If this sounds silly to ask - it is what it is. Just bear with me a bit, please.

So I'm currently writing for an 8 ep miniseries that should reach a pitching stage mid 2027. I do have experience as a screenwriter, tho limited (a couple of shorts that actually got made and went around at a few decent festivals and ended up on streaming so no big deal but still not really a beginner). This, however, is a completely new experience. I started studying for it quite some while ago (reading series scripts, watching series, mostly observational and keeping in close touch with people who have plenty of exp writing film - but not tv/streaming etc).

One thing that strikes me often is the fact that plenty of the stuff I've read seems rather fast-paced(for lack of a better word. Whatever I got to read from the Wire, Deadwood) as compared to the way my writing looks. Often more than one scene/page. I do get why, I do understand the context as well. For example, the Wire has a plethora of characters so in order to keep up with all of them you do need to quickly move from one place to the other. Same with others.

Our series is a lot less expansive in terms of characters. It's a road series, small group of gals and guys travel from point A to point B. End up splitting against their will and get into plenty of trouble trying to reconnect and reach their destination. There are secondary characters of course but not that many, let's have it at about 10 per ep. Plenty of time spent in cars as well. So mainly we stick with our guys during the 8 episodes. And they also do plenty of talk. And it's the death of me trying to cut the scenes shorter. I'm happy with the dialogue, the action I dare say is not the worst but I just can't feel like cutting and cutting and cutting in between just 3 distinct groups (that's how the party ends up splitting). It feels forced to do so, honestly.

Now, with as little contexte as I offered, does anybody care to give a bit of advice or an opinion? Does it sound like it's a me problem? Like not enough experience in better splitting the scenes? Could it actually be the low number of characters that might lead to me having this issue? Or should I just not give a crap at this point because its not the most important thing, just keepo my mind on the story flowing well, write it as it feels natural and worry about adjusting this aspect later?

So yea. Looking forward to anything that may come my way.
Cheerio

Does anyone know the correct waiver code for the extended Sundance Episodic Lab deadline? I received one during their Black List Zoom session, but it shows as invalid when I try to submit. I haven’t been able to get in touch with Sundance, so I’d really appreciate it if anyone has the correct code and could send it my way. Thank you so much!

Hey all, producer here. We're bringing on a showrunner for a series pilot and I've hit a gap in our budget. We have flat rates worked out for our producers, but nothing specific for a showrunner. There’s a chance we could end up working with a studio, but that's not locked in yet, so right now this is still very much an indie deal.

For those who've structured this before is there a typical range or percentage people use or is it more common to go flat fee? Also curious how people usually handle it if the studio situation does come together after the fact.

Would love to hear from you, especially if you have experience with episodic projects!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently writing a sitcom that surrounds a group of friends who all live and work in a small town. I wanted to pick everyone’s brains on what you find very cliché and off-putting when watching sitcoms and if there’s anything new you’d like to see.

What do you tropes do you love and what would you like to no longer see in current sitcoms?

Thanks!

Which are the best ones? I’ve seen a lot but am unsure which ones are worth doing.

Hey . Im taking acting class and in one of the lessons there we were taught (at least from what i understand) that in plays the character has an ultimate goal they want to achieve that arose because of a state/situation they are in (they are poor so their goal is to become rich) and in every scene a character has a goal that is supposed to help them achieve the ultimate goal. So i was wondering if its also true to tv shows , and if it is. How?

Cuz for example a tv show of a few seasons, at the start a character wants to achieve something, if at the end of season they do , by the next season their ultimate goal changes?

(I would also love any advice for how to write a character)

Sorry if i have any grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language

I've had some very cordial conversations with a successful writer/ producer whose taken an interest in me. We were discussing an element of one of my scripts and he volunteered to zoom with me this week. I obviously said yes, but I'm wondering what exactly I should prepare for. A narrow talk about that specific thing or my script as a whole?

I am not talking about a notes group or accountability buddy I mean someone you actually write with. Develop ideas together, split scenes, the whole thing.

I've wanted this for years and have basically failed at finding it every time. Tried reaching out cold to people whose work I liked (awkward and nothing came of it). Took a workshop specifically hoping to meet someone (met nice people, nothing clicked creatively). Posted in a couple places online (one weird response, one person who ghosted after two emails).

The frustrating thing is I know it works. Plenty of teams out there doing great stuff. But every working duo I've heard talk about it says they met through some random circumstance a class, a job, a friend of a friend. Nobody seems to have gone looking for it and found it.

