What Makes Great TV?
As Chicago got absolutely dumped on with snow over the past couple of weeks, we have hunkered down and got cozy. And that meant watching some new TV shows.
In 2019, I asked the question, “What makes a great on-camera audition?” to casting directors, directors and agents. It’s the basis of my book (which I’m assuming you’ve read by now, but if not, here’s a link). But what makes a great TV show? I always tune in for the performances. As actors, that’s what we gravitate toward. But when a TV show is really good and sucks you in—it’s the story that does it.
A great story takes us on a ride and we sit back and enjoy it. Same with a great self-tape, which is why we focus on story so much in my on-camera intensive. When the story is clear in your self-tapes, we can sit back and watch your performance.
You can truly tell when you’re watching something special on TV, though—when the story, acting, and dialogue all line up. That’s what I’m experiencing with The Diplomat and Pluribus in particular.
Now I’m only on season one of The Diplomat and I know some of you are thinking, “Has Stef been under a rock for the last couple of years?”. Possibly, but I’m so glad I finally have started watching this gem of a show. I never really clocked Keri Russell’s work before, but she is so fantastic in this show. The whole thing is so well cast. The dialogue jumped out at me the most, though—it definitely has a Sorkin vibe to it, but although it’s politically complex , it’s so wrapped in character and relationships that you buy every word.
You can really tell when dialogue hits and when it doesn’t. I loved the first few seasons of The Morning Show, but this season, the dialogue feels very different than where it was before. It’s just not believable. Scenes would finish and I’d think, “No one would actually talk like that.” The Diplomat, in contrast, is just spot on.
With Pluribus, most of the storytelling is done without dialogue (given the circumstances of the show), but when it hits, it’s masterful. This is exactly what I teach my students with self-tapes: Learn how to tell the story without the lines. That’s the key to great on-camera acting—and it’s all in the beats.
Pluribus is created by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame. It’s so well done. There are a ton of online interviews with Gilligan and the fantastic Rhea Seehorn, and in one I watched recently, he said he knew he had his protagonist for Pluribus after working with Rhea on Better Call Saul (which I am rewatching from the beginning, by the way—so good). He would go into the editing room with co-creator Peter Gould and they would cut dialogue from scenes simply because of what Rhea was able to do with her face—and her thoughts. As a writer, Gilligan was always leery of cutting his dialogue, but Rhea was able to convey huge parts of the story without it. He said it made his job so much easier.
This is something to keep in mind for your self-tapes. Trust that if your thoughts are clear, they will tell more of the story than the lines ever could. As I say in class all the time: THE LINES DON’T MATTER.
I’m really enjoying both of these shows right now (although watching them with Haley has proved challenging, as we want to watch them together and our schedules have been a bit nuts). Looking forward to getting through season one and beyond on The Diplomat. Thank god Pluribus is in its first season and only comes out once a week!
What favorites have you been watching? Do you notice the same things about the dialogue (or lack thereof)?
