Television Development

by Bob Levy

  There have been many cop shows and many medical shows over the years. Tone is one of the key elements that distinguishes shows in these genres from one another. ER and Grey’s Anatomy are both medical shows set in hospitals. But the tone of the two shows couldn’t be more different. ER was intense, raw, realistic, propulsive and often seriously dramatic. Grey’s Anatomy is lighter, more fun, flirtier, sexier, more playful, more of a soap opera. Writers work hard to make sure they’re pitching the tone of their shows in a way that helps the development executives understand exactly how the show will be unique and distinct from others like it that have come before.

  Section 8: Sample Episodes

  The final section of the typical TV pitch is the Sample Episodes section. In this section writers typically pitch short summaries of the storylines of three potential episodes of their series.

  By this point in the pitch the network execs may be convinced they’ve heard a great pilot story but might still not be able to imagine how the series can sustain multiple episodes beyond the pilot. Pitching three sample episode storylines can help demonstrate how the series will work after the pilot. Three one- or two-sentence story pitches that sound (in short form) as compelling as the pilot episode story can prove to the listeners that the concept of the show can work beyond the first episode. Even short pitches like these can prove to the listeners that the series being pitched “has legs” and can sustain for the long haul.

  The three episodes don’t necessarily need to be the next three episodes that will immediately follow the pilot. They can be three episodes that might occur anywhere in the first season. The pitch can specify exactly where the three episodes would come in the air order. The writer could say, for example, “This first episode I’m pitching will be the next episode after the pilot, the second episode will come midway through Season 1, and the third episode will be the Season 1 finale.” Or, if the air order isn’t that clearly defined, the writer could simply say, “Here are three typical episodes of the series.” This implies they might occur anywhere in the run of the series.

  The kinds of stories a series chooses to tell help define the series and clarify how it’s unique and distinct. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was basically a cop show (like the dozens and dozens of other cop shows that preceded it on American TV), but one of the things that distinguished CSI was the kind of cop stories, the kind of murder mystery cases it chose to tell. CSI usually told odd, kinky, frequently highly sexualized kinds of murder cases. Taking advantage of the show’s Las Vegas setting, the show distinguished itself from other murder mystery cop shows by focusing on very “Vegas-y” types of weird, sexy murder stories. Pitching three specific examples of these kinds of stories helps illustrate to the listeners how a writer plans to make his series different from others like it. The sample episode storylines can also help convey the specific vibe of the show, building on the tone of the show just described in the previous section of the pitch. “Oh,” a listener might say to himself after hearing three sample episode storylines, “they’re not going to tell typical, run-of-the-mill murder stories in this series. They’re going to tell kinky, weird, Las Vegas Strip kinds of murder stories! I get it!”

  Some shows are based on a unique storytelling device. Think of the series 24. Each of the 24 one-hour long episodes of a season of 24 was told in real time over the course of one hour in the life of the lead character who worked as a counter-terrorism agent for a secret government agency. The 24 episodes of the season told the story of one incredibly intense 24-hour day in the lives of its characters. The writers who pitched this series must have explained how the unique storytelling device would work, then pitched the pilot story to demonstrate in detail how the first episode would work. The development executives were probably still skeptical that the device could sustain beyond the first episode until they heard the device illustrated again and again in specific sample episodes.

  Writers generally try to keep the Sample Episodes section of story pitches brief. The listeners know that the pitch is coming toward its conclusion. They’ve been listening to the writer talk for 20 minutes or so and are beginning to feel antsy. Once they sense that a pitch is entering the home stretch they tend to grow eager to get to the finish line and wrap it up. The Pilot Story section is the heart of the pitch. Everything after that is icing on the cake. Writers try to keep these last two sections concise and avoid wearing out their welcome by belaboring their point. Writers often try to employ a “get in and get out” approach to pitching. Less is more.

  Q&A

  After the writer has finished the pitch, the network execs will inevitably have questions. In Hollywood it’s actually considered rude if they don’t. If the network executives simply say, “Thank you, we’ll think about it,” that’s an indication of disinterest on their part. If the pitch has truly engaged them, they’ll come alive with several questions about how things work in the series or ask for more information about the characters.

  Questions from listeners don’t mean that the writer hasn’t addressed what they wanted to hear about. It means the writer has succeeded in intriguing them. The writer wants them to ask questions. The writer wants them to lean forward in their chairs and ask for more information. It’s an expression of interest, an indication of genuine engagement.

  At this point the pitch meeting becomes a conversation instead of a monologue. If the writer has producing partners present and the writer has delivered all of the pitch (as is standard), this is an opportunity for the producers to speak up and help the writer answer the network executives’ questions (and give the writer a chance to catch his breath or take a sip of water).

  Most pitch meetings (following a few minutes of conversation about what’s just been pitched) will end with the network executives thanking the writer and producers for the pitch, and letting them know they will think the pitch over, discuss it with their colleagues and get back to them with an answer soon. The decision can take anywhere from a day to two weeks.

