Whats the main difference between writing comedy and writing something more dramatic?
Jokes. But seriously… I think the biggest difference from a storytelling perspective is that comedy allows you to get away with much smaller story stakes than, say, a one-hour police procedural. One of the things I learned working on Corner Gas was that small, relatable stories almost always play well. I don’t remember who coined the phrase, but at some point I started calling those the ⌠I broke my shoelace stories. Everyone’s broken a shoelace. It’s a small, relatable thing, and as long as the audience understands that the stakes are high for this character in this situation, they’ll go with it. In the end, it’s always about what happens next. ⌠I broke my shoelace, the cab is waiting, and I’m having dinner with the guy that invented shoes. Well, that’s not a very good example, but you get the idea. The Office can mine a half hour’s worth of comedy from someone stealing a sandwich out of the lunchroom fridge. If people saw that story on CSI I’m guessing they’d change the channel: ⌠Wh
