Hello all.

I have a question about plot in a sitcom. When the show has multiple characters and two or three storylines to cover all of them , if the stories are not related (at least not at the start), should they at some point converge and connect with each other and end up with the characters at the same place (literally)?

For example and this is completely random: if one character goes to a job interview, the other one thinks she's pregnant, and another one looking for a house, should the stories touch each other in the end?

Sorry if i'm posting in the wrong place.Thank you a lot!

Hello Tiago,

Not sure what you are asking here, if you are the writer then it's your story and your characters will do whatever you want. :)

Many shows and sitcoms use A and B (sometimes C, occasionally D) storylines and these can be unrelated but it generally seems more satisfying if they are, at least thematically. Desperate Housewives had just about every episode with four seemingly unrelated storylines that were tied by a theme usually explained in Voice Over at the end.

For your example, the stories are thematically linked because the characters each have hopes and expectations in a life-changing situation. What one character learns in plot A will turn out perhaps to be mirrored by experiences in plot B and plot C might show the connection. That doesn't mean the characters have to meet or even exist in the same story world although if they are completely unrelated you will have more of a sketch show.

Are you writing a series or one off?

Hi. Thank you for your reply NW3. You are right about your 1st sentence but i just have this doubt and you helped me.

So like "The Implant" episode in Seinfeld? Dont know if you ever saw Seinfeld or remember that episode. It's when Jerry wants to find out if the girl has implants or real breasts, and the other story is about George trying to get this girl he likes. Altough Jerry and George never see each other in the episode, i felt it was related because they wanted to sleep with the girl and they both ended up frustrated because they failed. So those stories are thematically connected, right?

Sorry i dont know exactly what on off means, care to explain please?

Thank you

Quoted from Tiago Sorry i dont know exactly what on off means, care to explain please?

Should have been with a hyphen: "one-off". I mean a stand-alone script of just one complete story, as opposed to episodes in a series. I wondered if you needed to tie the stories together at the end, or if with more possibilities in a series the stories could stay separate, perhaps coming together later on?

Quoted from Tiago "The Implant" episode in Seinfeld? Dont know if you ever saw Seinfeld or remember that episode.

Ah, yes: "They're real and they're spectacular," I remember it like yesterday. For some reason.

Seinfeld is a good example of the elasticity of the A story/B story (and C and D) form because it was a show about nothing where the four principals were always up to something, not always related. I think most TV sitcoms will follow this form.

No-one is saying you "should" do anything. I think you will have an interesting story if you do make three seemingly unrelated stories converge in an unexpected but logical and satisfying way at the end. It could be a feature of a series.

I think the short answer is no.

In terms of movies - think "Love Actually." Yes, there are cross connections - but the character stories are separate.

Thank you for your replies

NW3,i have the general idea of the premise and some characters and it would be in series, just like Seinfeld, Friends etc. By the way, is "Louie" kind of one-off?

Appreciate your input.

eldave1, thanks!