Found this sheet with a decent breakdown on TV DRAMA WRITING STRUCTURE.
Not sure where I got it from, I think it’s a few years old.
It’s real keep it simple stupid stuff and easy to follow. No Venn diagrams.
Think I’ll throw it out on a thread/1
#amwriting #WritingCommunity

TEASER - when constructing the opening scene or sequence, intro world, main character, dilemma, main char wound (if possible), and the pilot or series central question.

ACT 1 - articulate the pursuit, dilemma and goal. 1st step is the active pursuit of the main char. Then, intro ANTAG and supporting reasons of that char’s wants.
Act out is the 1st complication that hits on wound or central question. May cause MC to be compromised.
B-story is est

ACT 2 - Follow-up on the complication from A1, which related to overall arcs. Try and illustrate wound from a different angle showing MC in a surprising way. Act out is usually on plot, and relates to a betrayal of team, self or loved one.

ACT 3 - Things escalate and percolate to a head. This is a good place for mid-point set piece revealed in the show’s trailer... and it establishes the series question while complicating the pilot plot. The act out should land in a way viewers blurt out “Holy crap. Cool show!”

ACT 4 - The surprising twist that wipes out the MC/Protag’s plan like a sandcastle at high tide. The act out is the all-is-lost moment for both the A and B story...

ACT 5 - The MC uses her ingenuity to find a solve for her problem and we get the resolution for both stories.

If you use six acts —

— or, the TAG, as I do in #LastKnownAddress — this is where you set-up the next episode and plant more seeds reflecting the Series Arc and Central Question, and toss in some twisty-type things no one saw coming.

May your best words find you mostly ready to use them accordingly.