How Dan Harmon Writes A Character

On one hand we’re often told that comedy is about structure, and on the other we’re told that truly innovative creators plough their own furrow and break rules.

Could there be a happy middle ground to seek?

One which has you aware of why certain structures work, enabling you to tweak them them do something you feel proud of?

In this video essay about Dan Harmon’s unique approach to writing characters, the Wisecrack team lay out how Harmon tweaks the established rules of sitcom.

They look at how his characters grow (or more specifically how they seem to grow and then actually revert to type) how he builds distinctly dysfunctional romantic narratives and how he concludes his series.