Who's In Your Pilot?

Q. When you do a pilot for a series, it seems only natural that you need to introduce all main characters, plus the most important recurring ones, but how much is too much?

I would try not to introduce the recurring characters. You want to focus the story on your core cast, so that you have time to introduce them properly, in action. Obviously if it's a procedural, you'll have episodic characters; and even if it's character-based, there may well need to be an episodic character to push them into motion. But the pilot is meant to show that your core cast have such interesting dynamics that you'll have no problem getting 100 stories out of them. If you need a bunch of recurring characters to get a good story, maybe you have the wrong core cast.

Act Outs in Pay Cable Specs?

Q. I've written a spec destined for pay cable. But I was taught to have strong act outs, and the script actually has them. Should I leave them in my spec (so people notice my excellent act outs?) or take them out (so people recognize that I'm aiming at pay cable)?

I've wondered about this myself. On the one hand, you don't want to look like you don't know what an act out is. On the other hand, if you're aiming at pay cable, then shouldn't the script reflect that? On the other other hand, with no act outs, are you precluding having an exec think, "Huh, this would actually make a great pilot for CBS if the main character just solved crimes"?

If you read scripts as part of your living, would you expect a pay cable spec to have no act outs? If your specs are circulating, what do you do if your script is a natural for pay cable?

Can You Sell a Pitch?

Q: if you're a new writer, should you even be considering pitching bibles and treatments? It strikes me that you need to have whole specs each time for awhile. Am I wrong on this? Would having a couple of specs as samples be enough to let me send out other shows simply as pitches?

Probably not. There was a run of networks buying shows even from novice writers, but I think most of that was networks buying spec pilots. These days there's a lot less development going on, and even experienced writers are back to writing spec pilots. At least, that's what my agent is telling me to do.

For experienced writers, it depends on the show. Lisa and I have a couple of high-concept pitches out there, where anyone can get what the show is just from the pitch. One of them I'm not speccing because the concept is so particular that we may not find a network where it's a fit, so writing a pilot might be a huge waste of time. The other one we're not speccing because it would require a ridiculous amount of technical research, and it's an execution-independent concept for which, really, any veteran writer could bang out a pilot based on our five minute pitch. (We're also not speccing them because we've optioned these to producers whose job it is to find me the money to write the pilots. But that doesn't really change the calculation.)

We're speccing everything that's at all execution dependent, particularly comedies, where you need to see the characters in action and hear their voices to know if it's going to work or not.

Even if your agent is willing to send out pitches, I wouldn't do it. Unless you're a TV genius, your pitch is not as good as you think it is. You'll discover how to make it better once you write the pilot. You'll discover elements that don't work. You may have to chuck out a core character or two. You may discover a brilliant new core character. You may change a character's personality when you realize it's not working on the screen. Why send out something that isn't as good as you can make it?

Write the pilot. It's easier to get someone to read a spec pilot than a pitch. A good spec pilot will get you further than a pitch. A pitch never comes alive. It's just a description of a show. A spec pilot is the show, and everyone wants to read a good one.

Pilot School

Pilot School is a terrific collection of pilot scripts. Lisa says the pilot script for MAD MEN is laugh out loud funny -- quite a change from the dry way it came out, eh?

Querying TV Specs?

Q. In your book you talk about querying before actually writing the screenplay to test the value of the hookCan you do the same thing for TV specs, to see if you should even bother writing it?

Er, no. You might query producers or agents about your spec feature to see if anyone's interested in the hook. But you're not writing a spec TV script in order to sell it. You're writing it to show you can write TV. A clever hook is a good idea, but producers and agents really need to see your writing chops.

On the other hand if you're talking about a spec pilot that you hope to sell, you can certainly pitch your TV show concept to people in the biz, to see if they warm to it, before investing in writing a spec pilot. You'll want to do this in person, so you see their reaction up front; also they'll be less likely to steal your idea; also, your concept will improve itself as you pitch it. I spent four days in the Rocky Mountains the week before last, pitching a couple of series ideas to producers. We've since had offers and we'll be optioning them shortly. Then we'll take the pitches to networks to see if they'll pay Lisa and me to write a pilot. So in that sense, you can query a TV spec pilot. But it's really a different thing.

