The dramaturgy of a television work as structure-forming for the format basis of a television periodical is examined. The purpose of the study is to explain the fundamental features of a TV program as an integral artistic phenomenon, embodied in many variations based on a single format model. The task is to clarify the problem of the effective functioning of syntactic rules in the absence of basic linguistic units, which is characteristic of the audiovisual language of screen shows, that has been actualized by domestic and Western media researchers. A general thesis is put forward about the polymodality of an audiovisual work as a single text, the unfolding of which occurs according to pre-established schemes that regulate the effect of individual elements on the viewer's perception. The dramatic approach is considered in the discourse of the global iconic turn from the verbal culture to the visual culture, there are multi-branch attempts to identify possible basic units of the new combinatorial sign system. Syntactic constructions, defined as a chain of episodes, show signs of fragmentation, mosaicism, intertextuality, and other criteria of postmodern aesthetics. The dualism of screen attractions as aggressively influencing instruments and verbal narrative, their mutual influence and dramatic significance are emphasized. The concepts of “syntactic uniformity”, the constancy of the syntactic structure chosen for a given format, without the possibility of breaking it in variations of editions are considered.