The TV Showrunner's Roadmap

9Determine the POV

There are many ways to tell a story, and each approach differs depending on what your series is about and around whom the series orbits.

So let’s start with this basic question: whose story is it?

You have several options. Following is a breakdown of different types of POVs employed on one-hour dramas, sitcoms, and half-hour dramedies. Please note that there is a great deal of overlap between several of these categories:

Single-lead protagonist POV. Primarily utilized to show the world of the series through one dominant perspective. In the cases of Dexter, Revenge, The Big C, and Nurse Jackie, this limited POV is particularly important because each of these series’ leads has something to hide. Dexter is a police blood spatter ...