Mastodawn

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 19, 2022

Since pilots, specifically original pilots, have become the standard "audition" for wannabe TV writers, I'm going to try and do a set of rules for them that mimics the one I've done for showrunning (can be found here --> https://mastodon.social/@JeffLieber/109315346829400049).

Please know these rules exist a) for me to work them out for myself b) as a jumping off point for discussion and c) as a set of precepts to abandon and improve upon once you've got it figured out.

So, without further ado...

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 19, 2022

Pilot Rule #1: With the exception of a pilot based on a huge piece of intellectual property, getting yours from your head to production is a game of telephone.

The idea must be passed from person to person. You to producer...then that producer to an executive...then an executive to their boss and then to their boss’ boss.

Simplicity is the key. So, your pilot should be utterly understandable and pitchable in 3 sentences or less.

If it's not…simplify.

Then simplify again.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 19, 2022

Pilot Rule #2: There are two important drafts of a pilot : the ONE THAT GETS THE THING MADE and the ONE YOU ACTUALLY SHOOT.

The former is all about zazz; about getting people's attention; about being interesting and emotional and iconic. Ignore budget. Ignore logistics. You're only job now is to be CLEAR and UNFORGETTABLE.

The ONE YOU ACTUALLY MAKE will have 6 less characters and 5 less locations and no exploding llama, but that's only for after you've gotten the big yes.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 20, 2022

Pilot Rule #3: The first third of your pilot is about establishing the world, which is the franchise, your character(s), what makes this a unique place to visit.

The second third is the story (and how that story impacts what you set up in the first third).

The last third is the potential, which is essentially why people want to come back over and over again.

The order does not have to be this rigid, but these three elements are the key to making it sing and dance.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 20, 2022

Pilot Rule #4: You're going to need a format (act outs or no?/swearing or nudity?/hour or half?), which means you're going to need a target network.

So, go out and look at the landscape of television, find the show that is the closest to the thing you imagine, go get the script to that pilot...and use that structure.

The script for an HBO one hour pilot and the one for a ABC half-hour are as different as a giraffe and a naked mole rat.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 21, 2022

Pilot Rule #5: What your pilot does (and therefore your series ) is called the FRANCHISE. In procedurals the franchise is often obvious -- "We solve crimes by getting into the minds of the criminals". And while soaps/comedies can be a less intuitive, ultimately the clearer you are the easier it will be to determine if a scene or a plot line is the BEST choice. If it speaks to the franchise, it's in. Write down your franchise in a sentence. Out it on a post card. Keep it handy.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 23, 2022

Pilot Rule #6: The WHY NOW is essential. What's the importance of this singular moment that it becomes your launch point.

Is it a crossroads for your lead character? Or the moment something gets added or taken away that means that going forward...the world of the show will be different.

Walt's cancer in Breaking Bad. Tony's panic attacks in The Sopranos. The case in a procedural that reveals that our leads nemesis..thought dead...is still out there somewhere.

Chose wisely.

Pilot Rule #7: Less is more.

A quick 55 pages is 95.45% better than 58 pages and 126% better than something that starts with a 6...because every extra word is a potential trap door to boredom or confusion.

"There's a gun. It's loaded" is clear and simple.

"There's a an A AMT Hardballer with a crack on the handle and a initials carved into the barrel" is rife with details that need...deciphering.

Before you hit send...cut any words you can.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 24, 2022

Pilot Rule #8: The first twenty pages are everything and therefore I spend half my time writing and rewriting... and rewriting them.

Are the characters properly set up? Is the world totally clear? Do I have stakes and a "why now"? Have I cut anything and everything that might send a reader down the wrong road?

If the reader trusts you after twenty, they'll likely forgive you some falderal after that. If you've lost them...you've lost hem and they aren't coming back.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 25, 2022

Pilot Rule #9: Your character(s) is (are) everything. So…

Pick your lead. Define them in the sentence. Pick your second lead. Define them in a sentence. Put those sentences next to each other and figure out how they conflict, complicate and catalyze each other.

Do this with all your leads. The more characters challenge each other the more dynamic the pilot becomes.

And characters who love each other desperately don’t have to be easy on each other…mostly it’s the opposite.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 28, 2022

Pilot Rule #10 (1of2): The OTHER "why now"?

So, the first "why now" is rule #6. Why are we starting the series where we do.

The OTHER why now is to answer why are we putting this show on the air; why is it relevant. My theory is that 95.34% of the time that answer is emotional and not political. Politics is easy. We're in what feels like end-times and there are all these stories that explore end-times and so the instinct is to make that the Other Why Now...

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 28, 2022

Pilot Rule #10 (2of2): ...but truth be told there's only so much space and audience for politics talking about politics. There is a TON of space for generational divide and loss and sisters at war with each other. It's not historical if its personal and its personal if its emotional and so my answer to the "Other Why Now" is almost always a combo between "HERE'S A MOMENT OF HIGH DRAMA" and this moment of high drama drives a wedge into this relatable relationship.

Jeffrey Lieber Jan 2, 2023

Pilot Rule #11:Beware "HANDSOME" in introductory character descriptions. First because the "me too" moment goes all ways..second because it's mostly a filler world from an era when we were trying to woo actors by indicating "we like this role for you because we see you as SO good looking"...but MOSTLY because unless handsome is REALLY important to the character, there's a 100 other descriptors that might give us more useful, defining, interesting information.

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@JeffLieber
# 10 I really don’t want to watch politics for fun right now, because it just isn’t.

My husband and I did like #Showtime #thecircus but it fell flat to me this season. Was it because Alex left? IDK
Personally, I think they leaned further right.

As for family, that is more relevant. Many of us have lost family members.
My sister is on the cult side. We don’t talk. My mom is 70/30 cult, so we don’t talk about it.

Yusuf Gad Nov 25, 2022

@JeffLieber Michael Jordan level advice with this.

David Reynolds Nov 25, 2022

@ygadinthesix @JeffLieber It really is.

Yusuf Gad Nov 25, 2022

@scriptemesis @JeffLieber Nike needs to make me a Lieber sneaker immediately.

David Reynolds Nov 25, 2022

@ygadinthesix @JeffLieber "Nice Liebers, bro"

John Brownlow Nov 24, 2022

@JeffLieber a thousand times this, and almost the same again for the first five to ten pages IMO.

Alicia McClendon Nov 24, 2022

@JeffLieber hmmm. So keep a tv pilot under 59 pages? I never thought about this! Kind of thought the longer the script, even better.

Jeffrey Lieber Nov 24, 2022

@Qtarantino TThink about it like a recipe. If you throw EVERY ingredient in...it's a mess of flavors. Part of your kill is knowing THIS, not THAT. More of the other thing, less of something else.