One Hour Too Long?

Where can I find the structure breakdown of a 2hr pilot?

Can I use a two hour spec pilot as a writing sample or is that too long for someone to read for a sample?

Why would you want to write a two hour pilot, spec or no spec?

A pilot is supposed to create the template for the show. It doesn't just set up the characters and the premise. It tells the audience what the show is.

A two hour pilot for a one hour show, by definition, fails to create the template for the show. It may set up the characters and the premise, but it's a movie, not an hour of television.

There are successful two hour pilots, but they're really two episodes that work well back to back. Later they can be shown separately. I think actual two hour pilots, conceived and aired as such, tend to make very bad pilots. They are self-indulgent and clunky. Give me the discipline of a pilot that tells a good hour-long story, and incidentally introduces the premise, characters and world.

What Are You Speccing

Every now and then, we at Complications Ensue ask you guys what you're speccing, and what you've heard people are speccing, so everyone can get a sense of what the hot specs are.

And it's that time again. Especially because the network, alas yes, pulled the plug on my pay cable series, and I'm debating between writing an hour spec or a half hour spec pilot.

What are you speccing, or what have you recently specced?

What have you heard other people are speccing?

Pilot, or Pilot and Bible?

I'm about half way through writing a TV pilot script. I don't have a bible as such - a few notes here and there. I'm letting the characters work themsevles though the pilot, which means once it's done, it'll be crap and need re-working like hell.

Yah. Kids, don't try this at home.

Should I just write (and worry about) the pilot? Or would you recommend that I come up with character profiles, the bible and how it would work on an episodic basis? Perhaps I could write the first 3 episodes and any springboards, episode ideas I can think of etc? I'm in England, so things may be different.

I would never start writing a pilot without having about dozen episodic springboards. That's because you need about a dozen springboards to be sure you actually have a template that allows you to generate stories. Do you have a story motor? Or do you just have a single really cool pilot?

As you try and come up with springboards, you will often discover things about your show that you wouldn't have found out just writing a pilot. You may realize there are characters you need that you don't have, or that some characters you thought would be interesting just don't seem to generate stories, and other characters that you thought were minor are actually recurring or even core cast members.

That doesn't mean you are necessarily going out with a show bible. You're probably just going out with the pilot. But I think you need to know what your show is episode to episode, and you need the pilot to set that template up. A pilot that feels like a one-off will kill your sale. A pilot that establishes a strong story motor for later episodes will attract attention.

I can't speak about England -- ask Stephen Gallagher. In the States you'll be circulating your pilot. In Canada you used to be able to option just a bible, and I believe my friend Shelley can option an idea off a one-pager. But I also hear that networks are starting to look for pilot scripts here too.

Hook'em, Dan-o

In this post, OutOfContext writes:

Sometimes you've got to explain the 'world of the show', but often not as much as you think you do.

You don't need to put all your backstory in the pilot. Remember the Big Rule of Pilots:

The real purpose of the pilot is to get you to watch the second episode.

The Big Rule of Pilot Scripts:

The real purpose of a pilot script is to get them to commission a second script.

So only put as much backstory as is necessary to get them to commission a second script. It's TV, not features. You can develop the world of the show as you develop the characters, episode by episode. You don't have to do it all in the first script.

Too Long? What to Cut?

Q. I have solid pilot. It has good dialogue, fleshed out characters, fun action, solid structure, etc etc... basically people like it. Quite a bit actually. Unfortunately, it's now hitting 75 pages. You've talked about how page count varies wildly based on writer's voice and style. I think that's a large part of this, but it's still one of the longest pilot I have ever seen.