  On rare occasions the network will “buy it in the room,” meaning they will say “yes, we want it” before the writer leaves. This is because the network execs are 100% convinced their bosses will like the idea, and because they’re afraid that it’s such a good pitch that if the writer walks out the door and drives to a competing network and they hear the pitch, they will buy it in the room. “We love it, we want it, we’ll commit to it right now!” are the best possible words a writer, producer and studio exec can hear when they finish a pitch.

  TV Pitch Strategy

  So far I’ve talked about the structure of the typical American TV series pitch. I’ve focused on the eight different sections of the standard pitch structure. Now let’s talk about strategy.

  First, remember that at the beginning of this chapter I said most writers adhere to this format when they pitch, but some consciously depart from it for effect. Let’s look at that. The eight sections of the pitch described in this chapter, organized in the order described here, represent the most common pitch format. But, like every TV show, every TV pitch is different. The best rule for structuring a TV pitch is to figure out what works best for that show, for that pitch.

  I recently heard an excellent pitch from a writer who put the Personal Way into the Series section in the middle of her pitch, and it worked great. She did it for two reasons, both of which were smart. First, she had come up with a really compelling cold open scene for her pilot story, and she chose to open her pitch with that. Beginning her pitch with a strong cold open put the listener right into the show, right into the pilot. She had the goods (a highly dramatic, surprising, emotional, action-packed scene) that grabbed the listener’s attention, and she put it front and center. It was extremely effective, and that strategy – opening with an attention-getting cold open – is another common pitch strategy. After she pitched the cold open, she stepped away from the action of the story and articulated the concept of the series, plugging into the format and order described above with the Conce
pt of Series section.

  She put her Personal Way into the Series about halfway through her pitch, after her Pilot Story section. Placing it there worked very well. For one, it was a surprising switch-up – the listener wasn’t expecting to hear it there. Television writers know that savvy viewers are keenly aware of TV storytelling structure and frequently subvert viewers’ expectations to surprise them, to keep them on their toes. The same goes for network development executives. They hear so many pitches that they expect to hear things in a certain order. Writers sometimes intentionally subvert those expectations when they organize their pitches to surprise their highly attuned development exec listeners.

  Second, she effectively repositioned her Personal Way into the Series section to divide the two main halves of the pitch. The first half of the pitch – the Concept of Series, World of Series, Characters and Pilot Story sections – is the meat of the pitch, the “this is my show” part of the pitch. The sections that come after are an elaboration on the first half of the pitch. In a sense, the first half of the pitch is the guts of the pitch, and the second half is commentary on it. The writer chose to break up the two halves of her pitch with her Personal Way into the Series, and it worked almost as a brief break from the pitch. After a frank elucidation of her personal connection to the subject of the series she resumed her discussion of the specifics of her show, and that structure proved extremely effective (she sold the pitch!).

  This example demonstrates that while network executives may expect to hear shows pitched in specific ways, they’re open to hearing it done any way that works. Writers need to ask themselves, “What’s the best, most effective way to communicate my vision for this show?” Departing from the order described in this chapter, omitting sections, incorporating material that isn’t described here – whatever works best for that writer and that show and that pitch is what she should pitch. The only question that matters is, “Is it working?” If following the standard format works, great. If it doesn’t work, the writer needs to figure out how to change it to make it work.

  The goal of any pitch, of course, is to sell the pitch, to convince a TV network to put the new project into active development and pay the writer to write the pilot script. It goes without saying that the best way to achieve this goal is to create the best, most interesting, most entertaining TV show idea possible and then create the best, most interesting, most entertaining pitch for that idea.

  But let’s talk more specifically: Beyond creating the best possible presentation of the idea, what are the specific goals of a TV pitch? In addition to structuring the pitch in an effective way that TV buyers will find compelling and pleasing, what are the primary qualities of the pitch that writers, producers and development execs should focus on?

  Almost as important as the content of the pitch is the way the writer expresses it. Marlene King tells writers,

  Your voice has to come out in the pitch, whether it’s lines of dialogue, or – if it’s funny or sad or dramatic or thrilling – the tone of the story you’re trying to tell has to come out in your words and the way you’re delivering the words.4

  Network execs want projects that represent an authentic and original vision, and the writer’s voice in her pitch needs to embody the promise of that unique vision.

  Beyond a unique voice, the next most important goal of any TV pitch is clarity. Pitches must be clear. Writers need to figure out the words, the sentences, the ideas and the structure for explaining what their series is and how it works as simply, economically and clearly as possible. Writers should ask themselves, “What are the essential ingredients of my concept that someone needs to comprehend to understand how my series works and how can I articulate them as simply and clearly as possible?” This is much harder than it sounds.

