By Steven Hartman · September 13, 2023
It’s one thing to be Emmy nominated, but it’s a whole other level to be a certified fresh TV series on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s natural that some of the best writing on TV would have a high score on Rotten Tomatoes so with an average Tomato Score of 90% or higher, you’ll definitely want to read the scripts for these Emmy-nominated TV shows.
Before attorney Saul Goodman represented meth dealer Walter White in the critically-acclaimed series, Breaking Bad, he was a small-time lawyer with a different name trying to make his way in Albuquerque. Taking place before he met the infamous Walter White, Better Call Saul is the title character’s origin story trying to prove himself at his older brother’s well-respected law firm while in a constant moral struggle as he represents a series of both good and ill-intentioned individuals and companies.
Download the script!
This highly-acclaimed show from Apple TV follows the Garvey sisters who are bound together by the premature deaths of their parents. Promised to always protect one another, these sisters become the lead suspects in an insurance fraud scandal over the murder of one of their husbands. Set in varying timelines before and after the death, the audience sees the compelling evidence, intent and motives of the sisters when it comes to the murder of the abusive man.
Download the script!
What does the future hold for Waystar Royco – a family-owned, media conglomerate? Looking at the next generation of leadership to take over once the patriarch of the Roy family steps down, the show follows the Roy family, which includes the conniving and vindictive children, as they manipulate and claw their way into the good graces of their father in hopes of taking over the company. While Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, commands the attention of the room, his mostly incompetent children expose the downside of being the receivers of everything they could ever want. Showing entitlement at its worst, Succession shines a light on the life of the one-percent and the fights that ensue amongst family members and inside boardrooms.
Read More: Inside the Episode: Breaking Down the Super Tense Season 1 Finale of ‘Succession’
Download the script!
Movies and TV shows about surviving a post-apocalyptic environment in which both the best and worst of humanity collide have been popular for well over a decade, including Station Eleven, The Walking Dead and even a new version of Stephen King’s The Stand. The Last of Us shows a dystopian future filled with paranoia, hostility and good intentions. Based on a PlayStation video game from 2013, this show feels more relevant for the audiences of 2023 having lived through a recent global pandemic, which is one of the reasons it probably has wide appeal.
The Last of Us follows a similar post-apocalyptic storytelling pattern as many that preceded it, which involves the struggle to survive and often features reclusive grown-ups (usually male) suddenly in charge of a minor (usually female). (Check out ScreenCraft’s look at Joel’s anti-hero character arc in The Last of Us.) This particular tale is about one of the survivors who must protect a teenage girl who may hold the key to ending the pandemic.
Download the script!Read 10 Things that Male HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Great for more insights into the Emmy-nominated series.
Creator Mike White explores the hidden neuroses of wealthy hotel resort guests, many of whom have their own version of atrocious behavior. They’re not all bad but they have a sense of entitlement that makes viewers both laugh at the absurdity while rolling their eyes in recognition of how the top 1% treats others.
The White Lotus (2021-2024)
What makes the show compelling is its luxurious location, top-notch actors and excellent writing. The White Lotus also starts off with a dead body, only we don’t know who it is. It could be one of the guests or any of the employees of the hotel who must cater to them. The ensemble cast of colorful characters is a comedy and a commentary on how the wealthy and privileged treat those who serve them and what they can get away with.
Download the script!
After hitman Barry Berkman accidentally enters an acting class and has an epiphany: he now wants to change his career and pursue a life in the arts. But this particular career change doesn’t come easy as his handler and those who he’s angered still pop into Barry’s life either pushing him toward more jobs or seeking revenge. Barry desperately tries to keep these two worlds from colliding which grows increasingly difficult as he becomes close with those outside the criminal world.
The comedy comes in the characters (both good and bad) and who they are in the context of the story. From his father-figure Gene, who teaches the acting class Barry walks into, to his love interest Sally, who desperately aspires to be a famous actress, Barry must react to the strange world of the entertainment industry while attempting to shed his past.
Throughout its four seasons, Barry has had six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.
Download the script!
The Bear is a dramedy about an award-winning chef who must return to his roots running his family’s sandwich shop after his brother commits suicide. Carmen initially brings the attitude and high pressures of highly-rated restaurants into the small confines of a diner, but the kitchen crew doesn’t hold the same ambitions as he’s used to. He must therefore learn to adapt to an unfamiliar kitchen while coping with his loss.
From a Michelin-rated restaurant to a rundown kitchen, The Bear is a fish-out-of-water story with Carman dealing with his new reality in an unfamiliar world.
Download the script!
In the first season of Only Murders in the Building, true crime podcast listeners Charles, Oliver and Mabel, who live in a New York apartment complex where one of the tenants committed suicide, discover that the circumstances of the death were mysterious and end up tracking down a killer. In the second season though, the show starts off as the trio being the prime suspects of a murder themselves. Coming off the trend of true crime podcasts, Only Murders in the Building is one of several TV shows and movies about main characters using the power of podcasting to help solve a crime.
Only Murders in the Building finds a way to differentiate itself in the fictional-true-crime-podcasting-murder-mystery genre space. How did they do it? Read the pilot to see how they set up the story with quirky characters and several twists and turns often found in a ‘Who Dun It.’
Download the script!
Ted Lasso was the TV show that seemed to hit at the right point in time when the world needed a glimpse of good people bringing those around them up. Ted Lasso was a football coach in the United States who took a job in England overseeing a soccer team. It was the ultimate fish-out-of water scenario as a southern gentleman jumped into an unfamiliar world of European soccer and found success away from his comfort zone.
In the few seasons that Ted Lasso aired on Apple TV, it was a constant display of mostly decent people doing the right thing, even if it was the hard thing, for the good of those around him. The optimistic nature of the show contrasts that of darker comedies such as Barry and The Bear.
Download the script!
When their thirteen-year-old brother becomes Internet famous, Cary and Brooke must find their place in a world where they are the other two who have aspirations of fame themselves as an actor and dancer, respectively. How they manage their lives as they struggle in their career and personal lives is what drives both the drama and comedy of the show.
Former Saturday Night Live head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider created the show and share the credit for writing their Emmy-nominated script.
Download the script!If you want to know what makes for a “Certified Fresh” TV show, you’ll want to read these Emmy-nominated screenplays written by some of the best in the business. Not only are they great context for what elevated storytelling looks like but you’ll find styles and presentation that can help take your writing to the next level.
David Young · September 11, 2023