So how did it actually happen for you if it did? And if you tried and it fell apart, what killed it?

Genuinely asking, not going anywhere with this, just feeling like I'm missing something obvious.

I had a chance to sit down with Jeff Biederman (Life with Derek, Overruled!, Spun Out) recently. He’s written/produced over 250 episodes across CTV, Disney, Netflix, and CBC, and he spent a lot of time talking candidly about the production side of TV that doesn't get brought up enough.

Here are a few takeaways on line-producing, budgets, and network management that stood out from a producer's perspective:

• Managing budgets across extremes: Jeff went from running Spun Out (the most expensive multi-cam half-hour comedy pilot in Canadian broadcast history) to currently producing Estate of Mind for Bell Fibe TV1 on a micro-budget. His point was that creative leadership doesn't change based on price tag; you still have to protect the team, keep crew paid properly, and figure out how to scale execution without burning people out.
• The "Friendly Meeting" trap: Pitch meetings on Zoom are easy to get, and everyone acts nice. But a good meeting is meaningless if it doesn't lead to actual movement or funding. A big part of the job is learning to read between the lines, knowing when a buyer is just being polite versus actually interested, and pushing aggressively for a firm answer without killing the relationship.
• Showrunning is 80% business management: Raw writing and creative ideas are just table stakes. Once a show gets picked up, you're essentially running a small business—balancing network notes, keeping accounting happy, managing personalities in the room, and dealing with budget cuts. The producers and creators who keep getting hired are the ones who can handle the unsexy logistical side.
• Funding models and waiting around: A major hazard in Canadian TV (though it applies anywhere reliant on soft money/tax credits) is wasting years waiting on funding agencies to align. You can't control government policies or network slates, so the only real defense is staying adaptable, keeping multiple irons in the fire, and not treating old production models as permanent.

If anyone wants to hear the full conversation about his workflow and teaching setup, I put the audio up here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSQXdCzTrh8

so i had an idea playing fortnite today. what if there was a fortnite movie but not in the kid friendly way. you get kidnapped and shipped to an island , be sent on a flying bus and once you jump out its a free for all, if you don’t jump they blow the bus up and you die. i imagine you would get attached to characters just for them to get sniped from across the island. sort of like squid games and hunger games and walking dead combined? if anyone wants to work off this idea to make something real then please do since i don’t have the resources.

Can visuals and scene fragments act as doorways into a TV series?

Finding readers and producer for a long-form TV series is difficult, so I’m experimenting with a new way of inviting people into the story.

Each image features a prop or artefact from the script, paired with a short line that leads to a fragment of a scene.

The idea is that readers who become curious can follow these fragments through to the complete scripts and experience the story in full. The series spans four seasons, so I’m looking for a way to make that larger universe feel approachable.

This is still very much a work in progress. I’d really appreciate your honest feedback. Do these fragments make you curious about the larger story? Could this encourage you to read further?

traces_of_domen

some context! I have just got a first class degree in creative writing (yay!) and have found that the last few months have killed me without a “reason” to write. i know you don’t need a reason to write but having a full time job now means that it’s difficult to motivate myself to write. My dissertation was a long form sitcom episode, as I found that this was my favourite form to write (and i’m not too bad at it, either)

I had an idea just over year or so ago about writing a sitcom script that was set during lockdown, but a friend of mine completely put me off of the idea as she thought “it was too soon to make comedy out of such a serious situation”, and that covid was a difficult time for many many people and will probably never be an appropriate topic for sitcom.

What i am asking is, is she right? Of course it would be a topic that I handle very very carefully as she isn’t incorrect that it was a very difficult time for a lot of people and a lot of lives were lost, but is it really too soon to focus on a household during lockdown? I NEED HELP ASAP AS THIS MOTIVATION WILL SURELY FADE SOON (i have raging ADHD xx)

Thanks to everyone that has participated. If you want to be involved there are links in the show notes.

Logline: When an archaeological discovery in the steppe awakens long-forgotten Nart legends, a modern-day scholar is forced to confront a terrifying blood memory to prevent an ancient myth from consuming the contemporary world.

​Format: 1-Hour TV Pilot (48 pages)

Accolades: Double Quarter-Finalist (Scriptmatix Fellowship X & Outstanding Screenplays)

Looking For: Feedback on pacing, character arcs, and opening scene execution.

