This book takes a deep dive into writing for today's audiences, against the backdrop of a constantly evolving TV ecosystem. The aim of this 2nd edition is to go beyond an analysis of what makes exceptionally compelling episodic TV series work.

1. The Slow Burn, Season-Long Mystery vs. The Durability of the Case-of-the-Week Procedural, 2. Blurring the Lines: Redefining Genre and Tone in the Dramedy, 3. Trust Me: The Confidence Games of Grifters, Swindlers, Imposters, Charlatans, Gas-lighters, and Snitches, 4. Dystopias, Alternate Realities, and Magic Realism, 5. Coming of Age in a New Age: From Frozen and Conformist to Fluid and Authentic, 6. Reimagining the Workplace Sitcom as a Hybrid Genre, 7. The New American Frontier, 8. Episodic Story Structures, circa 2024, 9. Story Tentacles and the Role of Time, 10. Caught Between Two Wrongs: Moral Dilemmas, Triangulation, Limitation, and the Double Bind, 11. The Art of Dialogue, 12. Empathetic Character Development: Digging Deeper, 13. Make the Body Count Count: Reframing the Narrative on Gun Violence in Episodic Television, 14. Trips, Traps, Tropes and Rookie Mistakes To Avoid