This post is in response to a request from Misha Burnett. Personally, I think he did better explaining this than I could HERE!
Firefly Cast
Something that is very popular in television, movies, and literature is the Ensemble Cast. Think Firefly, Star Trek, Oceans Eleven, and anything that has more than one main character. Many times there will be one central character and the others will be partial main characters. Even the crime dramas tend to have the leader and it takes time to get the other characters to that level. The key for something like this is making it so that the ‘central’ character leaving won’t kill the series unless it’s really going to be the end. After all, an Ensemble Cast is a group effort instead of everyone holding up the one guy.
Legends of Windemere has a difficult evolution because of this. Luke Callindor is the first main character you meet, so he gets the most air time. People perceive him as the central character, which is a role he steps into regularly. Unfortunately, this causes confusion as later books come out. Nyx takes center stage quite often as does Sari and the other heroes. In the end, there will be 6-7 main heroes with each one sharing in the importance while retaining an individual role. I’m going to use some of Misha’s terms here. Luke certainly operates as the captain even though he isn’t the strategist, but he also acts as a sex symbol and a loose cannon. Nyx is the loose cannon, true believer, and the first mate while Sari acts as the sex symbol and optimist at times. These roles jump around depending on the plot and which character is the target of the villains.
Tips for writing an Ensemble Story:
- To make it work, you have to develop all the characters equally. Think of it like a role-playing video game with a character level system. The final boss fight requires that you use every playable character, so you need them maxed out by the time of that fight. If you have to do a last minute rush then it hurts the character and bores the audience. If one is left behind then they’re a hindrance in the finale. Readers may hint that a character is getting overshadowed, so listen without getting into fights. If that’s intentional then leave it alone, but if it’s an accident then write scenes to put the character in the spotlight for a bit.
- A way to avoid having a character fall out of main cast is to give them personal subplots. This gives them chances to have spotlight scenes and develop as more than an assistant to the main hero.
- One way to clarify that it’s an Ensemble instead of a solo act with cheerleaders is to have the perceived main hero get incapacitated. Demonstrate that a story can go on without him and her. This can also show that the main hero needs them to survive and succeed.
- Understand that this is a balancing act. You might find yourself favoring one character over others, which is a habit to break. I don’t mean to never focus on them. Give them more juicy parts, but not much more than the others. The trick is to make sure people know they’re looking at a group act.
- Patience and acceptance are key. It may take time for readers to understand that they’re looking at a group if the main characters appear over time. There’s also the possibility that it won’t happen. Readers will have their favorites and focus on those instead of the overall group. It’s unavoidable and you have to take it in stride.
So, who has a favorite Ensemble Cast? Does your book use this or is it a central figure with a supporting cast?
Legends of Windemere 
Big Bang Theory I think does this quite well, as does NCIS and Criminal Minds. They have specific “stars”, but the show isn’t centered around that particular star. I like and enjoy that format. Kind of like the old time movies, like Cannonball Run with dozens of big names in cameos and the like. Not many movies today do this.
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TV shows seem to have it easier because every episode can focus on a different character to spread the importance. Comedies and crime shows are really good at this. You’re right about the movies. Maybe X-Men and Avengers? It’s easier when a team is involved.
So, what about book casts?
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That I will have to think about. I never gave it much thought, nor did I think of Windemere in that way.
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It grows into it as other heroes appear. Luke will take the spotlight more often than others, but there will be a few books where he isn’t the core character. This happens a lot in Book 4 where Nyx and Sari get to step into the spotlight for more attention.
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I would say that Game of Thrones is a great example of an ensemble cast. And George RR Martin makes it very clear that the story can go on without specific key characters, mainly by killing them off every chance he gets 🙂 I mean, gun to my head, I’d probably pick out Daenarys and Jon Snow as the main characters, but … even then, they still stand a pretty good chance of dying before the series ends, so …
My book is definitely central figure with supporting cast … although I’m currently attempting an ensemble cast story, and it’s really fun to write! Getting to explore so many characters is really a treat for a writer 🙂
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Good example. I haven’t read or watched Game of Thrones, but it does seem that nobody has the central focus. In fact, it sounds like that’s a sign of imminent death.
I like the fun of being able to switch perspectives and step away from a storyline to evolve another character. Maybe I’m just loving the balancing act.
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I’m prefacing my answer by saying that I love the book, but am in no way a scholar or expert, so… would Lord of the Rings be considered an ensemble cast? If so, that one is my favorite. I know Frodo is the main, but there are quite a few stories, and quite a few strong characters within his tale (and frankly, though this may be blasphemy, I like some of the other characters and their interactions better).
My book is a three-person main with Maureen taking the lead. There is also a strong, but obviously secondary, rotating cast of fun/antagonistic cheerleaders. They’re small but fun.
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I’ve been wondering that. I think Frodo and Aragorn share the main character status. A few times Sam, Pippin, and Merry take the lead. I would say yes, but I think the existence of Gimli and Legolas throws me off a bit at times.
A tripod cast. 🙂
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They were kind of the odd men out – at least the dwarf/elf thing was mildly amusing, but beyond Moria, neither one had their own trial to bear (it seemed). My favorite character was actually Formir (spelling is not my friend today).
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If you mean Boromir’s brother than I think it’s Faramir. My favorites were actually Gollum and Boromir.
I’ve been told that Gimli and Legolas were in there only to give the dwarves and elves a representative.
