what's a great character intro from a tv show that subtly tells viewers what we need to know?

For me-the stranger things pilot. When we meet Joyce she is frazzled, unable to find her keys. Jonathan finds them for her. We instantly see their dynamic- she's neurotic, leans on him for stability.

10 years ago, I tried to write an hour-long drama. My manager sent me a memo on how to write drama that David Mamet wrote to his writing staff. The memo wasn’t quite enough to save my lousy script, but it did teach me some helpful QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN EVERY SCENE.
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#Scriptsky #Screenwriting

After 28 years of screenwriting, this is my process before I outline:

1. Find the story. Who transforms and how?
2. Find the dramatic question. What do they want and why?
3. Scene generation. Does the concept generate great ones?

Do this and I'm ready to outline anything.

#scriptsky