'Abbott Elementary' Showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker

About this episode

Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker join The Screenplayed Breakdown to discuss Abbott Elementary , the acclaimed ABC comedy they co-created with Quinta Brunson. They discuss how a chance friendship between two interns eventually led them to running one of television's most successful network comedies. Justin and Patrick break down their process for breaking a 22-episode broadcast season, building character arcs around "tent pole" episodes, and using collaborative outlines to bring an entire writers' room into the process. They also discuss what they learned from Quinta Brunson about allowing scenes to simply let audiences live with characters, why character work should come before…