The script room
How a script actually goes, start to finish
TV, feature film and theater are three different jobs. Pick one and walk the whole road — what each stage is, what you physically do, and how you know it's done. We coach the process; every word stays yours.
Television
TV sells an engine, not an ending. A pilot has to introduce a world, a cast and a machine that can make a hundred more episodes — and still be a satisfying hour on its own.
Half hour: 22–35 pages · One hour: 50–65 pages
- The pilot answers two questions: what is this show, and what is episode nine?
- Broadcast hours run teaser + five acts; streaming and cable run continuous with soft breaks.
- Every act break is a question the audience needs answered enough to sit through the ads.
- Ensembles need jobs, not just names — who provides pressure, comedy, information, heart.
- Voice matters more than plot in a pilot. Two pages should tell a reader who wrote it.
The road, stage by stage
Do this:
- 1Write the logline in one sentence, under 35 words.
- 2Write the engine in one sentence: 'Every week, ___ must ___.'
- 3Name three sample episodes from seasons one and two.
You're done when: A stranger can pitch your show back to you correctly.
Words you'll hear
- Cold open / teaser
- The scene before the titles that buys the next hour.
- Act break
- A cliff placed where the break falls, so nobody leaves.
- A / B / C story
- The main plot and the two smaller threads braided into it.
- Series bible
- Short document explaining the show, the cast and the seasons.
- Runner
- A small recurring joke or thread that pays off late.
After the draft
- Write a second pilot in a different genre — one script is a fluke, two is a writer.
- Learn to pitch out loud in ninety seconds without notes.
- Read produced pilots of shows you love; count the pages to each act break.
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