Why TV Can’t Tell Stories Chronologically | Plotlines
From Storied.
Watch this video on YouTube ↗
Flashbacks and non-linear storytelling are everywhere on TV these days. Why are writers so reliant on it, and is there a better way to tell stories?
Take your learning further with these "while viewing" and discussion questions from @PBSLearningMediaORG : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mYFjmA9C_5iTYAkUTPN0X9l4kjalZr6N/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116560312741858658311&rtpof=true&sd=true
Plotlines is a series that explores storytelling trends and tropes in literature and beyond. Each episode will break down literary traditions and classic works to show how they impact modern culture, and examines how different types of storytelling media influence our thought processes and shape our world.
Host: Jananie K. Velu
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Andrew Matthews
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Illustrations: Vijendra Singh
Shot on location at Alienated Majesty Books in Austin, TX
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Stock Images from Shutterstock
Music from APM Music
Plotlines is a production of Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
© 2026 PBS. All rights reserved.
reading list:
The Odyssey by Homer
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Take your learning further with these "while viewing" and discussion questions from @PBSLearningMediaORG : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mYFjmA9C_5iTYAkUTPN0X9l4kjalZr6N/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116560312741858658311&rtpof=true&sd=true
Plotlines is a series that explores storytelling trends and tropes in literature and beyond. Each episode will break down literary traditions and classic works to show how they impact modern culture, and examines how different types of storytelling media influence our thought processes and shape our world.
Host: Jananie K. Velu
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Andrew Matthews
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Illustrations: Vijendra Singh
Shot on location at Alienated Majesty Books in Austin, TX
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Stock Images from Shutterstock
Music from APM Music
Plotlines is a production of Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
© 2026 PBS. All rights reserved.
reading list:
The Odyssey by Homer
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