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That is it – I liked his mini story and his mini romance with the horse people chick (so on a roll today) – Wormtongue’s story and revenge was also really good.
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The humans seemed to slowly steal the show. Was the horse chick Eowyn?
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Yes! That’s her name. I thought it might be that (of course, I’m on a computer, I could just look it up, but I’m also technically supposed to be working as well).
For me, it was just that Frodo’s journey became so depressing and dire – it was almost too oppressive to enjoy the story and redemption. Almost. I still love it, but at least the humans were good for a break.
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I wasn’t going to point out the computer thing. 🙂
Frodo definitely had the darker part of it for me because he was eroding before our eyes. Almost tragic and you could tell it wasn’t going to go well rather quickly.
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Tolkien loves a bittersweet tale, that’s for sure. The Hobbit was no better, really. By the time of the battle of 5 armies, I was ready to smack all of them, and Bilbo’s homecoming kind of made me a little weepy.
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I felt The Hobbit was all about Bilbo, so I didn’t think much of what the dwarves were doing at that point.
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But don’t go to the extreme like costars having attorneys count words in the dialog to make sure it’s divided equally.
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I promise. For one thing, I don’t want to design a lawyer character yet.
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Seems risky. Might need to get legal counsel before publishing it. 🙂
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Good point. I’ll have to make the lawyer an orc to be safe.
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Great tips, Charles! I need your series does well with the ensemble cast, because you planned ahead. I can’t think of a series with such a plan. I sort of wish the Harry Potter series could be revived somehow. Rowling invented such great characters.
As for TV I love Agents of Shield. Perhaps I’m in the minority on that. I loved Firefly and Pushing Daisies.
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I think Harry Potter is better ended. I always fear that something will go on for so long that people simply want it to end. Finish on a high note is my preferred method. 🙂
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My husband just finished watching the one and only season of Firefly on Netflix. We loved that show and am totally stumped as to why it was canceled. I think Firefly incorporated everything in your list. By the end of the season, each of the characters (the crew of Firefly) had shown their strengths and weaknesses, proved they could function without Mal when he was held prisoner, and that they could work as a group to thwart villains. What can hurt an ensemble cast in TV is when an actor decides to leave the show and they have to get rid of the character somehow. Maybe that was going to happen with Firefly. In the 2nd to last episode, Anara told Mal she would leave. Of course, that could just be drama, but if that character did leave the cast, then their cohesion would fall apart. Changes in characters changes the chemistry of the group.
As far as books: I’ve been listening to audiobooks of Louise Penny for several years now. She has 9 novels in her Inspector Gamache series. She has a wide cast of characters: a whole idyllic village of eccentric people and Inspector Gamache, his family, and his agents. It’s probably not quite an ensemble, but in Book 8, when she sent one pivotal character (the Inspector’s right-hand man who had been in all the previous books) over the edge, I thought I might never read anything more by her. I was that upset. Fortunately, things get resolved in Book 9, but I think my reaction to the plot of Book 8 shows just how good a job Penny did in getting me to care about the characters other than Gamache. She does use spotlights quite a bit, allowing the reader to understand and appreciate the other characters. She has built a world. Three Pines is a fictional village (the Inspector lives and works in Montreal) and is a kind of fantasy in that everyone gets along in their own eccentric way and they function quite nicely off the grid. It’s a wonderful place of the imagination. Interesting. I just realized that Penny has made the place–Three Pines–a character as well.
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The demise of Firefly is rather epic. FOX put the episodes in out of order, moved the time around, took it away for baseball several times, did terrible marketing, and then cancelled it with 3 episodes to go. Many people didn’t even know it existed until after it was gone. It’s used as an example of how a great show can be undone by a network not treating it right. Did your husband see the movie yet?
I think you can remove/replace ensemble cast characters either really early on (Tasha Yar in Star Trek Next Generation died in Season 1) or later on after they’ve gone through a long evolution (the recent departure of Ziva on NCIS). Such a shake up can lose fans, but it helps the others evolve too.
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As I recall, the film Serenity came about because of fan reaction to Firefly’s cancellation. I believe it was the first time fan outcry led to a movie being made of a series with the exact same cast and production values.
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Yeah. The DVD has Whedon talking about that.
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I only learned of Firefly through Serenity.
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Same here. A few friends were big fans and got me into it when the movie came out.
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We didn’t know there was a movie, but I found it on Netflix. Thanks for mentioning it! And I agree with you that the timing of getting rid of a character is key.
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I believe the movie is what was supposed to be in the second season and to give fans some closure.
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Thanks for this post! I tend to focus on stories that revolve around an MC with side characters, or, you know, romance novels that feature the main two. HOWEVER, I also have a more ensemble-cast story in the works, which is a fantasy, so I’ve been finding your posts on the subject very helpful! You know, always thinking about these things, like pots set on the back burner, simmering but not quite done yet. I just finished another book, so I think I might get the first Windemere book to read.
And as for books with ensemble casts, let me see… I think IT by Stephen King was one of my favorites. It was a favorite of mine anyway, but I also love how it focuses on all of the kids, even though Bill is sort of the ‘leader’ of the group. A weird book, but a good one.
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I hope you enjoy the book. Fantasy series seems to be a rather easy place to use an ensemble cast. Having a group of heroes with individual subplots and the main plot helps with keeping a series going. But it isn’t done very often. There’s a long tradition of solitary heroes, which remains today.
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