Thinking Bigger For The Small Screen

A guest post from screenwriter and educator Tom Benedek whose screenwriting credits include the movie Cocoon.

Happy holidays. Lots of interesting movies opening now. I’m excited! And, on the home screen front, series television continues to bubble excitedly — a lot of interesting TV to catch up on, anticipate, etc..

More and more feature creators are moving into TV. Along with intense viewership, binge watching, some truly excellent shows, there have been changes in the TV writing marketplace.

TV execs have been raising the bar on pitches. They don’t just want to know the details of the premise, pilot script structure and characters. They expect to hear thumbnail structures for three more episodes AND the season arcs for the main characters.

This means that writer-creators must know more about their shows than ever before — taking responsibility for the concept as a long running TV show. The networks/channels want to see a big canvas. You, the writer, have the opportunity to fill it, truly invest in your premise, characters and story.

TV writing has its own specific structural principles which feature writers can easily grasp. Understanding how to shape a new show and series may be valuable for all your future writing. So please consider my upcoming class TV: PILOT CREATION WORKSHOP starting Monday December 8.

For more information on Tom’s excellent class, go here.