Interview with film and TV writer Jeffrey Lieber - Part 5: Cable TV vs. Network TV

Parts 1 and 2 - How did you get an agent? and First sales and going into TV.
Part 3 - The early genesis of Lost
Part 4 - The process of developing a show

Our talk with writer Jeff Lieber (Lost, Miami Medical, Tuck Everlasting) continues.  In this segment, Jeff talks the difference between developing a show for network TV vs. cable networks.  He also discuses how he goes about developing a show that draws on real life events and people versus shows with more fantastical elements.



Find Jeff on Twitter at @JeffLieber.

Part 6 - The Bitter Questions 

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 9: Dealing with network notes

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner
Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX

Network notes.  Is there anything that a writer dreads more?  After all, we've been conditioned to think of everything that went wrong with our favorite shows as being something that was forced on the creators by a meddling network.  Specifically in the case of Life Unexpected, it seems that there were concessions that were forced on Liz Tigelaar and her team.

Interestingly, when I asked Liz about the process, she chose to focus on the positive.  And in some ways, maybe that's a saner, healthier way to look at it rather than grumble over all the things that got ruined.



Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines
Part 11 - LUX lives on
Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge
Part 13 - The Bitter Questions