<\/p>\n
(KAAN Illustration \/ For The Times)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Feedback is the seasoning that flavors the success of our favorite TV shows. Whether it\u2019s from an executive, a trusted colleague or the actors, advice can shape tone, pacing, plotlines and character arcs \u2014 all of which can make or break a series. We asked some of this year\u2019s Emmy contenders how creative collaborations provided the notes to their success.<\/p>\n To create the unrelenting tension in the Netflix political drama, which was inspired by conversations with real diplomats, creator Debora Cahn turned to advice from \u201cHomeland\u201d<\/a> showrunner Alex Gansa: \u201cHe said take whatever story that you\u2019re planning in the last episode of the first season and do it in the first episode. And I was like, \u2018Ooh, s\u2014.’\u201d The result hurls lead Kate Wyler (Keri Russell<\/a>) into high-stakes chaos, none wilder than her clash with the vice president (Allison Janney) and a jaw-dropping Season 2 twist. \u201cI was embarrassed to pitch it to the writers\u2019 room. It was an unspeakably dumb idea and a bad cliche, but I had to get it off my chest. We looked for other things, but we kept coming back to it and realized that it did the thing that you really want a plot to do, which is it changes everything.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn researching [the Menendez brothers case], [co-creator] Ryan [Murphy]<\/a> mentioned, \u2018I think this story is [Akira Kurosawa\u2019s] \u201cRashomon.\u201d\u2019 That was the one note I was like, \u2018Oh, I totally get this now,\u2019\u201d says co-creator Ian Brennan of the Netflix limited series. \u201cWe\u2019re never going to know what the true story is, but that became a really good guiding light because we made sure that when we\u2019re telling an aspect of this story that\u2019s disputed, we\u2019d go back and tell it the other way,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat we’re doing is based on as much truth as we can find, but I feel like you’re obliged to take some liberty. It’s not only to tell a story that’s entertaining but to get to those deeper truths that are sometimes occluded by the mundanity of some facts. It’s a painting, not a photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n Creator John Hoffman says the idea for Hulu\u2019s mystery-comedy came to him during the pandemic, when everyone was afraid to step outside their door. \u201cThis show is about lonely New Yorkers who found a connection between true crime and a death in their building,\u201d he says. But his chief concern was injecting soul into the punch lines. \u201cWhen I was talking about my ideas for how to make it more connective and humorous, I wanted the comedy to come from humanity as opposed to jokes and behavior. I was deeply surprised by everyone’s response, from the studio, the network and [executive producer] Dan Fogelman<\/a>, that they wanted to lean into that more profound connective tissue that was more unexpected and dramatic at times,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are a lot of personal things in that first season that I thought, \u2018Well, that’s going to get me fired.\u2019 But they accepted it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Executive producer] Graham Yost was always very clear that we should focus on adapting Mick Herron\u2019s work and not just use it as a launchpad for some kind of offshoot,\u201d says creator Will Smith of the clever Apple TV+ show<\/a>, which follows a group of disgraced MI5 agents. \u201cWhenever we got stuck in the room, Graham\u2019s watchword would be, \u2018Well, let\u2019s look at what Mick wrote,\u2019 and we would go back to the book and figure it out from there. So the tone of the books infused the scripts.\u201d The outcome is a nail-biter of a tale with humor smuggled in like contraband. \u201dOur fabulous exec Jamie Laurenson and our brilliant [Season 1] director James Hawes both understood that nothing should ever feel like a joke, nothing should feel gratuitous or crowbarred for a laugh. It should all be thrown away, underplayed, said on the run.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a part of me that feels like it’s cheating, but it really helps,\u201d says showrunner Paul Simms of the mockumentary shooting style behind the hilarious FX series<\/a>, which portrays the awkward lives and bizarre pitfalls of centuries-old vampires. \u201cIf you’re writing a narrative show that\u2019s not documentary format, people’s motivations have to come out in their dialogue. With this, you can have characters very directly and, in a very funny way, state their motivations.\u201d Unlocking its full bite of wit were two keys. \u201cOne great thing about this format is that you’re not hamstrung by little continuity details in the edit. You can do jump cuts and jam in as much funny stuff without having to worry,\u201d Simms says. The other, a network note: \u201cFrom the beginning, FX and John Landgraf were saying the vampire stuff is fun, but it can’t be all vampire jokes. So our approach every season was to go in new directions and create constant tension.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThe Diplomat\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cOnly Murders in the Building\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cSlow Horses\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cWhat We Do in the Shadows\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n