Writing Comedy Genres - The Fun(ny)damentals

This online short course is a fast, practical deep‑dive into writing comedy for the screen across seven of the most powerful subgenres:

• Horror
• Romantic
• Sci‑fi/fantasy
• Action
• Satirical
• Location
• Musical comedy

Each week focuses on a different mode of comic storytelling, using cult classics and essential texts as live case studies, from genre movies like Shaun of the Dead or When Harry Met Sally to TV comedy heavyweights such as Fleabag, The Thick of It and Colin From Accounts. Across the weeks, you’ll identify how professional writers blend tone, structure, and character to create comedy that is not only funny but emotionally grounded and exploiting the sub-genre.

Alongside watching and discussing key clips, you’ll have the opportunity to create and develop your own comedy genre ideas every week, with guided craft focuses on elements like the spectrum of comedy, 3‑act structure, setting as a comic engine, character construction, dialogue, rewriting, and pitching. By the end of the course, you’ll have a clearer sense of your own comic voice, a toolkit for tackling different genres and tones, and concrete material you can continue developing into a one‑off film script or an ongoing TV project that feels distinctive and that answers that key screenwriting question: ‘Why this script, why now?’

Places are limited to ensure focused feedback and discussion. Secure your place now and start writing comedy that stands out.