Maybe there's a scene or two that can be cut without major loss, but that's only going to give back, max, three pages. Cutting into most scenes, I fear, will compromise how the script presents to the reader and how the dialogue flows, which is working really well right now.

Do you have any advice? Perhaps I can leave it as is? (Fingers crossed) Or is there a particular strategy that you use when a script runs over and serious cutting needs to take place.

75 is way, way, way long, unless you are Amy Sherman-Palladino. In other words if your characters all talk like they're in HIS GIRL FRIDAY you're okay, but they probably don't. Even Aaron Sorkin's scripts are in the 60's, and they do go on.

An hour drama script should be about 52 pages.

Here are a few ideas how to fix it:

a. Start later. Could some of the story be backstory? Are you spending time setting things up that we could probably figure out without the setup? Could your Act One out be your Teaser out?
b. End earlier. You're writing a series. You want to end on a great cliffhanger so people will stick around for ep. 2. What if you end the episode sooner?
c. Cut a subplot. Odds are you have multiple subplots. Kill one. Save it for a later episode.
d. Jump the plot forward faster. Assume the audience is intelligent and sophisticated. Say you have a cop finding the murder weapon. Then they examine it. Then they argue about what it means. Cut the examination. We'll learn everything we need to know about the weapon from the argument.
e. Are your scenes too long? My scenes run one to one and a half pages. I might have a few two page scenes. A three page scene is a looong scene on TV. Can you get into your scenes later and get out of them sooner?
f. Kill your darlings. There are a couple of scenes that are in there because you just love them so. You know you don't strictly need them for the episode, but they're the reason you wrote the show. Cut them.

The key question is: these people who are liking it, are they professionals? There is such a thing as a salable 75 page script. But it's a fast-moving, talky episode. If professional screenwriters are liking it, you might be able to get away with it. But if your friends who are liking it aren't pros, then you may have trouble with your pilot.

Deal Terms for Newbies part 2

OutofContext comments:

So, if I understand correctly, a studio deal essentially mirrors an option from a producer. An independent producer will take out an option which spells out the terms (payments and guarantees) that a studio (or producer with actual money) will want to secure and attempt to sell those rights for a profit and maybe attach themselves to the project. The difference with dealing directly with a network then is cutting out the middle man.

Right. Generally even if it's a network deal it's done through the producer, at least all of my deals have been with producers. The difference is if a network is involved before I do the deal with the producer, then (a) the network will have to approve the deal and (b) I will get to ask for a much nicer deal, since it's already a project a network wants. I think the exception would be where the showrunner has his own production company; Joss Whedon's deals are between his company, Mutant Enemy, and the network.

You mention developmental scripts as opposed to production scripts. Is that essentially what development is; the generation of enough good scripts to convince the studio that the project is viable?

That's it precisely.

Also, at what threshold does a writer who is brought in to an existing project get a 'developed by' or an actual 'created by'? Is it guild determined or a negotiated credit?

The "Created by" credit usually belongs to whoever writes the pilot script. If a heavy hitter showrunner rewrites someone else's spec script, then he might share Created By credit, or get a Developed By credit. Who gets the Created By credit is something you'd definitely want specified in your deal memo when you option your spec pilot. My deals say I get the Created By credit. A less established writer's deal might guarantee "no less than shared Created by credit."

Deal Terms for Newbies

Q. 1) What does it mean when a studio wants to buy a pilot script; what are they buying?

They are buying all rights. The script, the characters, the series concept, spinoffs, prequels, movie rights, book rights, everything.

Q. What opportunities and/or obligations does that impart to the writer?

Whatever's in the contract.

There are two flavors of this deal. One is with a potential showrunner. One is with a writer who is not considered a viable showrunner. Either deal spells out how much money the writer gets for the option; how much he gets if the series is produced; what kind of royalty he gets per episode; whether he has a right to be similarly compensated, or even to work on, spinoff series, movie spinoffs, etc.

