TV

Has your favorite TV series gone mental?

If watching prime-time TV these days is making your head spin, you’re not alone. As networks strive to grab the attention of fickle audiences in the Twitter era, plots are more furiously than ever. It’s like a ride on a high-tech rollercoaster. Storylines lurch, turn upside down and leave you somehow wanting more.

“Network television seems to have accelerated as the result of cinematic trends in editing and storytelling,” says Cole Haddon, creator and co-executive producer of NBC’s “Dracula,” a show that has taken a well-known villain and made him into an underdog fighting against a greater evil. “There’s pressure to make everything faster and sexier. In ‘Dracula,’ our goal is to try and bridge that gap.”

An unholy trinity of witches (Robin Barlett, from left, Frances Conroy and Leslie Jordan) on “American Horror Story: Coven.”Michele K. Short/FX

“It’s a balancing act and a really challenging one,” says Eric Kripke, creator and executive producer of NBC’s post-apocalyptic drama “Revolution.” “On one hand, I feel like you need to advance the story and deliver real twists and momentum every episode, but you can’t move things too fast either. A viewer who skipped an episode or two gets lost and can’t get back in.”

Some of the pressure to push shows’ pace is due to the success of ABC’s hit show “Scandal,” which “moves at the speed of light” says Callie Khouri, creator and executive producer of ABC’s “Nashville,” and has grown its audience largely due to its passionate Twitter following. That fact is lost neither on “Nashville”’s producers, nor on ABC executives, says Khouri.

“We definitely felt like, ‘Let’s get it going in Season 2,’” she says. “We get notes from the network [about pacing] but we want people to watch the show, too.”

Haddon agrees that broadcast networks do ask writers to keep shows moving at a quick clip, but says they’re just doing their jobs.

“We do get notes asking for more action,” says Haddon. “You have to strike the right balance for the network model. They know how to do that better than showrunners and writers.”

Vampire hunter Lady Jayne (Victoria Smurfit) of NBC’s “Dracula.”Jonathon Hession/NBC

And even though “Scandal” has profited by taking to Twitter, not all TV shows have the wherewithal to tweet that “Scandal” does.

That show was a sort of perfect social media storm, with Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes and her team whipping up ever-crazier storylines, and star Kerry Washington tweeting and encouraging her co-stars to follow suit. “Scandal” regularly lands in the top 10 of Tweeted-about shows and has grown from a mediocre-rated program into a hit.

“It’s a new experience to witness via Twitter the immediate reaction of audiences. You’re able to see that even though an episode can be packed with story it’s still not satisfying the network viewer,” says Haddon, who, at the behest of the NBC publicity department, has tweeted his way through three “Dracula” episodes, treating viewers to tidbits such as the fact that Dracula was raised in Constantinople in the 15th century, which is why his home is so lavishly decorated.

“If someone hasn’t bitten someone’s neck or something dramatic hasn’t happened every two minutes, people’s interest starts flagging,” Haddon says.

Haddon also feels there’s a difference between the broadcast network and the cable viewer, with the latter more willing to tolerate plots that are slower to develop, but it’s a fairly subjective argument.

“‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ move like bullets,” says Kripke. “The best cable shows balance plot and character.”

Olivia Pope addresses the masses following another scandalous cover up in “Scandal.”

That balance is what all three producers — Haddon, Khouri and Kripke — are aiming for, no matter how fast their respective shows may be moving.

“‘Revolution’ is an action show, so we are certainly required to deliver thrills and chills,” says Kripke, noting that many of its intimate conversations take place while they are on the run. “Even in my particular genre, you have to have a lot of heart and have the plots reflect what’s going on in the inner lives of our characters. You have to let the action be revealing to character.”

That’s true for a horror series like “Dracula” as well. There’s sex and violence, but there’s also a complex character at the center.

“When I deconstructed [the novel] and found subjects that were important to me — such as faith versus reason — then you can have a conversation about that thematically in terms of a monster seeking vengeance in a TV show,” Haddon says.

Still, a few admit that some things have to be sacrificed in service of plot.

“I feel like we have less time for music,” says Khouri. “We have to tell all of these other stories.”

While TV writers and producers may be pressed to push things along, none of these network TV producers are really complaining.

“As a storyteller, I like the idea of a larger audience experiencing what I do,” says Haddon. “Are there aspects of the show that would have been different if we were on cable? Yes, there are a few, but I like reaching that broad audience.”

Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane in “Sleepy Hollow.”Brownie Harris/FOX

Has your fave series gone mental?

SCANDAL (ABC) ★★★★
Washington, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) can spin any scandal, even her own affair with the president (Tony Goldwyn). The plot is a series of alliances and betrayals, some of which smack Pope upside her pretty head.
Craziest moment: Finding out Pope’s mother (Khandi Alexander) did not die in a plane crash but has been kept a prisoner.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN (FX) ★★★★★
A Gothic acid trip about a witch (Jessica Lange) who tangoes with voodoo queen Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) in New Orleans.
Craziest moment: One witch, Misty Day (Lily Rabe), resurrects a dead witch.

DRACULA (NBC) ★★★
Dracula (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) avenges the death of his wife at the hands of the Order of the Dragon.
Craziest moment: Van Helsing (Thomas Kretschmann) injects some light-tolerating serum into a female vampire and exposes her to the sun, whereupon she bursts into flames.

REVOLUTION (NBC) ★★★
Some 15 years after an apocalyptic event wipes out all of the Earth’s power, the reordered world’s new leaders are still trying to turn the lights back on.
Craziest moment: Secretary of Defense Randall Flynn (Colm Feore), locks himself in the “The Tower,” launches missiles to blow up the East Coast, and then commits suicide.

SLEEPY HOLLOW (FX) ★★
Revolutionary War hero Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) is killed by the Headless Horseman. Due to a spell cast by Crane’s witch wife, both men wake up in the present day. Crane meets Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) and they decide to stop the Horseman.
Craziest moment: Crane and Mills had to find a Native American used car dealer/shaman to learn a ritual so they could find the demon “Sandman,” so he no longer had the power to kill her.