The number of commercial breaks in one episode

[Nico Darko]

Hi.
As someone fascinated by television writing, I often pay attention to how many commercial breaks (and how many acts) an episode has.
The big networks used to have 4 breaks in one episode (usually a teaser followed by 4 acts), but they started to switch to 5 breaks around 2004, and it is now the norm for network and basic cable shows. I find it interesting because it had a significant impact on the writing (more scenes or more mini cliffhangers, and a faster pace). To my knowledge, a very small number of channels still has 4 breaks (CBS, AMC, FX... correct me if I'm mistaken).

My question is: is there a list of somewhere that indicates how many commercial breaks there are (by tv shows or by channels)? And where can I see the evolution over the years?
I did find a few shooting scripts of some shows, where you can see how many acts they have, but I'd love to have a real overview.

Thank you.

[Moviefan2k4]

All I know about this is that to start with, most TV shows only had one break with a single sponsor for the program. But over the years, shows became so expensive that those in charge couldn't do it alone. So, in exchange for airing a promo during the program, each sponsor gave the production a certain amount of money to finance it. That's why you have 20 or so sponsors now, per episode. The average runtime used to be about 50 minutes, with a ten-minute sponsor ad afterward. But now, you're lucky to reach the 40-minute mark, or sometimes even 35. For example, episodes of Smallville generally ran from 36 to 43 minutes, depending on the amount of commercials. I know this because I used to tape them onto VHS, pausing to cut the ads out.

[chip75]

If you've got some shows on DVD or BD you can see the act changes. Things like 24 and Stargate Atlantis if I remember have a black screen (in 24's case the timer jumps ahead to signify the jump.

In the UK we generally have one commercial break for 30 minutes and 3 during an hour long (about 42 minutes of content) episode depending on the provider. Sky have mixed it up over the years, from having one show run into another to having a break after the the teaser to having a break after the credits and first act.

If I remember Star Trek Voyager switched during production from 4 to 5 acts, I'm not sure if it was the first year (I'd have to check) and was mandated by the new network (UPN?).

[Nico Darko]

Since I couldn't find a source that listed the number of commercial breaks and the evolution of act breaks, I made my own little sample, if anyone is interested. I find it interesting in terms of writing and pacing.

It's possible I've made mistakes, please correct me if that's the case. And feel free if you have more examples (especially if they are uncommon ones, like for Agents of SHIELD, Farscape or Avatar). Thank you!

*has different numbers of acts depending on the season or the episode.

5 commercials breaks

All network shows today (and most of the basic cable) except on CBS, and some rare cases on NBC for instance. The switch from 4 to 5 breaks started around the fall of 2004. Most basic cable shows also gradually made the switch (Freeform, Syfy, MTV...)

6 acts
Alias (s4-5), Lost* (most eps), Grey's Anatomy* (most eps), Brothers & Sisters, Fringe* (most eps), Castle, Dollhouse*, Scandal, Teen Wolf*, Sleepy Hollow, The 100*, This is Us*, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist* (most eps)...

Teaser + 5 acts
Star Trek TNG / DS9, Star Trek Voyager (s2-7), Babylon 5, Lost*, Grey's Anatomy*, Charmed (s8), Everwood (s4), Friday Night Lights, Grimm, Fringe*, Greek (s4), The Walking Dead, Halt and Catch Fire ...

Teaser + 4 acts + Tag
The Invaders, Highlander, Farscape, Murdoch Mysteries

Teaser + 5 acts + Tag or 5 acts + Tag
Agents of Shield

Teaser + 6 acts
Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy*, Fringe*, Dollhouse*, The Vampire Diaries, Once Upon a Time, Teen Wolf*, The 100*, Jane the Virgin, The Expanse (s1-3), Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham, This is Us* (most eps), 911, The Resident*, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist* ...

7 acts
Teen Wolf*, The 100*, This is Us*, The Resident*...


4 commercial breaks

Almost all network shows before 2004. Was it the main structure from the start in the 50s (looks like it)?
As for today, CBS is the only network still doing 4 breaks for every drama.
On basic cable, FX and AMC are the only ones I can think of, still doing 4 breaks (for ~45min episodes). Do you have other current examples?Streaming wise, Hulu has breaks and scripts are divided into acts. Do other streaming sites have that?

Title Sequence + 4 acts
Twin Peaks (s1-2), 90210 (s1-4), My so-called life

Title Sequence + 4 acts + Tag
Moonlighting (most eps? not sure)

5 acts
The Sentinel, 24, Alias (s1-3), The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Manifest*, Evil, All Rise...

Teaser + 4 acts
Star Trek TOS, 90210 (s5-10), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, Charmed (s1-7), Everwood (s1-3), Battlestar Galactica, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead (s1 only), The Americans (standard ~45min ep), The Handmaids Tale...

Teaser + 5 acts
Supernatural, Greek (s1-3), New Amsterdam (2018), Magnum 2018, The Great...

6 acts
Manifest*, Debris...


3 commercial breaks

Most American sitcoms, and a lot of British dramas (from non public service).

UK (not sure about the act breaks)
Misfits, Skins, Utopia, Downton Abbey (standard ep), Mr Selfridge...

Title Sequence + 2 acts + Tag
Roseanne (s1-2)

Cold open + 2 acts + Tag
Roseanne*, Frasier, The Nanny* (most eps), Friends, Will & Grace (s1-8)* (some eps), HIMYM*, Scrubs (s8), Mom...

3 acts + Tag
The Simpsons* (recent seasons), HIMYM*, Cougar Town (s1-2), Rick & Morty

4 acts
New girl* (some eps), Bob's Burgers, Galavant*...

Cold open + 3 acts
The Office US*, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer, The Mindy Project (s4-6)

Cold open + 3 acts + Tag
The Office US*, Modern Family, Cougar Town (s3-6), Happy Endings, Blackish, Young Sheldon, The Conners...

Cold open + 4 acts
New girl*, Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Mindy Project (s1-3), Galavant*, Will & Grace Revival, Love Victor...

UK: The Durrells...


2 commercial breaks

Title Sequence + 2 acts
I love Lucy, The Twilight Zone (1959) (s1-3 and 5), The Golden Girls, The Wonder Years...

Cold open + 2 acts
Cheers, The Nanny* (some eps), Will & Grace (s1-8)*, Scrubs (s1-7), The Office US*...

Cold open + 2 acts + Tag
Bewitched, Schitt's Creek

3 acts
The Simpsons*, Futurama, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra


1 commercial break

British dramedies and sitcoms are the only examples I can think of. All the BBC shows have no commercial breaks at all.

UK
Spaced, Black Books, Queer as Folk UK

[R0CK0X]

You're doing good work, sir.

[Nico Darko]

Thank you it took about a year of adding new examples to get to that list. By looking at detailed transcripts, sometimes shooting scripts (that's the ideal), or just by watching shows.

I'll keep updating the list if I have more.

[LokiMok]

Have you ever watched a show produced by Quinn Martin? (The Fugitive is a good example.) An announcer would tell you the episode's guest stars at the beginning and then a graphic would pop up after every commercial break to tell you which Act you were about to see. I think it was usually 4 Acts & an Epilogue.

[Nico Darko]

No I haven't, but I'm very curious to check that out now, thanks ^^

[JamesOttoSweetHeart]

All that I know is that I hate what has been done to TV shows in order to make room for more commercial time. The entire episode is no longer shown.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

[Gacivory]

There’s a lot of screenwriting resources out there. But the best way to learn is finding scripts of shows you like.

https://screencraft.org/2018/01/05/t...ision-scripts/

https://thescriptlab.com/features/sc...ision-scripts/