Either deal specifies what the writer's involvement on the show will be. In the case of the showrunner, that he'll run the show, at least until fired; also how much he'll get paid, how many scripts he's guaranteed etc. A less experienced writer should also be guaranteed a certain number of scripts and a staff job on salary.

Q. Can a lawyer handle a deal like this, or is it imperative that I have an agent?

Most contract lawyers, even most entertainment lawyers, are only able to make sure the contract says you get what the other side agreed you'd get. (Or, on the other side, to write language that makes sure the studio doesn't have to pay you what the studio agreed to pay you. Which is why you need a lawyer or a smart agent.) Top entertainment lawyers, and all good agents, know what deal terms to ask for and what not to ask for. However if you actually have someone optioning your pilot, it shouldn't be hard to find an agent willing to negotiate.

Q. What does 'development' entail? If the project is not bought outright and I'm to be involved in the production, what are my possible roles in the development process?

The project is never "bought outright." It's optioned. Then the studio (or prodco or network) commissions scripts. Depending on your stature in the biz, you may be able to insist on writing all the development scripts (my contracts do), or at least co-writing them. When the project gets a greenlight, then you move on to production scripts.

Note: I also blogged about this here.

Five Acts No Teaser?

Q. My spec pilot is five acts without a teaser. Is that a problem? The story itself doesn't need a teaser, but if I rack my brain I could probably come up with one that integrates in. But I'd really rather not. This story is an entrance into a world with the first act working as an introduction to players and themes, and I don't see an obvious big hook moment in the first two minutes for a teaser.

I've seen hour episodes without teasers. I can't think of any pilots without them. (Anyone have counterexamples.)

Not having a teaser is an interesting choice. It allows you to tell a bigger chunk of story before giving the audience a convenient break during which to leave you. You'll see it from time to time in hour episodes, though rarely in pilots. (Anyone got any examples?)

I feel you almost always want a teaser. I've never written a pilot without a teaser.I want to grab the reader's, the exec's, the audience's attention. A great teaser not only grabs their attention, it tells them what kind of goods the show is promising to deliver.

It does not have to have the main characters, though it usually does. The BUFFY teaser just tells us "this is going to be a narratively surprising show with vampires."

But don't take my word for it. If you're considering skipping your teaser, then you should really try to find some hit series that also skip the teaser. See why they did it, and how it works.

Then, of course, watch a bunch of hit show pilots and see what their teasers do for them.

If you can't find any hit series that don't have a teaser, then unless you consider yourself a narrative genius, and hope to break new narrative ground, I'd spend a week and find myself a teaser.

Always do your research. If you're building a new engine, you want to know how everyone else builds their engine. Otherwise you're liable to reinvent the wheel; and no one will be impressed at your effort.

Do Canadian Shows Want Specs or Pilots?

Q. I've been reading a lot about shows and agents generally looking to read original materials (spec pilots, etc) as opposed to spec episodes.

I was wondering how (or if) that trend is carrying though in Canada? Are Canadian agents/shows looking for spec episodes or original material? If they're still looking at spec episodes, is the preference Canadian shows, or American shows?

Canadian shows were traditionally more willing to look at spec pilots than American shows, so now the Americans have just caught up.

But you're still better off showing one spec episode (of a hit American show) along with your spec pilot. I can't tell from a pilot if you can write my show. I only know you can write your show. And I don't know how long you've been working on your spec pilot. Maybe years. An up-to-date spec means you can write in a reasonable amount of time.

2 Hour Pilot?

Q. Should I write a 2-Hour pilot or try to get it done in 1-Hour? Part of me feels it would be natural for one of the stories to unfold over 2 hours as a pilot, but part of me also recognizes a possible danger zone of sending out something twice as big as what someone would normally have to read.

One hour, please. You want to show you can write an hour of great television, not a TV movie.

The day of the two hour pilot is mostly done, thank goodness. I can't think of a two hour pilot that didn't feel like a one hour padded out to double length. Yes, I'm looking at you, FRINGE.

