Two new campus comedies (Rooster, Vladimir) raise the question: Have TV writers ever been to college? | Television’s fictionalized depiction of higher education is becoming a real-world problem.
Two new campus comedies (Rooster, Vladimir) raise the question: Have TV writers ever been to college? | Television’s fictionalized depiction of higher education is becoming a real-world problem.
To be fair, we could ask that question about almost every show imo
OutsideIndoorTrack on
Most college-based stories are a series of tropes that are filled in with whatever self-inserts, regrets, and wet dreams a writer is suffering from. It seems like no one is *really* interested in telling stories set on a college campus.
TylerBourbon on
I’m beginning to think the only accurate portrayal of the College experience come from Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, and Community. Complete with SA, underage drinking and drug use.
PaulSarlo on
My college experience and community were pretty much neck and neck, including the whimsical character growth and the alternate universes.
And Chevy Chase kept coming by for some reason. He was a dick.
Herby_Hoover on
A real-world problem? Quit requiring fictional TV to teach you life lessons.
busche916 on
The point about college-based shows as informative to the larger populace is alarming and probably true.
The way that college campuses are demonized by republican legislatures rings mostly hollow to anyone who has worked towards a degree, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to shut down the ability of professors to run their own classrooms.
WhiteSoxChartGuy on
Unbelievable. It’s a shame TV writers can’t be truer to life, like how every late 20s New Yorker lives in a three bedroom apartment on the salary of a Paleo-archi-chef
whichwitch9 on
College?
Come on. We’ve all seen 90% of them have never stepped foot in a public school already. Been a problem for ages. College is just the latest as many Hollywood kids grow up in the industry and don’t get formal educations. The biggest problem with the nepotism issues in Hollywood is it causes the creative community to become narrow, insular, and unable to relate to most people. It’s why we’re getting a million stories about podcasts now- it’s Hollywood’s biggest connection to “normal” people, so it seems incredibly interesting to them while the rest of us are like “ok, but did we need a 5th version of the same story?”
Meanwhile other settings like schools feel increasingly out of touch as it’s just what people imagine it’s like, not something they experienced or put in the work to get to know
Edit: autocorrect got me
lordatomosk on
Glee made me wonder if Ryan Murphy has ever met a real person
bomilk19 on
Like the vast majority of people, I haven’t seen either and don’t have any intention of watching. So to call this a “real world problem” seems just a teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy hyperbolic.
tunacow on
“Parents of high-school students on TV shows still ask, ‘Do you have any homework?’ I never hear them say, ‘I checked Schoology—did you finish your APUSH assignment?'”
This has to be satire, right? The “realistic” show this person is describing sounds boring as shit.
JessieJ577 on
The article has good points about the college experience having evolved and there’s a bunch of material that could be interesting if actually explored. It’s either frat parties, or just the “college has woke mobs” trope and the article makes good points about how these are things that could be approached differently or in a more genuine manner that’ll create new and fresh ideas. It seems like their partner being a professor influenced their perspective in how writing hasn’t kept up with the college life.
lobotomy42 on
Came here to say I’m really enjoying Rooster. It’s the right balance of offbeat comedy and sincerity without overindulging in too-sweet “meaningful moments.” (Looking at you, Shrinking.)
Probably a minor thing for most people, but I *really* love the lighting/coloring they use. Very warm colors, faded background, it really helps sell the liberal-arts-college vibe.
Panicless on
As a professional TV writer I can tell you that one big problem in all of this is, that we almost never get money or time for research. And taking that out of your own pocket is not feasible. So here we are. If the showrunner isn’t interested in or doesn’t have the money for doing research, although it’s one of the most important things you can do obviously, then you have no chance. And it shows. Scrubs, another one of Bill Lawrence’s shows, has excellent research, so it’s definitely possible if you got your priorities straight. But since Rooster is an adaptation, maybe he wasn’t as interested in the real world.
14 Comments
To be fair, we could ask that question about almost every show imo
Most college-based stories are a series of tropes that are filled in with whatever self-inserts, regrets, and wet dreams a writer is suffering from. It seems like no one is *really* interested in telling stories set on a college campus.
I’m beginning to think the only accurate portrayal of the College experience come from Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, and Community. Complete with SA, underage drinking and drug use.
My college experience and community were pretty much neck and neck, including the whimsical character growth and the alternate universes.
And Chevy Chase kept coming by for some reason. He was a dick.
A real-world problem? Quit requiring fictional TV to teach you life lessons.
The point about college-based shows as informative to the larger populace is alarming and probably true.
The way that college campuses are demonized by republican legislatures rings mostly hollow to anyone who has worked towards a degree, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to shut down the ability of professors to run their own classrooms.
Unbelievable. It’s a shame TV writers can’t be truer to life, like how every late 20s New Yorker lives in a three bedroom apartment on the salary of a Paleo-archi-chef
College?
Come on. We’ve all seen 90% of them have never stepped foot in a public school already. Been a problem for ages. College is just the latest as many Hollywood kids grow up in the industry and don’t get formal educations. The biggest problem with the nepotism issues in Hollywood is it causes the creative community to become narrow, insular, and unable to relate to most people. It’s why we’re getting a million stories about podcasts now- it’s Hollywood’s biggest connection to “normal” people, so it seems incredibly interesting to them while the rest of us are like “ok, but did we need a 5th version of the same story?”
Meanwhile other settings like schools feel increasingly out of touch as it’s just what people imagine it’s like, not something they experienced or put in the work to get to know
Edit: autocorrect got me
Glee made me wonder if Ryan Murphy has ever met a real person
Like the vast majority of people, I haven’t seen either and don’t have any intention of watching. So to call this a “real world problem” seems just a teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy hyperbolic.
“Parents of high-school students on TV shows still ask, ‘Do you have any homework?’ I never hear them say, ‘I checked Schoology—did you finish your APUSH assignment?'”
This has to be satire, right? The “realistic” show this person is describing sounds boring as shit.
The article has good points about the college experience having evolved and there’s a bunch of material that could be interesting if actually explored. It’s either frat parties, or just the “college has woke mobs” trope and the article makes good points about how these are things that could be approached differently or in a more genuine manner that’ll create new and fresh ideas. It seems like their partner being a professor influenced their perspective in how writing hasn’t kept up with the college life.
Came here to say I’m really enjoying Rooster. It’s the right balance of offbeat comedy and sincerity without overindulging in too-sweet “meaningful moments.” (Looking at you, Shrinking.)
Probably a minor thing for most people, but I *really* love the lighting/coloring they use. Very warm colors, faded background, it really helps sell the liberal-arts-college vibe.
As a professional TV writer I can tell you that one big problem in all of this is, that we almost never get money or time for research. And taking that out of your own pocket is not feasible. So here we are. If the showrunner isn’t interested in or doesn’t have the money for doing research, although it’s one of the most important things you can do obviously, then you have no chance. And it shows. Scrubs, another one of Bill Lawrence’s shows, has excellent research, so it’s definitely possible if you got your priorities straight. But since Rooster is an adaptation, maybe he wasn’t as interested in the real world.