Tackling a TV Pilot

I posted this a while ago. Not a lot of advice, but a nice comparison to what works better to that which stumbles.

I am playing with a treatment myself, but I consider it recreation at this point. My family enjoys getting a laugh out of it so far, but I'm no comedian. Still, I think it has a place in cable, somewhere near 'Reno 911'. Best of luck to you, this is dangerous territory. You should check out some of the links on this page about it. Normally, your ideas just get stolen.

I posted this before:

TV Pilot treatments are vital, plus they are really a blast to write. They tend to be really really long, and detail where the cast and story is going. Spec writers can then plug right into the story for their contributions.

Two current treatment examples: Lost vrs Heros. Seems to me Heros had a much more cohesive, flexible treatment. Lost seems lost, no direction, no flexibility.

I would love to write a show for Heros, add a new character. I'd definately write for the Hiro character. What a hoot. Where in time would we go? What mutant skill does he need to team up with to fulfill his quest? Man, I'd kill to intern on this staff.

But Lost, what would I write? Beat up Sawyer. Kate gets teary eyed, can't choose between the two hunks. Beat up Sawyer some more. The others do dastardly deeds. Flashback on Sawyer getting the snot kicked out of him. I really liked this show, too.

i have not tried to write a pilot. but i can tell you how i would if i did try.

write not a treatment like a feature but a chronological storyline with each episode that shows the character arc throughout the season.
episode 1: logline
episode 2: logline
epidode 3: logline
etc...

if you can show a tv producer that your characters have more than just a couple of episodes...like 12 atleast then she can see it may have potential.

funny how you compare Heroes to Lost. to me they're both the same. the storylines seem to keep spinning their wheels and going off on tangents and spinning some more to reel them back into the story just to keep the show going on and on.

too bad you turned off Lost because it's really hot right now. the done deal board is all lit up about it.

a couple of years ago i had the pleasure of meeting with jj abrams in beverly hills. Alias was near ending and lost was hot to trot. i told him that "stand alone" eps do not keep me coming back week after week but it's the "serial" ones that are "must-sees". QT had just done a 3-parter for Alias. stand alone eps can be seen current or in a repeat airing, no big deal. but, when you have cliffhanger after cliffhanger you cannot miss any episode. that's what you get with both Heros and Lost. i suggest you go that route too.

look at 24. sutherland has signed on for 4 more seasons. it seems impossible for them to come up with more minute by minute thrilling action liked they've done so far. it's quite ridiculous, yet they will continue.

Just wanted to say that I am doing exactly this right now - it's my next project. However, I am doing it for German TV, which I have recently discovered is pretty hungry for good scripts.
I have an idea for a pilot; though the possiblity is there that I might just turn it into a 90-minute TV film and have done with it. I'm going to start writing a treatment tomorrow and see how it takes off. The idea is burning a hole in my mind!

Instead of making a new thread, I'll post this here. I have a few questions:

1. When writing a half-hour sitcom, do I have to lable the scenes (ex. Scene A, Scene B...), or do I leave that for later?
2. I've read that single-camera sitcoms have three acts while multi-camera sitcoms have two acts. Does it really matter?
3. I've read specs where the writer underlined who enters and exits, what is the procedure on that?

MR - i'm not a tv writer so i can't really answer your questions. however, i have read a few and realize that they are just in varied in detail style as features.
i suggest you stop reading specs and read only existing shows. worry more about content and longevity than formatting because that can easily be adjusted later but if the story is crap then no one will bother.

Single camera and multicamera scripts have different formats, so the format does matter. Underlining vs not underlining, scene labeling - find a script format from an existing show that you prefer and use it. Just keep whatever conventions you use consistent. If you underline, always underline.

Single camera sitcom.

Multi camera sitcom.


As NG suggested, read a lot of tv scripts to get a real feel for what you need.


The act breaks, teaser vs cold open, are your call. Writing Television Sitcoms, Evan Smith, and Crafty TV Writing, Epstein, go into the theory and rules of thumb in more detail, but it's too much to go into on a message board. Check out Jane Espenson's blog too.

Since you took a class I'm sure you went over this in it. But it's important to make sure that you idea IS a show that can had a shelf life. Rather than an epic screenplay.

Agents always talk about the 5x22. Meaning 5 seasons of 22 episodes as the end goal. (or in other words... the syndication $CHA CHING$). But I think in general, if you're writing a spec pilot you can fudge that a little. Prison Break (a clear hit) will not last 5 seasons. Battlestar is looking like it's going to end at 4 (as a hit). Had they been hits, Drive, Daybreak, Vanished, couldn't last 5 seasons. Lost looks like it's struggling to make it to the fourth season.

So I look at it as.... well in episode 5 my character would go through this, and at the start of season 2 something else happens.

I've written three pilots, (one of which was unfinished... or just bad... ) so to actually answer your question, I'm not revisiting it. I'm going to tackle a new one instead.