Trim your dialog until it's tight as a drum, drop any scene that isn't strictly necessary, merge characters and plot turns until you've streamlined everything, and you should have no trouble fitting your two TV hours of plot into one TV hour.

How Real Should Your Spec Pilot Be?

Q. I have an idea for a spec pilot that I think I could knock out of the park, but I'm concerned about commercial appeal and production logistics. It's set entirely in a specific Asian country, but with an international cast of characters. Do I need to worry about any of that in a spec pilot to be used as a writing sample? Will I seem out of touch with what the North American industry wants if I write something along these lines?

I assume you're not talking about a war series. Shows about Americans at war overseas (GENERATION KILL, M*A*S*H, OVER THERE, BAND OF BROTHERS, THE UNIT) obviously can work. (We'll see how ZOS works for Canadians -- it's about peacekeepers, natch. Malcolm MacRury's pilot script is superb.)

If you're intending your spec pilot as a writing sample -- say you're not yet at a point in your career where you need to seriously worry about whether you will actually sell your pilot-- then you have a little latitude. A show set overseas is a long shot, but it might stand out from the rest of the pile of reading, especially if you do knock it out of the park.

I would consider writing it if it has a really great hook and the venue enables you to tell fascinating, fresh stories. I would also make sure that it is convincing as a TV show in every other regard.

• Is there a core cast that constitutes a "family" either of blood or of choice?
• Is there a strong story motor? Do "stories walk in the door"?
• Do the stories tend to unfold in a limited number of controllable venues?

Your lead pretty much has to be American and otherwise relatable since the setting is foreign. Ideally two of your leads are American.

I'm not sure you need to make this a cable show. War stories show up on both cable and on broadcast, so I am not sure that your Asian whatever can't be on broadcast. That determination has more to do with how niche your audience is. MAD MEN is cable because it's demanding serial drama set in 1962. (Quick, name some period shows on broadcast!) DEXTER is cable because it makes a serial killer lovable, and advertisers might balk at that.

If you care deeply about an idea, it's usually worth pursuing. It should be a good writing sample for you; and maybe you'll figure out how to make it more network-ready as you work on it. I say go for it.

What Spec Means

Q. HI there, I was asked to write a spec pilot for a TV series. How much of a percentage should I ask if the pilot gets bought? should i ask for an upfront pay? how much would that be?

This is not a "spec pilot" situation. A "spec pilot" is a pilot for your own series that you write on your own, hoping to sell it. You own it 100%. Once someone wants to buy it, any agent in the world will be happy to negotiate your deal.

What you are being asked to do is write a pilot on spec, which is an entirely different thing, and it is forbidden under the WGA and WGC rules. There will be no upfront payment; that's what "on spec" means. A WGA or WGC signatory producer is not allowed to ask for you to do any writing on spec, so I assume you are not dealing with a signatory producer.

Let's suppose you're a newbie writer and this is a big break for you; otherwise, don't do it.

The odds are the pilot will not get bought. But if it does, then you would normally be entitled to a great deal: "Created By" credit and a per-episode royalty; a guaranteed staff position with a guaranteed number of scripts per season; a big hunk of cash for purchase of rights; and, of course, the Guild minimum for a pilot (150% of payment for a regularly episode). Also, the right to write any MOW or feature based on the series, and passive payments if you don't write same. (Agents know all this stuff.)

What the producer will try to do is get you to do the heavy lifting, in exchange for a small payoff if he sells the series. Don't do it. The odds are terrible of anything happening, especially on a project that a producer is unwilling to pay money for. If something does happen, you need to make out like a bandit in order to make up for the long odds. That's why you don't want to negotiate your terms now. You're not getting paid anything, so there's no reason for you to negotiate your back end now. Negotiate your back end when you're in a strong negotiating position, when there's a network that wants to buy and you're the only one they can buy it from.

