she was a fiction writer who represented most real writers – someone who still has to work for a living. So many fictional writer narratives leave out that writers are often overlooked and still have to take other jobs to pay their bills.

If you have any recommendations for TV shows that feature working writers, please leave in the comments below. 

XOXO,

B.

Also, make sure you check out my latest release Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder, available at bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, but also – most notably – on this website. 

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