Cable tv series

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  • Cable tv series

    I've been writing a cable tv series. Is it true that if you're an untried tv writer, and you have a cable tv series idea that it's best to write a tv movie about the idea, first?

  • #2
    Re: Cable tv series

    No. Cable or network, you write a pilot.

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    • #3
      Re: Cable tv series

      It's best if you write spec episodes of existing series as samples to get you an agent or get in the door to work as a staff writer on an existing show. Then, after you have some credibilty, and work your way up, you might get the chance to pitch your original pilot. Selling TV shows is hard, and almost impossible if you're outside the system. Maybe you're already inside...if so....good luck.

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      • #4
        Re: Cable tv series

        I think the spirit of what RGF is saying, and I agree, is that having some samples in addition to your pilot ideas will serve you if your goal is to break into tv.

        In your case dog, you had feature cred, which counts for a great deal in the eyes of tv execs and producers. there's no need for you to write specs of existing series.

        my specs of existing shows have gotten me signed and gotten me work, as have my pilots.

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        • #5
          Re: Cable tv series

          Originally posted by Dogtown13
          my agents have never suggested I write a spec episode, only suggested I write an original pilot that we could go out with.
          More than one way to crack this egg. Even if you're a nobody like me...


          BTW - Matthew Weiner landed on Sopranos based on his Mad Men pilot, no?
          My suggestion is for somebody who is outside the system.,..which the OP seems to be, based on his/her question. Dog, if you have an agent and previous credits, you're clearly inside the system. But I agree, there's more than one way to do it...but unless I'm misreading the OP's situation, it seems to me he'll need a lot of ammo in his corner before he can set-up a series somewhere at this stage of his career.

          My sister had written some smalltime episodic in Canada. She wrote an x-files spec and her agent sent it to JW, and she landed a staff writer position on Buffy because of it. But, she had help. She had her Canadian agent in her corner. If she was un-repped, it would have been a lot harder road. She's now a seasoned TV writer with multiple US and Canadian credits, and she's still having trouble getting her original pilot set-up somewhere. Sometimes it's an easy road, depending on your circumstances....and sometimes it can be a brutal road. But the trick is to put yourself in a position where you have as much going for you as you can. Specs, specs of existing, original pilots, etc. It all can help...especially if you're outside the system. But once you get your agent...you have that guidance and access.

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          • #6
            Re: Cable tv series

            I just finished a writing fellowship that had the benefit of panels with pro writers and showrunners (all working now) and these were the general tips:

            Everyone hiring wants to see original pilots. Everyone.

            If they like your original stuff, some will probably ask for a spec of a current show to see how well you mimic a show's writing.

            Newbies should have both, connected or unconnected. The more scripts you have, the more shots you have and the more serious they'll know you to be.

            Be prepared.
            I'm always right.

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            • #7
              Re: Cable tv series

              I've been writing a cable tv series. Is it true that if you're an untried tv writer, and you have a cable tv series idea that it's best to write a tv movie about the idea, first?
              If it's extremely brilliant writing, it won't matter. Write it to the length it needs to be.

              Otherwise, you may want to think in terms of "bites."

              If you write it as a feature for instance, you get five potential "bites" in theory at moving forward:

              -feature script sale
              -feature writing assignment opportunities (script as sample)
              -tv movie deal (adapted from feature)
              -backdoor pilot (tv movie doubles as series pilot)
              -tv staffing opportunities (script as sample)

              If you write it as a tv movie, you get three potential bites:

              -tv movie deal
              -backdoor pilot (tv movie doubles as series pilot)
              -tv staffing opportunities (script as sample)

              If you write it as an hour or half-hour pilot, you get two potential bites:

              -tv pilot deal
              -tv staffing opportunities (script as sample)

              If you write a spec of an existing show, you get one bite:

              -tv staffing opportunities (script as sample)

              If you're trying to get staffed on a tv show based on your script and it's your only script, period, many people, showrunners and execs, will want to see some sort of backup before approving you.

              These thoughts are general. There are gray areas between all the above. Good luck.

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              • #8
                Re: Cable tv series

                Thanks for the great advice. My idea is for an original cable tv series.

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                • #9
                  Re: Cable tv series

                  I like the way you think...

                  But...

                  I feel like most tv show concepts don't translate well from film or vice versa. So much so that my tv concepts are polar opposite to my film concepts. In fact, I feel like writing for tv is a very different sensibility. Well, mine are.

                  Hypothetical example of how different my sensibility/writing is for both:

                  TV may look like: Six Feet Under/Dexter/Mad Men/Sopranos, etc

                  Film may look like: Blade Runner/Bourne/Dark Knight, etc

                  I generally write specific to whichever medium I'm writing for. Not so easy to repurpose those types of features into a tv show. In fact, I like the fact that I get to expresses different sensibilities/layers in both. I need that from writing to feel fulfilled at this point.

                  Indies probably more easily could be repurposed, but I keep coming back to the idea that it's easiest to just take the flat out risk to write something utterly targeted and specific for your first choice network. My show is only right for 2 or 3 cable outfits...I had to take that risk to target in order to feel like I had something utterly viable for these networks and thus far it's looking good.

                  I think you try to please too many and you may end up pleasing none.


                  Just another POV...whatever works, works. Much luck.
                  Character-driven feature material definitely seems to translate better to tv, if only for budget reasons. "Parenthood" being a recent example.

                  Darkness per se though, which you've mentioned is your thing, I don't think is a deal-breaker.

                  I read your first script. It was very character-driven and had a strong voice. Young characters. It's clear what the benefits might be on various shows, assuming you could deliver on a regular basis.

                  Part of what makes tv staffing (which in broadcast started a couple weeks ago with the first pilot pickup and pretty much ends around Memorial Day) so challenging is that from year to year, showrunners vary their opinions of what they want to read. Spec pilots. Plays. Short stories. Features. Existing shows. All these showrunners have been burned by writers who were great in other fields, but couldn't deliver on staff, and tv writers with competent specs of existing shows who don't add anything in terms of voice.

                  It all depends on where in the process of staffing you catch them. The first thing showrunners seem to need are writers who can break story and capture their own voice at a high level. Save them re-write time. If they haven't worked with you before, nothing serves better here as samples than existing series writing (and credits). Once that base is covered though, showrunners seem more open to writers who bring other things to the table, and here you're in feature, short story territory, etc.

                  That's what everyone's facing going in, to the extent that I can see. I agree all a writer can do is be true to who they are. You can be strategic though I think, about the format of the material you generate if gunning for a specific tv opportunity.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Cable tv series

                    Originally posted by jimjimgrande View Post
                    I think the spirit of what RGF is saying, and I agree, is that having some samples in addition to your pilot ideas will serve you if your goal is to break into tv.

                    In your case dog, you had feature cred, which counts for a great deal in the eyes of tv execs and producers. there's no need for you to write specs of existing series.

                    my specs of existing shows have gotten me signed and gotten me work, as have my pilots.
                    As dog and others have mentioned, I think it's as much of a crapshoot as feature writing. Which is to say of course you'll never have a Cable TV show if you don't write it. Is it hard to get a show pitched/picked up? Hell yeah.

                    I imagine just as hard as getting a major studio to buy your feature and put an A-list producer on it.

                    But that's why we're all here, right?


                    I did a pilot a few years ago for a friend who is a recording artist (trying to do the whole Hannah Montana thing, but for the slightly older, smarter set) and our options were pretty limited for pitching, so we ended up making it ourselves. Kinda off point, but it backs up my belief that anything you want to try to do, you should just do.

                    Want to write a pilot? Write a pilot, if that's what the story you need to tell calls for.

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