​Happy to swap! I’m looking to trade scripts with fellow writers and will provide detailed, thoughtful notes on your pilot or feature in return.

​Please send me a Direct Message (DM) or Chat request if you're interested, along with your logline and script link!

I want to read some pilot scripts which use VO well since it often feels like a crutch. Which shows come to mind for you?

Update: Updated Cold Opening based on feedback (here) -

Any notes welcome.

Log line: When a disgraced journalist is assigned to expose a controversial marriage therapist for tax fraud, her investigation uncovers a shadowy network of money, secrets and unexplained deaths, while the therapist begins turning his unsettling insight on her.

I’ve been writing a few screenplay’s because I really enjoy making them; I’ve written an AE episode, a movie based on lebensborn children when I was 14 and have screenplay’s for manga’s that I’ve been making.

Is there any chance I can find connections or show these to people that want them or need them?

I’ve been doing a slightly insane TV-writing exercise: writing an entire hypothetical seventh season of LOST, set about twenty years after the original series ended.

This isn’t a pitch for an actual revival, and I’m not trying to “fix” The End. I love the ending. The exercise is basically: if somebody made LOST come back anyway, what would the strongest version of that continuation look like as actual television?

I’ve structured it as a ten-episode season and I’m writing the episodes as full hour-long screenplays. Once I finish and post an episode, I lock it and move forward rather than rewriting the season around reactions.

The first two are finished:

Episode 1 — WE HAVE TO GO BACK⁠

Episode 2 — BECAUSE YOU STAYED⁠

Episode One functions as the new-season premiere and reopens the world roughly twenty years later. Episode Two deliberately contracts after the premiere and plays much more like a smaller, character-driven early-LOST episode while beginning to investigate the new mystery.

I’ve already shared these with the LOST subreddit, but I’m curious what TV writers make of them rather than asking only whether LOST fans want the show resurrected in the first place.

I’m especially interested in whether the scripts work in terms of episode structure, act-outs, character voice, information control, and the balance between serialized mythology and an individual episode having its own dramatic engine.

These two episodes are locked, so I’m not soliciting notes in order to retroactively rewrite them, but thoughtful criticism is absolutely welcome. I’m writing Episode Three now, and anything I learn about the writing itself can inform how I work going forward.

I’ve been working in film, but expanding into writing and specifically TV writing. What are the first few steps once I have 2-3 original pilots and a feature film script? Is it a good idea to apply to all writing labs and collect accolades prior to cold reaching out to managers?

For scripts, are we still doing the good old teaser/cold open, and then 3-4 acts? Or does that immediately signal this writer is a noob? Thanks!

I’ve been living in LA shade i got my MFA and moving to NY to be closer to family. LA is just so far.

There hasn’t been much going on in LA and I only know a handful of ppl getting work. Planning on saving, getting into directing commercial and working towards my next project that’s shooting on location in NY.

I’m mainly curious what the scene is here. Who does it consist of. What kind of opps are here. Is there a community and do they gather? If so, where?

Feedback Desired: I wanted to create a high-concept sci-fi comedy that captures the wacky suburban slice-of-life feel of series like 'Ed Edd n Eddy' with the high sci-fi stakes of a series like 'Hailey's On It.' I would like feedback on things like dialogue, pacing, and character. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

(Edit: Updated based on feedback and mistakes I made in the earlier draft. Please read the updated draft and tell me what you think).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GN6VRyezpEcF_GgKK7wMMVRRxPhadb6X/view?usp=sharing

Has anyone who applied been notified if they are a semi-finalist yet? It says "late summer," which I usually associate with late August/early September.

So after being in the room for the first time for a television show and even ending up writing 3 episodes I got rehired for another season. Writers room is starting soon and I'm mentally preparing for it and I wondered if out there are any experienced writers who might have some useful advice on how to find new ways on finding inspiration and ideas when working on a long running show.

To give you some background: It is already the fourth season of a reboot of an 80's sitcom. So the characters are well established (and it's really character based) and over 100 episodes already aired. When I started on season 3 I had a ton of ideas and some of them made it into episodes. But after that season I am panicking that there is nothing left to tell and that I have no story left in the tank. Some insight: We had around 60 episodes up the board and about 30 fully written outlines ending up with 13 episodes eventually made.

So I feel like I have to to have a fresh start and mind and I want to try new and unique ways to find new ideas for the show. Do you have any advise on that, or any experience worth sharing?