  Writers who’ve been working on an idea for weeks, months or years “get” their idea. They understand it. They understand every facet of it. The person the writer is telling it to has never heard of it before and has no idea what it is or how it works. Industry professionals developing the pitch need to ask what are the bare essentials – of concept, character and story – that will make their concept crystal clear.

  Most of us comprehend ideas better when we read them than when we hear them told to us orally. There’s an argument that TV pitches should be written documents. Unfortunately, however, it’s not done that way. American entertainment pitches have long been verbal, oral, face-to-face. One of the reasons it’s done that way is because the buyer wants to hear it directly from the artist’s mouth. They want to meet the writer, get a sense of her personality and get a read on her level of passion and commitment. They’re not just buying an idea; they’re buying the services of the person who’s going to execute the idea. Pitching live “in the room” is a personal experience. As I’ve said, at the end of the day it’s a business transaction, but it’s not a business transaction based on spreadsheets, charts and data. It’s a human interaction.

  Writers rehearse their pitches for colleagues, friends and family to see if the listeners understand exactly what they’re trying to communicate and if anything confuses them. Confusion is the enemy of the pitch. When a listener begins to get confused, his mind tends to focus on his confusion, and he becomes distracted from hearing the rest of the pitch as new information and ideas keep coming at him. He gets tripped up on his confusion. The first confusing thing he hears might cause him to make a mental note to ask a question at the end of the pitch or to write down his question on a notepad as the pitch continues. But a second or third instance of confusion might cause him to lose focus and lose track of what’s being said. He might get so frustrated that he’s not able to follow what’s being said that he bails on the pitch altogether and just nods politely until the writer stops talking.

  The last thing a writer wants their listeners to be thinking as he pitches is, “What is this guy talking about? I don’t even understand what he’s saying!” I have heard pitches like that.

  Wait, which character is he talking about now? The first character he mentioned or some other character? Is this a new character he hasn’t introduced yet? Wait, is this taking place now, or is what he’s talking about some kind of flashback? I’m completely confused!

  The Hippocratic Oath doctors take when they begin practicing medicine is: “First, do no harm.” The oath of pitching a TV show should be: “First, do not confuse.”

  The next crucial goal of every TV pitch, and probably the most important goal of all, is to create an emotional response in the listener. To arouse some kind of emotion. To make them feel something. If a writer is pitching a comedy, he should make them laugh. Laughter is a physiological expression of emotion. If a writer’s pitching a drama, she should make them cry (that’s very hard to do, but I’ve seen it done). Or make them scared. Or make them feel surprise.

  As mentioned earlier, surprise is an essential ingredient of most entertainment, one as common to comedy as drama. Most comedy, most jokes, are based on surprise. We expect one thing to happen but are surprised when something completely different and unexpected happens. Writers should ask themselves if there are surprises in their pilot stories and then find ways to incorporate them into the pitch and surprise their listeners. Surprise arouses emotion.

  The Pilot Story section is the part of the pitch where the writer has the best chance to make the listener feel something. With luck the character descriptions and the first parts of the pilot story pitch have succeeded in compelling the listener to feel some sense of empathy or connection to the lead characters. Once listeners have grown to care about the characters, hearing the events of the pilot story, its twists and turns, should succeed in making them feel something. Will the listeners feel fear for the lead character? “Oh no, the drug dealers have turned the tables on Walter White and are going to kill him and steal his drugs! Is Walter really going to die? How’s Walter going to get out of this?!” Or

  Poor Aria! She fell really hard for her new teacher, but he told her he can
’t risk losing his career to be with her! She’s going to be broken-hearted, poor girl! I know he really cares about her as much as she cares about him – I wish they could be together!

  If the pilot story can make listeners feel those kinds of reactions, that’s the beginning of getting them hooked into the pitch.

  Buying a new TV project and making the decision to put it into active development is a business decision. Intelligent, experienced development professionals will mull over and discuss as a group whether buying a project is the right business decision for their company. But the first and most important step in guiding a potential buyer to decide to buy a project is to make them feel something in a completely non-rational, non-intellectual, emotional way. They’re making a business decision, but they’re not robots. They’re people, and we’re all subject to being guided by our emotions. The end goal of all entertainment is to make an audience feel something, to take them on an emotional roller coaster. Making a potential buyer – the first gatekeeper of access to the audience – feel something is a crucial step toward getting the chance to put a show in front of an audience and to make them feel something.

  These are two of the most important goals of any TV pitch: Make sure listeners understand what’s being pitched and make sure they feel something. The pitch needs to appeal to both their head and their heart. Their intellect needs to comprehend the show and their emotions need to feel stimulated. They need to understand who the characters are and what they want, and they need to care about them. If the writer and producers don’t feel confident that their concept is clear, that their characters and what those characters want is clear, and that the listener will care and want to find out what happens to them, then the writer and producers should stop and rework their pitch. They should rework the concept, the characters and the pilot story if necessary, and then rework and revise their pitch.