It's the golden age of TV and writers are paying the toll

KIRK A Moore's sleeping pattern had landed him in the hospital. Working two jobs last year - he was a member of the writers' room on ABC's American Crime and contributing to the upcoming Netflix show 13 Reasons Why - Mr Moore was getting by on three hours of sleep (at most). He was also sipping Applejack Crown Royal during his all-night writing binges. Plus lots of Gummy Worms and caffeine.

The result: a panic attack that sent him to the emergency room. "I remember I was at urgent care, working on my script because I was on deadline and I didn't want to tell them I was sick," he said of an episode he wrote for American Crime. "So I finished it there."

Mr Moore's hospital stay may be an extreme manifestation of the stresses of the TV writing life, but the profession's possible pitfalls are willingly accepted by a growing number of men and women who arrive in Southern California each year, armed with ideas, scripts and unbridled enthusiasm, looking for success in an industry famous for chewing up and spitting out talent. They are enticed by the increased prestige of writing for a medium long disdained as a vast wasteland, in the era of Peak TV, when streaming services do battle with the broadcast and cable networks to win the allegiances of audiences. A record 455 original scripted series aired last year, and by the time 2017 comes to a close that tally is expected to top 500.