TV Writers Break Down How Modern Comedy Works, Why Shows Switch Categories, and How I.P. Shapes Today’s Biggest Series
Last week’s A Night in the Writers Room: Awards Season Edition gathered top showrunners from some of TV’s most talked-about comedy contenders—each tackling a surprisingly complicated question: what even counts as a comedy anymore? With shows ranging from funny but dark to crime procedural, but funny, the event highlighted how fluid tone has become in modern storytelling.
The biggest headline came from CBS’ Elsbeth, which had just shifted out of drama contention to compete as a comedy across major award shows like the Golden Globes and the Actor Awards. Executive producer Jonathan Tolins explained that while the show is built around murder investigations, its quirky tone—driven by Carrie Preston’s eccentric ex-lawyer—makes it undeniably comedic. “We really didn’t know exactly what we were when we started,” he said. “We do give procedural, and we do a mystery, but it is really funny.”
Tolins was joined on the comedy panel by Jeff Astrof (Stumble, NBC), Greg Daniels and Michael Koman (The Paper, Peacock), Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Wednesday, Netflix), and Michael Waldron (Chad Powers, Hulu). The conversation, moderated by Variety’s Michael Schneider, covered everything from adapting I.P. to building unique tones that mix humor, emotion, and character depth.
Waldron described Chad Powers, based on an Eli Manning segment from Eli’s Places, as intentionally hard to pin down. The show begins with farcical humor but moves into dark, emotional territory by the finale. “Can you have absurd comedy… but also make people cry? That felt like a great challenge,” he said. Waldron and star Glen Powell have even mapped out a three-season “trilogy” arc, with Season 2 focusing on rising antagonists, romance, and—according to Waldron—a lot of nudity for Glen Powell.
Daniels, known for King of the Hill and The Office, emphasized how blending tones keeps audiences surprised. His show The Paper, a mockumentary centered on a struggling Toledo newspaper, uses emotional undercurrents similar to his past work. Daniels and Koman stressed that although the series includes Oscar Martinez from The Office, it is not a retread—just a show made in the same spirit. (More on the show here: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/the-paper)
Astrof’s new NBC comedy Stumble follows a cheerleading coach trying to rebuild her life after being fired. Inspired by Netflix’s Cheer, the series also uses a mockumentary format. Astrof brought on Monica Aldama—the real-life coach from Cheer—as an executive producer to ensure authenticity. She even warned the writers that the fictional team would “never, ever in reality make it to Daytona,” a challenge that shapes the storyline. (Show info: https://www.nbc.com/stumble)
For Wednesday, based on The Addams Family I.P., Gough and Millar explained how they balance the show’s dark detective plot with the sharp, mean-spirited humor of the title character. They often reference Charles Addams’ original New Yorker cartoons for visual tone. Season 2 ended with major cliffhangers, including the reveal that Aunt Ophelia is alive, adding rescue stakes for Enid, Wednesday’s werewolf roommate.
The panel also touched on production details.
• Chad Powers: 6 episodes in Season 1
• Wednesday: two 8-episode seasons
• Elsbeth: 20 episodes per season
• Stumble: expected to reach similar broadcast volumes
• The Paper: 10 episodes per season
Tolins teased upcoming Elsbeth episodes, including a Dianne Wiest–led nun episode and a deadly Nutcracker-themed Christmas special.
Across all shows, the consensus was clear: comedy now thrives on tonal mix, emotional surprise, and creative reinvention—especially when working with beloved I.P. or bending genre rules in bold ways.
