My TV Family: A Snapshot of Where We Stand

• Oct 13, 2006 03:33 PM ET
• by Jon Robin Baitz

Greg Berlanti, our showrunner at Brothers & Sisters [Sundays at 10 pm/ET, on ABC], was supposed to write today's blog. But Greg is terribly busy breaking the ninth episode, which is the second part of a two-parter - the first part, our eighth episode, having just been written by Craig Wright and myself. Both are bold episodes in which the politics and personal lives of the family entwine, as we envisioned they would when we conceived the show. There are flashbacks. That's all I can say right now, except that the flashbacks reveal some of the back-story and break open the family mythology.

There is a sense at Brothers & Sisters of now being able to reach
further in our ambitions for the show - this unique mixture of comedy and drama playing off each other from beat to beat in the blink of an eye - and a sense of being able to change temperature quickly and suddenly. To tell truths and allow our characters to bare the secrets they usually keep hidden just to make it through the day. [Executive producer] Ken Olin, Greg and I are feeling more empowered. Somewhat more trusted by the network - thank god, we earned that! - because they're encouraged by viewers' enthusiasm for the show. It's all very gratifying, to say the least.

In any case, I look forward to Greg's entries to this blog. He has
taught me so much about how to make television and has such generosity and true goodness at the core of his genius - I am quite enthusiastic about you getting to know him a little. Greg brings wit and integrity, along with an old-school, uncompromising grand passion, to the work he does. Craig Wright and I joke that he reminds us of the legendary Hollywood mogul, Irving Thalberg, but he's also equal parts Cuomo, RFK and Goldwater. He moves fast and he knows more than he even knows. Watching him at work, I am reminded that the best minds in our country seem to no longer run for office - they are in business, art, education, technology and science, fields where it's possible to really have an effect on the culture. (I'm thinking off the bat of Barry Diller, the Google boys, of Bill Moyers, Marian Wright Edelman, even Bill Gates and his philanthropic endeavors.)

Anyway... this Sunday's episode, "Family Portrait," is gorgeously directed by my other very vivid and hilarious partner, Ken Olin. Ken has this actor thing, this great lack of pretension about him, which is so comforting on the set. He brings out the dark little demonic brilliance that all good actors try to project, and he makes them feel safe while doing it. He has set the tone for the show - capturing the nuances of life in the big scenes, knowing how to let the camera find a twitch, a secret glance, and a dashed hope, or to find the humor that runs through our family. There are so many actors to bring together in these scenes, but Ken has already found the lush visual language that supports the narrative drive.

"Family Portrait" is a perfect example of how collaboration yields a
story, which is then put through another series of collaborative processes until it becomes a television show. First, Craig Wright and Berlanti and I sat in a room, talking it through. Then Craig and I wrote the script and hand it to Ken to direct. Before we shot a frame, though, we all sat down for the cast read-through, where the actors get together one day at lunch and, well, read through the next episode. It's not fun, and it's not relaxing for the writers or the actors, but it bonds us as a family, which is what we are. A big table. A Thursday afternoon. Calista [Flockhart] and Sally [Field] sparring, Rachel [Griffiths] projecting her character's frustration and grace, Ron Rifkin bringing his sorrow, anger and joy to the table, Dave Annable discovering his strength, Matthew Rhys savoring his sly plumy wit, and Balthazar [Getty] his power.... Ken Olin with pen in hand making notes in the margin, and me not believing that this is where we are. I catch the eye of my collaborator, Craig Wright. A little nod from him, meaning, "OK, not so bad." An antic and very brief grin from Mr. Berlanti.

And it's over, forty some minutes later, the first read-through, but the work on the show has just started. There's a long way to go before it gets to the audience, which is also becoming part of the family. Everybody is getting to know everybody else, and it feels good.