The Whole Crazy Process Of

Creating A TV Show, From Pitch To

Pilot
Charlie Jane Anders
1/23/15 2:00pm Filed to: DAILY EXPLAINER

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Right now, it's pilot season which means you're going to be

hearing about a lot of TV shows getting ordered. And then, nine
months from now... most of those shows will not be on television.
What is this mysterious crucible? Here's our step-by-step guide to
the process of pitching a brand new television show.
Illustration by Tara Jacoby

Right about now, we ought to be in the middle of watching the first

season of Hieroglyph, a show about gods in ancient Egypt that was
"ordered to series" by Fox. But Fox pulled the plug on Hieroglyph,
even after ordering a full season in advance, and we never even got to
see it. That's just one extreme example of a more common
phenomenon to casual observers, it looks like things are getting
ordered all the time, then never showing up.

So as the image above indicates, the process of getting a TV show

through the studios and networks, and actually getting it on
television, is much like what that piece of legislation goes through in
the classic Schoolhouse Rock song, "I'm Just A Bill." Except with more
filibustering, and constitutional crises, and vetos, and probably more
government shutdowns. [Full disclosure: A TV show based on my
story "Six Months, Three Days" is in development.]
To find out more about the many stages of the TV development
process, we talked to some seasoned TV professionals some of
whom are quoted below, and some of whom asked to remain
nameless. So here's a painstaking guide to the various stages of the
TV development process, and all the jargon you're likely to hear. (This
is slightly more geared towards the broadcast networks, because the
cable channels have a less rigid annual schedule.)
So here goes:

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1. The Pitchening
This begins in June or July, for the broadcast networks. In a nutshell,
you pitch a studio, and once you have studio backing, then you go to
the network. Often, you'll pitch a producer first, and the producer will
have a deal with a particular studio that he or she will bring the
project to. On occasion, a producer can go straight to the network,
skipping the studio but networks like to know that a studio is
backing a show, because that makes it more likely they'll actually get
the show they ordered.

This process, from producer to studio to network, can take weeks

or it can go incredibly fast, if you have J.J. Abrams or Steven Spielberg
on board as a producer, or if your show is based on a well-known
comic book or beloved property.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach, creator of The Middleman and writer for Helix,
explains:

It helps if you think of the studio as a bank. What they do, in the
broadest and most essential sense, if advance a showrunner/show
creator the money and resources to actually make the show in advance
of the network paying their fees (networks basically "rent" shows for a
premiere showing and a number of repeats. They also get a creative
oversight because the fees they pay cover most of the show's cost. That
much said, if the show costs more to make than what the network pays
which is most of the time then the studio has to deficit finance
those costs, so their interest is to make sure the show stays around long
enough to be sold into syndication, which is where they bounce back
from the deficit.

Sometimes a studio has corporate affiliation with a network (like

Warner Bros. and The CW) which means they might try to place shows
with that network. (Although Warner Bros. also makes Person of
Interest, which is on CBS right now.) Sometimes a studio will give the
"right of first refusal" to an affiliated network, before pitching
elsewhere.
Also, sometimes a producer will have an exclusive deal with a
particular studio, called an "overall deal," which means you only
pitch to that studio or get assigned to work on that studio's projects.
With cable TV networks and things like Netflix, the process is much
less standardized some of them have a schedule that's similar to
broadcast, while HBO is famous for taking years and years to develop
a single show.

2. The Notening
Everybody will have notes on your pitch. The studio will have stuff
they want to see changed, and then the network will have its own
concerns. Sometimes they disagree.
"Total agreement amongst all parties about a show's creative
direction is more rare than an albino jackalope. Everyone will have
their own take on the project and attempt to steer it in one direction
or another," says Amy Berg, the creator of Capers who's also written
for Eureka and Person of Interest.

