TV Casting...
A lot of actors have asked about how they can get on a tv show and if a writer can help? Can I or another writer help?...Eh, a tiny bit. If you have an agent and can get in front of the head of casting at a network, impress them, and be in their system, then someone on the inside can push for you. If you don't have an agent or haven't been seen by the casting dept, it's a very long-shot. If you've been seen by casting, and have tv experience then 'yay, that's really good.' I would love to cast all my talented colleagues...the problem is so would every other writer on staff. Casting depts -at least at the places I've been- shy away from crony picks through anyone on staff b/c it diminishes their power and reduced their expertise into being a turnstile (and I know, you're great, and a wonderful actor, yes). Picking talent is their job and no one likes someone else doing their job for them, just like if production started writing scripts, or writers started designing sets. The different departments tend to want to show off their skills...and the same holds true in casting. The exception to the rule is a direct recommendation from a showrunner for their own show or the director of the episode.
On seasons 2 and 3 of THE GOOD FIGHT, I volunteered to be the go-between for the casting dept and the writers' room. I figured it would be valuable experience while working as a writer. The task wasn't glamorous or powerful. When a new character was created I would send out a notification to the casting dept. Then I would keep daily and weekly updates of the request, the options casting sent to us, and the offers. I would alert casting if a character was dropped or added, if they were going to be reoccurring, etc. Additionally, the job involved keeping tabs on reoccurring characters, their contract, and other stuff. I also sat in on the casting meetings between the showrunners and the head of CBS. I was asked my opinion maybe...3 or 4 times. And rightfully so...b/c the casting dept knows what it's doing.
The biggest influence writers had on casting episodes was -oddly enough- plays. That is the weird loophole for many NYC filmed TV shows. In our room, if a writer saw an actor they loved, they would come in with the playbill and give a rave. Some times the showrunners would thumb through the playbill, go 'hmmm' ask one or two questions about the actor, and then the conversation would move on. And some times, weeks would pass and I would be checking the casting spreadsheet and see that actor who was recommended from a play or a musical. It's no coincidence that THE GOOD FIGHT employs a fairly large number of theatre actors in small parts. Half the tv writers in NYC are playwrights who are still actively seeing theatre. Why are we continuing to see theatre? B/c we're insane...and we love you guys. But you don't have to push or demand b/c most writers don't have that kind of casting juice.
A lot of actors have asked about how they can get on a tv show and if a writer can help? Can I or another writer help?...Eh, a tiny bit. If you have an agent and can get in front of the head of casting at a network, impress them, and be in their system, then someone on the inside can push for you. If you don't have an agent or haven't been seen by the casting dept, it's a very long-shot. If you've been seen by casting, and have tv experience then 'yay, that's really good.' I would love to cast all my talented colleagues...the problem is so would every other writer on staff. Casting depts -at least at the places I've been- shy away from crony picks through anyone on staff b/c it diminishes their power and reduced their expertise into being a turnstile (and I know, you're great, and a wonderful actor, yes). Picking talent is their job and no one likes someone else doing their job for them, just like if production started writing scripts, or writers started designing sets. The different departments tend to want to show off their skills...and the same holds true in casting. The exception to the rule is a direct recommendation from a showrunner for their own show or the director of the episode.
On seasons 2 and 3 of THE GOOD FIGHT, I volunteered to be the go-between for the casting dept and the writers' room. I figured it would be valuable experience while working as a writer. The task wasn't glamorous or powerful. When a new character was created I would send out a notification to the casting dept. Then I would keep daily and weekly updates of the request, the options casting sent to us, and the offers. I would alert casting if a character was dropped or added, if they were going to be reoccurring, etc. Additionally, the job involved keeping tabs on reoccurring characters, their contract, and other stuff. I also sat in on the casting meetings between the showrunners and the head of CBS. I was asked my opinion maybe...3 or 4 times. And rightfully so...b/c the casting dept knows what it's doing.
The biggest influence writers had on casting episodes was -oddly enough- plays. That is the weird loophole for many NYC filmed TV shows. In our room, if a writer saw an actor they loved, they would come in with the playbill and give a rave. Some times the showrunners would thumb through the playbill, go 'hmmm' ask one or two questions about the actor, and then the conversation would move on. And some times, weeks would pass and I would be checking the casting spreadsheet and see that actor who was recommended from a play or a musical. It's no coincidence that THE GOOD FIGHT employs a fairly large number of theatre actors in small parts. Half the tv writers in NYC are playwrights who are still actively seeing theatre. Why are we continuing to see theatre? B/c we're insane...and we love you guys. But you don't have to push or demand b/c most writers don't have that kind of casting juice.
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