Answering the multi-million dollar question: What makes a good television series?

This piece was one of three published for a class on feature writing taught by Professor Miki Turner. Read the others here and here.

Making good TV is tough, and is only going to get harder—every element from plot, characters, costumes and CGI help create a show that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats, desperate for more.

But getting (and keeping) the audience’s attention is no problem for Mary-Charles Jones, the secondary lead in the CW’s newest series, “Naomi”. Open and expressive, Jones was smiling throughout our interview as she got candid, sharing stories of her previous roles from her 16-odd years spent acting, and how they compare to playing Naomi’s loyal best friend, Annabelle, in her newest project.

Riding the wave of the superhero craze, “Naomi” follows the story of Naomi McDuffie, played by actress Kaci Walfall, a DC superhero forced to navigate the perils of having superpowers as a high school student. The pilot episode of the comic-turned-television-series showcased Jones filling the role of a humorous sidekick with ease, all while delivering jokes like it was second-nature.

According to Jones, one of her favorite parts about playing Annabelle is having the creative liberty to make her character humorous and approachable. She said that writer and director Ava DuVernay was intentional about giving Jones and the rest of the cast ample opportunities for creative control over her character and improvising lines that would make the final cut. “I would say 30% of my lines are improv,” Jones said. “I haven’t been on sets where I’ve had so much creative freedom to either create the character or improv a lot of my lines.”

And it’s clear to see how these creative decisions pay off in the long-run: Annabelle comes across as a genuinely likable character who is willing to stick by Naomi’s side, no matter how outlandish the situation. She deviates from a standard secondary lead by instantly believing Naomi when her best friend reveals her new super-abilities.

“I know how crazy it all sounds,” Naomi admitted in a scene when she feared that she was not as normal as she once believed.

“You’re not crazy, babes,” Annabelle replies. It’s a testament to both Jones’ acting and the realistic relationship between both girls that the moment feels unexpectedly authentic.

Jim Staahl, television writer, actor and USC associate professor, has spent his career writing for hit shows like “Bobby’s World” and “Curb your Enthusiasm”. When questioned about what he believes makes a show successful, Staahl revealed that the key is in the characters.

“Whether it is a show like Ted Lasso or Russian Doll that start with a fun high-concept premise, it is characters that are key to the show’s success and take us beyond the series premise,” Staahl wrote in an email. “Compelling, three-dimensional, flawed characters that we can relate to, care about their fate, and draw us in are key. After that, you hope an audience will find your series and appreciate what you have created.”

Dr. Kelly Jones, adult psychiatrist, top medical practitioner in Los Angeles and Mary-Charles Jones’ older cousin, briefly hopped onto our Zoom call to share that the bright, bubbly personality viewers witnessed on screen translated into real life as well.

“[Mary’s] personality is very similar [to Annabelle],” Dr. Jones said. “Just so upbeat. I’m not sure how [Annabelle] was written but you definitely bring that, and it’s so exciting.”

But it’s not just the humor, or likable characters that really bring “Naomi” to life. When asked about what makes “Naomi” so well-received, Mary-Charles Jones said that the overall plot and reactions to the ludacris situations made the show feel more grounded in reality.

“We have these beautiful stunts that are incredibly done [and] this CGI, but we focus on the people around Naomi,” Jones said. “It’s that idea [that] yes, this person has so much responsibility on them when they find out that they have these powers, but how does that affect the people around them? What if my best friend really did have superpowers? How would that truly affect me? How would that affect her parents?”

Another refreshing change that sets “Naomi” apart from the rest is the intentional commitment to diverse casting. People of varying races, genders, ages, shapes and sizes find their way onto the screen, and according to Jones, normalizing diversity on screen was very important during the show’s creation, even if casting went in opposition of the source material.

“We did the table read for the show, and the description of Naomi’s parents was: Naomi’s adopted by two white parents. And we stopped in the middle of [the] table read and were like, ‘that’s clearly changed’. I think there’s six issues of Naomi right now; we have the source material, but we also have the freedom to say ‘Okay, here is the superhero part of this, but here’s the real-life part of it that we get to create and build” and that’s what I think make[s] superhero shows so great.”

It looks like “Naomi” has all the elements needed to be a huge success, but only time will tell if this series will live up to its full potential.