One reason the network and the studio may disagree is because their
interests are different, says Grillo-Marxuach:

The network's primary interest is to make shows that fit its brand and
existing content. The studio's primary interest is to keep the show alive
long enough for it to go into profit sometimes those two things
conflict: a network may want a darker, more nuanced show, and a
studio may want a show with blue skies and car chases because those
sell well internationally. A network may want a more serialized show, a
studio may want more self-contained episodes because those are easier
for casual viewers to enjoy and that makes for better secondary market
sales.

But in the end, the network is the one who's buying the show so in
an argument between the studio and the network, the network will
probably win.

Meanwhile, there are always too many cooks in the kitchen, trying to
figure out how to make a pilot bulletproof and create something their
bosses will like. This is how an original, quirky idea can slowly morph
into a clone of House or X-Files, says one TV producer who asked not
to be named.
So it's a lucky and talented showrunner who manages to steer a TV
show between these different sets of priorities and it's a rare TV
show that makes it to air while still reflecting the original vision of
the creator. If a "big name" producer is on board in some capacity,
then he or she can help a lot in deflecting the attempts to steer the
show in one direction or another.

3. The Outlinening
People pitch the studios, and the networks, from June to September.
Then, in the fall, the pitches that have been accepted get refined into
outlines, which hopefully will become pilot scripts.

Often, says Berg, you'll get asked to submit a "story document" as

soon as the pitch is accepted, to make sure that everybody is on the
same page. That doesn't mean that the executives can't change their
minds later on about what they want, but it means that they know
what they're getting. Then you turn in a detailed outline, that
everybody weighs in on.

4. The Scriptening
Around Halloween, the networks will actually order pilot scripts (or
actual pilots in some cases, see below.) In October and November,
every Starbucks in L.A. is full of writers frantically pounding out pilot
scripts, so they can get a first draft to the network by Thanksgiving.
"This is when local coffeeshops crank up the A/C in order to scare off
squatters like me," says Berg.
Although, one producer tells io9, the fanciest TV writers are writing
their pilot scripts at SoHo House nowadays.
Once the first draft is in, you get more notes on that from the studio
and the network. And then you go back and try to hand in a revised
draft before everybody leaves town for the holidays, in December.
Everybody knows that if you don't get a "revised network draft" into
the hands of executives by the second week of January at the latest,
"you're probably screwed," says Berg.

From November to early January, the writers may turn in multiple

drafts of their scripts, doing several passes in response to studio and
network notes, says Grillo-Marxuach.

5. The Terminology
If you read the trades, like Hollywood Reporter or Deadline, you'll see
lots of bewildering terminology about the various ways that networks
have ordered TV shows. The differences boil down to one crucial
factor: how badly the network wanted a show, and how stiff the
competition was to buy that show.
Sometimes the network will agree to financial penalties if a show
doesn't get made or get on the air but as Hieroglyph proves, no
"guarantee" can actually force a network to put a show on television
if the network doesn't want to.

So here are some terms and our rough explanations of what they
actually mean:
"Put pilot commitment": The network pretty much promises to film
the pilot, unless the script turns out to be just unfilmable.
"Script order with penalty": Similarly, the network promises to order
the pilot after it gets the script or if they don't, the producers could
get anywhere up to a seven-figure sum.
"Pilot order": The network is ordering the filming of the pilot,
possibly after having seen a script.
"Direct to series order": The network will order the production of 13
episodes up front, even without seeing a pilot. This makes sense when
a show has such huge set-up costs, it doesn't make sense to spend
that much money to film just a pilot. (This is what Hieroglyph had.) In
theory, there's no way to go back on the order for a full 13 episodes
but in practice, a studio and network have lots of projects going on at

the same time, and a deal can often be renogiated after the fact. We'll
let you out of the 13-episode order for this one show, if you go
forward with this other show.
"On-air commitment": The network promises to put the show on
television, even before anything's been filmed. This is only really
possible if there's a direct-to-series order. Also, sometimes, pilots
that didn't get picked up will be shown in weird timeslots as TV
movies, probably to satisfy a contract clause.

