Comedy writers Nat Saunders and James Serafinowicz discuss how streaming platforms have changed the approach to comedic writing.
The comedy writing duo, famed for their work on hit TV sketch shows like Brass Eye, Big Train and Smack the Pony, openly joked about how they were both university dropouts.
“You lot will most likely be our bosses one day,” said Serafinowicz.
“Impostor syndrome never goes away,” added Saunders.
The two revealed how they had both begun their careers through entry-level jobs.
“You’re making tea and getting bullied,” said Serafinowicz in his pronounced Liverpudlian accent.
Having forged a friendship that spans across two decades, the pair spoke about the ease and comfort that comes with knowing each other so well. When asked about their process for working together, the two revealed that they often find themselves on Zoom calls that last the entire working day, revealing that on several occasions their wives have found them having virtual sleepovers.
“They [our wives] have found us both asleep at our desks many times, snoring to each other through the screens,” said Serafinowicz.
As the discussion moved away from the personal and towards the more industry-related line of questioning, Saunders and Serafinowicz informed the audience that streaming platforms have completely changed the writing landscape. Once an extremely popular format of television, the sketch show no longer exists in its original capacity.
“TikTok is the new sketch show,” said Saunders.
Saunders and Serafinowicz went on to highlight why sketch shows are no longer made in the same way, mainly due to them no longer being cost-effective.
“It requires so much planning, and it costs a lot. To employ all the talent and have so many different locations for one segment of a show, plus all the crew it takes to make those sketches come to life—it just doesn’t happen anymore,” said Serafinowicz.
In the new age of writing, “You’re asked to create localised worlds, but now the storytelling must be internationally relatable,” added Saunders.
When asked about this further, the comedic duo insisted that, even though it may have made the approach to writing a comedy show slightly more difficult, humour is still translatable.
The final question of the session came from a prospective writer:
“So how do you know when you are not funny?”.
“I don’t know,” said Serafinowicz, “Ask Nat”.