How do I pitch a TV series?
- A room pitch usually runs 10 to 20 minutes, spoken, without slides.
- The engine, what generates story every week, is the question executives ask.
- A series document, or bible, supports the verbal pitch on paper.
- Character is what sells drama; premise is what sells high-concept.
- Most pitches fail on the second season question, not the pilot.
A series pitch has four parts: the hook in one or two sentences, the engine that generates stories every week, a walk through the pilot, and a credible view of where seasons two and three go. Rehearse it spoken, not read. The second season question is where most pitches collapse.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Executives are buying a hundred episodes, not one. A pitch that dazzles on the pilot and goes vague after it reads as a film idea stretched thin. Being able to name three episodes from season two, casually and specifically, is the single strongest signal that the series is real.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A logline that lands in one breath.
- The engine stated plainly: what happens every episode.
- Character introductions with wants and the friction between them.
- A pilot walkthrough that ends on the image opening the series.
- Three concrete season two stories, named, not gestured at.
- Tone comps: two shows this sits between, and why it is neither.
Chapter iii·Example
A writer's pitch stalled when asked what episode six looked like. She rebuilt the pitch around a case-of-the-week engine and could name five episodes on demand. The next three pitches all went to a second meeting.
Chapter iv·Related questions
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