6. The Castening
If you're incredibly lucky, you get your order to start filming in late
January... at the same time as dozens of other aspiring TV shows. A
small percentage of the scripts the networks bought are actually
ordered as pilots or series, says Berg. Back in the day, the networks
would order as many as 25 pilots each but they're trying to save
money these days, so it's more likely to be eight to 12 pilots each.

If the show was lucky enough to get a direct-to-series order, then it

has to start staffing a writers' room right away, and developing the
next eight (or 12) scripts after the pilot.
But either way, the next big challenge is hiring actors and crew for
your suddenly greenlit show. Even with a smaller number of network
pilots these days, it still means scores of shows are competing for the
same small number of people.
L.A. is crawling with aspiring actors, but there's a relatively tiny
number of actors that the networks believe can star in a TV show. You
need a certain level of experience, name recognition and status to
carry a show, in the networks' views.
Says Berg:

Personally, I think there are more actors with the talent to star in their
own series than the networks would have you believe. But they tend to
stay inside the box when it comes to casting lead roles, seeking out
familiar faces, which is why there's still not a lot of diversity to be found
on the major networks or even on cable.

Some actors will sign "holding deals" with a particular network,

meaning they'll promise to star in that network's shows, to keep them
on retainer, says Berg. Sometimes, the network will even hire writers
to develop a show for a particular star who's on contract.

And sometimes, an actor will be committed to two different shows for

two different networks, which is why you'll hear the actor is in "first
position" on one show and "second position" on another show. If the
both shows get picked up, the one that has that actor in "first
position" wins.
Shows will also be competing over directors, and crews. There are a
very limited number of directors who are known for shooting
successful pilots and sometimes, a director will come on board
earlier, during the script stage, to help sell a show. But a talented crew
will be in short supply, even if you film outside L.A., and several
shows may fight over the same handful of crewmembers.

7. The Filmening
Actual production and post-production happen in March and April,
which means a frantic schedule of trying to create the actual pilot that
that you've been pitching since June. And that also means "lots of
overtime for editors, VFX people, and post facilities that do sound
editing and color correction," says Grillo-Marxuach.

8. The Upfrontening
And here we get to the point of this whole exercise: In May, the
networks have "upfronts," where they announce their new shows to
advertisers. This whole process is basically a huge countdown to the
upfronts, to ensure the networks will have shiny new stuff to show
off.

You might find out a week or two before the upfronts that your show
has been picked up if you're incredibly lucky. But sometimes, the
network doesn't make up its mind, or let you know, until the very last
minute. "Basically, you sit by the phone and have a bag packed
because you could be going to NYC in the span of twelve hours," says
Grillo-Marxuach."

If the show does get picked up, the creators may find themselves
sitting on a panel discussion with the actors, in front of a crowd of
advertisers and journalists, soon after finding out they have jobs.

9. The Staffening
Every year, new TV shows come to Comic-Con and show their pilots,
and the creators and cast members answer questions from the
audience and journalists. And pretty much every time, the actors will
respond that they've only filmed the pilot at this point, and can only
speculate about what happens in the second episode based on that.
Why do TV shows that are launching in September still not filming
before late July?
Because they have to start staffing up with writers, to write all the
episodes that come after the pilot. Berg explains:

Because of the uncertainty with network scheduling, showrunners often

don't wait for the official word before starting to put together their
writing staffs. The Upfronts are the second or third week in May and
writing staffs generally start the first week in June, so really there's no
time to waste. On several occasions I've been "hired" on shows that
didn't end up getting picked up. Which is why you never put all your
eggs in one basket. Just like actors can be in first or second position to a
show, so can writers.

And it can take about six weeks for production to ramp up after the
show is picked up, meaning that when Comic-Con rolls around in
July, the show is often just about to start filming its second episode.
Also, the show may wind up with a totally different crew than the one
that filmed the pilot and it may film in a different city than the
pilot was filmed in, depending on financial incentives.

For everybody whose show didn't get picked up, June is a time of
"rest, psychiatric therapy, dieting and exercise," before the whole
mess starts all over again, says Grillo-Marxuach.