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Amazon, character development, HBO, Netflix, screenplay contests, STRANGER THINGS, Thematic Depth, TRANSPARENT, TV pilot, WATCHMEN - November 22, 2019

The Myth of the TV Pilot: It’s Not Easier, It’s Harder

The myth of the television pilot in 2019 is that there are so many buyers that it has become easy to sell a pilot. 2019 continues the insane gold rush of scripted television. Ryan Murphy has a 300-million-dollar overall deal with Netflix. Shonda Rhimes has a 150-million-dollar deal. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have a 250-million-dollar deal. The number of scripted series is likely to top 500 this year, per The Hollywood Reporter. What this has done, for writers, is create a myth of the TV pilot being “easier” than the feature to sell. A common piece of advice for...

Where Can I Sell My TV Pilot?

Selling a TV pilot may seem like a more mysterious process than selling a feature film screenplay. TV has more gatekeepers than feature film, and while there are some success stories coming out of independently-produced television, there isn’t that massive infrastructure in place for indie television that there is for independent film. For the most part, if you’re making a TV show, you have to do it within the established system. In 2019, writers are going to be advised again and again to write for television. The opportunity is there. The amount of buyers has gradually increased, and we’re living...

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