Mmy point of view is that you are contributing a few months of your time and the producer is contributing a "napkin idea" and some notes. So you should own the results, not him. The producer must assign his idea to you, in return for a limited-period option during which only he can set up your project. Should the producer set up the project, your agent will negotiate your compensation then, when it's actually worth something; not now. If the producer hasn't come to you with a bona fide offer within 18 months, say, then the project reverts entirely to you and you own it outright. Only fair.

I don't think you should negotiate terms up front. But if your producer insists and you still want to work with him, then I would insist on the following:

a. Upon producer assigning his rights to the project to any third party, your pilot script has to be bought under a WGA deal. I.e. your deal becomes WGA upon the producer setting up the project with a studio or network.
b. You have the right of first refusal to write at least the first two scripts ordered after the pilot, up to first draft.
c. Should the series be produced, you get a CREATED BY credit, which can be shared with any other writers getting credit on the pilot according to WGA arbitration.
d. Should the series be produced, you get a per episode royalty of, let's say, $5,000 per episode, for the life of the series.
e. Should the series be produced, you must be hired as a story editor for at least the duration of the first season, at WGA scale for a story editor. (I think it's about $6,000 per week.) You are guaranteed at least 2 scripts per season, above and beyond any scripts written during the development period.
f. Should the series be produced, you receive $25,000 in cash on the first day of principal photography, in exchange for the series rights.
g. Whether the series is produced or not, you have the right of first refusal to write the first feature or MOW based substantially on the pilot, at WGA scale.

Note that these terms are (a) unrealistically low for a professional writer writing a pilot for money, and (b) much more than your producer probably dreams of paying. But screw him. He's not paying you anything to write it, so he shouldn't complain that you'll get paid fairly -- by the studio, not even by him -- if by some miracle the pilot gets picked up.

Spec Pilot, Spec Pitch

I sent my spec pilot to a prodco as a writing sample. They want a bible including pilot synopsis, character profiles, and future episode ideas. Is this expected or should I be paid?

Great that you've got interest in your series. If you've gone to the trouble of writing a spec pilot, then writing a 6 page bible with a synopsis, character descriptions and springboards ought to be the work of an evening. In which case I wouldn't insist on getting paid first. If they want to see another script you ought to get paid to write that, and at that point, they ought to option the pilot and the bible as well.

I'm not in the WGC, don't have an agent.... what should I do?

At the point where someone wants to option your material, or hire you to write something, then it ought to be a snap to get an agent. (Canadian agents are listed on the WGC website.) All they have to do is negotiate the option terms, and they're attached to your series forever more. That's a no brainer for them. Just don't sign anything before an agent looks at it.

They're Not Being Polite; They Don't Have To

A teeny tiny post because I know 60% of you are hoping the turkey is not too dry. (Unless you went for it, and fried the thing. In which case it's yummy, and you're hoping you don't drop dead before you can get the cholesterol out of your system.) For those of us in Canada: hope you've already got your snow tires on. Yeesh. Where's global warming when you need it?

Q. I've sent a company my tv series pitch. They're asking to see a few pages. Do you think they are really interested or is this just a standard request before ultimate rejection?

No, if they were uninterested they wouldn't ask to see pages. They'd say TBNT.

They want to know if you can write. No one asks to read a stranger's stuff just out of politeness. Show people just aren't that polite.

You Have to Write It

What do you do when you have a great idea for a tv show, based on a column you wrote for a NY alt weekly? I've sent a few e-mails to agents but have little faith in that approach. I've also got a friend at NBC who says they'll give it a read. Sent them a two page treatment, char descrips, and a summary of about 8 episodes, but now what the hell do I do?

Write the pilot.

Sometimes producers will buy a story or other underlying rights, but it's usually something they tripped over themselves. If you want to make a TV show out of your column, then do it. Write a spec pilot. Adaptation isn't easy. You may see the TV show in your own column, but asking other people to do so may be a bridge too far. You'll have to adapt it for them.

Ideas aren't cheap, but a TV idea isn't just a hook. It's the essence of the TV show. It's very hard to sell just a hook. You have to sell them something that embodies the essence of a TV show.