From Marc I – How long is an actual 2-hour TV movie… those run on commercial networks? And, is there not a blur on product placement and content? Do the writers decide product placement?

Mr. Pop History – Great questions. The length on two-hour commercial-TV movies is 96 minutes. They’re written in seven acts, as opposed to three acts for theater movies and channels such as HBO. This is to accommodate commercials sets and station breaks.

Product placement – well, let’s face it. ultimately the writer is the gatekeeper of program quality – but, you can bet – network suits get involved – because – product placement is all about making money. It was such a big TV trend during the 2000’s and back in 2006, the Writer’s Guild and producers such as John Wells (ER) and Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) were very concerned about the encroachment of products into their scripts and demanded more control.

Today, it still remains a tug-of-war – unless you’re a very successful producer.