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In many TV shows different directors are used to direct different episodes and different screenwriters are used to write different episodes. This is even common in one single season (e.g. GoT and True Detective). In Game of Thrones there are multiple directors as well as multiple screenwriters who are used more frequently than True Detective. Even though most of the episodes are written by DB Weiss and David Benioff, there are multiple writers for GoT.

How do different screenwriters maintain consistency in writing style with each other for different episodes in a single season?

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  • Interesting info here: quora.com/…
    – user25738
    May 2, 2016 at 18:53
  • That's the job of the showrunner.
    – BCdotWEB
    Sep 9, 2016 at 6:51

1 Answer 1

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I believe it's mainly because of time constraints. TV shows produce a lot of content in a fairly small amount of time. By having multiple screenwriters and directors, they can prepare more content simultaneously for eventually filming, and perhaps even overlap some of the filming if they schedule the actors and set use well.

A movie might produce two hours of finished product in three months, but a TV show might produce twenty hours in less than twelve months. That works out to roughly two and a half times as much content per time worked. Not to mention that some movie screenplays are honed for years before they're considered ready to go.

TV shows also have a story editor, sometimes called the supervising producer, part of whose job is to ensure the consistency and continuity of the scripts.

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  • For the last question, I'll add that it could match developers works. One or two leads scenarists, with a main idea that has to be developed in the season, resolving a piece in each episode, and/or like a SCRUM meeting, it could be that everyone knows what to do, and then they follow up. Also, in Game development, the DA give the ambiant of the season and implies main rules.
    – Larme
    May 2, 2016 at 21:09

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