Hello friends!
I soft pitched an idea to a few producers and to my reps. The response was positive.
Since I am a Noob in the TV landscape I am trying to figure out the best way to tell my story. Of course I do not expect you guys to do it for me! But I do have a question about mini series [or limited series] and about the difference between a pilot for a limited series, and a pilot for an ongoing series.
My story is quite novelistic and it would be perfectly suited to a limited format. I don't have a myriad subplots or characters coming in and out of focus. In that sense it is more like The Night Of - with a clear beginning and end. There is room to expand beyond the first season by moving to a different city, but that remains to be seen pending interest in the show.
My questions are:
- what are the pros and cons of formatting the story as a limited series? Is it a harder sell?
- How does writing/structuring the pilot of a limited series differ to writing the pilot of a multi-seasonal show? In my mind a limited series is essentially a very layered, long-format movie- whereas a multi-seasonal show can often repeat itself or have a much more rigid structure. I guess I think of the pilots to a limited series as chapter 1 in a 10 chapter novel - am I right?
- when putting together a limited series, what would you tackle in terms of materials? The pilot script? A couple of pages with the idea and the main characters/episode breakdowns? I am facing the issue of whether to just jump in and write the pilot – which I'm sure would be a lot of fun and possibly a good thing for me since I have never written TV – and wondering if I might be better off writing a handful of pages with the idea, characters, and maybe pilot description, and seeing how that resonates with people beyond my soft pitch.
Although there is a part of me that fears people won't get the tone or will nitpick the "idea pages", as opposed to just reading the damn pilot itself.
Thoughts hugely appreciated !
MD
I soft pitched an idea to a few producers and to my reps. The response was positive.
Since I am a Noob in the TV landscape I am trying to figure out the best way to tell my story. Of course I do not expect you guys to do it for me! But I do have a question about mini series [or limited series] and about the difference between a pilot for a limited series, and a pilot for an ongoing series.
My story is quite novelistic and it would be perfectly suited to a limited format. I don't have a myriad subplots or characters coming in and out of focus. In that sense it is more like The Night Of - with a clear beginning and end. There is room to expand beyond the first season by moving to a different city, but that remains to be seen pending interest in the show.
My questions are:
- what are the pros and cons of formatting the story as a limited series? Is it a harder sell?
- How does writing/structuring the pilot of a limited series differ to writing the pilot of a multi-seasonal show? In my mind a limited series is essentially a very layered, long-format movie- whereas a multi-seasonal show can often repeat itself or have a much more rigid structure. I guess I think of the pilots to a limited series as chapter 1 in a 10 chapter novel - am I right?
- when putting together a limited series, what would you tackle in terms of materials? The pilot script? A couple of pages with the idea and the main characters/episode breakdowns? I am facing the issue of whether to just jump in and write the pilot – which I'm sure would be a lot of fun and possibly a good thing for me since I have never written TV – and wondering if I might be better off writing a handful of pages with the idea, characters, and maybe pilot description, and seeing how that resonates with people beyond my soft pitch.
Although there is a part of me that fears people won't get the tone or will nitpick the "idea pages", as opposed to just reading the damn pilot itself.
Thoughts hugely appreciated !
MD
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