John Scalzi

I am in the very early stages of an idea of mine becoming a TV show…I think. I know that I have an idea. I know that it is intended to eventually end up a TV show. Exactly what stage I am at in this process remains somewhat of a mystery to me and a total mine field to my poor family back east who desperately want to understand the different between a production company, studio and network and how somehow all three of these entities can be the most important entity in the entire project…maybe?

To give you a further sense of just how confusing it can be – I wrote a post five months ago about preparing for my first TV pitch. That is the exact same idea I’m still working on today but with a totally different group of people! It is endless, and yet it also follows a very strict seasonal calendar…sort of. 

Here are the steps I believe are involved in making your original idea a TV show. For every single “rule” there are a thousand and one exceptions, but this is the most basic process aka how it should go if you are the luckiest person in the world slash already famous.

STEP ONE: You come up with a really good, really original idea that has either A. never been heard before, B. never been heard this pitching season or C. is better than the similar ideas that have already been heard this pitching season. It helps if this idea is based on your own life, the life of someone else or a book that you can get the rights to for free.

STEP TWO: You tell your agents/managers about your idea so they can tell you it’s A. already in development with another writer, B. a no-go because, “the networks are over adult-kids-moving- back-home stories this year,” or C. not that good. If neither A, B or C apply, congrats! They will now set meetings for you to pitch your idea to production companies. Production companies are layer one in the three circles of the development process…sometimes. 

STEP THREE: You develop a pitch to take to the production companies. This is your TV show idea fully explained in 18 minutes or less but 15 would be better and 12 would be ideal. You’ll probably do a practice pitch for your agents/managers so they can tell you it’s A. too long, B. too boring or C. not that good. Mine blessedly didn’t say any of that, but that may just be because they feel so bad that my pitch is based on my actual crazy life story that they just laugh a lot as a defense mechanism.

STEP FOUR: You pitch your pitch to a production company that wants to “take it to the studio.”

Okay, here is where things get really nutty. There are production companies out there who have deals with studios and networks aka studios and networks pay for them to exist. Maybe think of these production companies like think tanks and studios like factories and networks like distribution centers. That’s not entirely correct or fair, but it will help this make sense, maybe. The networks and studios are like, “hey production company X, we will pay you money to be super smart and come up with ideas with writers. Then if we like your ideas you can help us made them at the factory so they can get distributed through the networks.” So when a production company likes your idea they are saying, “we believe that together we can get the studio we work with to make this ‘product’ and the network who buys product from that studio to send that product out to the world.”

Now – real quick just so you know – some production companies don’t have deals with the studios so they can take their ideas straight to the networks. Also, sometimes you can pitch your idea straight to the studio, foregoing the production company. And, while we’re at it, some writers take their ideas straight to the network by-passing the production company AND the studio! Okay, great!

STEP FIVE: You pitch your pitch to the studio with the production company’s support. If they “buy it” that means they are now going to pay you to turn your pitch into a pilot script (the first episode of a TV series). Please note that this is the first time money has entered the equation. Everything you’ve done prior to this point was for free. Now, selling a project is huge, especially for a baby writer. Many people sell lots of projects that never go further than this point. You could actually make a very good living selling projects that never go to air. I don’t know the exact number but something like 200 projects per year sell meaning 200 scripts are written. As you know from watching television, there are not 200 new TV shows per year. That’s because of…

STEP SIX: Your pilot script goes through development. Now the production company works with the studio who works with the network to get your script ready to potentially shoot as a pilot. Figure six to ten people are involved in this process? Figure it takes three to four months? Figure there are 8 billion factors that can make it not work out, including but not limited to you writing a crappy script? But let’s say none of the 8 billion come into play, you sail through scripting and now the network (that’s the distribution guys) decide to fund the studio (widget makers) to make your pilot in partnership with the production company (ideas men, ish). A. you are officially a super hero and B. this is not nearly over yet.

STEP SEVEN: You shoot a pilot. Again, I don’t know how many pilots are shot per year, but let’s say it’s 40 among the four big networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX). As you know from watching television, there are not 40 new TV show per year…

I’m going to stop here because my brain cannot handle what might happen if the pilot is good enough to go on actual television. If and when that happens I’ll obviously be a super hero so I’ll be fully equipped to handle it, but for now it is a mythical possibility – kind of like the existence of secret land through a coat closet or bagels ever having nutritional value (that’s for you, Matt).

So, does that make sense? Or better yet, was that even right? And finally, why is there no info graphic for this?!