TV Editors Explain Their Secrets to Creating Tension Without Melodrama — Watch

“Editing is the craft that shapes performing, pacing, and storytelling in television,” IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill said in his introduction to our 2026 Craft Roundtables panel on editing. “It’s where picture and emotion come together, often in ways that the audience never sees but always feels.” 

It was a fitting start to a discussion about an art form that’s all about the subtleties of storytelling. The roundtable reflected that sentiment with an eclectic group of shows ranging from tense dramas and classically constructed sitcoms to documentaries and one unclassifiable improvised comedy. But while the editors worked on dramatically different material, they shared a commitment to nailing the details that make their shows distinct.

Panelists included Shane Reid (“John Candy: I Like Me”), Christian Hoffman (“Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat”), Laura Zempel & Lauren Connelly (“Beef”), James Renfroe (“Shrinking”), Mark Strand (“The Pitt”), and Jon Philpot (“Hacks”). 

The conversation quickly turned to tone and to how their shows use tools like humor and perspective to ensure things never get too melodramatic.

“On ‘The Pitt,’ that’s the thing that is most important to us: not veering into melodrama,” Strand said. “It would be so easy to do, there are so many melodramas out there where that’s the bread and butter, and that’s what they’re cashing in on. And so trying to ground it in reality, as all these shows do, is of utmost importance.”

On the surface, a show like “Beef” has little in common with “The Pitt.” But Connelly and Zempel explained that avoiding melodrama is also top of mind for them, citing creator Lee Sung Jin’s sense of humor as a tool that keeps things grounded.

“One thing that drew me to ‘Beef’ was that I love to laugh in the darkest of moments. For me, when I’m telling a serious story about my own life, I will crack a joke,” Connelly said. “And I think that’s something that ‘Beef’ and Sung Jin does incredibly well. I think that, tonally, keeps it out of melodrama. There’s a relatability to all the characters that he created and the way we edit them, and you still relate to them despite how crazy the stuff happening around them is.” 

Watch the complete conversation from IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables in the video above.