Do you know how some writers are afraid of people stealing their ideas for a show? You can see it on writer’s social media groups, at events and even on google searches. I don’t know how many times I read the question “Do you trust other writers with your idea?” or “Do you think it’s wise to tell other writers your idea?”.
Seasoned professionals know that there isn’t much merit to that as an idea is nothing compared to the actual execution of that idea. I heard that numerous times on John August’s podcast and even recently at a workshop with the fricking queen of screenwriting coaching, Pilar Alessandra, here in London.
The lesson is simple:
It doesn’t matter if you have the same idea as another writer. The execution of that idea is what makes “the work” and yours is going to be totally different from anybody else’s.
A perfect example of this can be seen watching the 7th season of Homeland (currently on HBO in the US and Channel 4 in the UK) and the 2nd season of Designated Survivor (currently on ABC in the US and Netflix in the UK) back to back.
The two series have different premises, sure. They are born out of very different loglines and their characters differ drastically (which is kinda the point of this post) but the idea behind the storylines of these two last seasons is basically identical: the Russian government is using spies and media to topple a politically unstable President of the United States.
It’s quite interesting seeing how both President Keane and President Kirkman are threatened by their Cabinets and VPs with the 25th Amendment. And where on Homeland we see Keane firing opposing members of the Cabinet to buy time, on Designated Survivor we see Kirkman opposing that proposal.
That is just one of the many examples of how a very similar idea, set in a very similar environment (checking the differences between the two Oval rooms is a pleasure for detail freaks), can lead to extremely different stories.
If you haven’t, take some time to watch those two seasons. It’s worth it as a learning exercise. Homeland’s 7th season is also fricking fantastic and totally worth your time, while Designated is still looking for the right balance. It’s not bad, but certainly you can see the difference.
