How do I start writing a Television or Streaming Series?

If you have an idea for a series, that is fantastic! The next step is writing it - but what do you write first? The process of taking your series from an idea to a viable original series includes multiple steps. You have probably heard of, seen or even read screenplays. A pilot screenplay is the first episode of a TV or streaming series. Many people start with writing a pilot script (screenplay and script will be used interchangeably in this course). I actually do not recommend writers dive straight into writing the pilot screenplay unless you already have experience writing screenplays.

The first thing I would suggest writers to do is to read good produced screenplays of series which you are a fan of and would like to emulate. By reading good screenplays, you will get the hang of the formatting, act break structure, pacing, dialogue, storylines, character development and the like. Keep in mind, reading bad screenplay will likely lead you to write bad screenplays, so I would avoid reading anything other than a professionally written script. There are multiple ways online to get copies of good screenplays and if you are in the Los Angeles area, you can visit the free library at the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Screenplays function not only as a narrative literary piece, but they also exist as a tool or blueprint for a TV production.

After reading a lot of good produced screenplays, then you might want to look at a series through the lens of an entity which might produce your series. I will call and refer to these entities as "buyers" and let's call you the "seller." The buyer entities might be a production company, a major studio or a network. There can be many more entities, but to keep things simple, let's assume in this course there are only three entities who might be interested in buying your series.

Narrative scripted live-action vs. unscripted docu-reality series:

Before going further, let's differentiate between a narrative, scripted, live-action series from an unscripted docu-reality series. A narrative scripted live-action is a series where actors read a screenplay, learn their lines, act out their characters generally in what is called a single-camera setup. This means, there is one director and shots are set up using one main camera.

This course focuses on NARRATIVE SCRIPTED LIVE-ACTION. Examples include:

• Emily in Paris - 1/2 hour season serialized comedy series
• NCIS - 1 hour episodic drama series
• Stranger Things - 1 hour season serialized drama series
• Black Mirror - 1 hour anthology drama series
• Queen's Gambit - 1 hour limited series

Just to clarify the difference, an unscripted docu-reality series is when there are no memorized lines from a written screenplay. This type of series uses real life people who generally play themselves. Several cameras capture their lives through walk-and-talks, interviews and what are called verité moments. The stories for these series are generally written in post production using the footage which is shot to write the episode storylines. Examples include:

• Keeping Up with the Kardashians
• The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
• Love It or List It

This course will NOT be covering unscripted series but keep a look out for future courses on unscripted series.

Writing a Narrative Scripted Television or Streaming Series:

Let's get started thinking about how you will begin writing your series. There are many types of writing. You might already write ideas or stories in a personal journal or maybe you have a blog where you explore your story ideas. However you may enjoy writing, television writing begins with thinking about your reader. Who is your reader and why would they be interested in what you are writing? To get a television series made can be a long process. Many writers first take a screenplay writing course which can be very helpful, but then these writers often get stuck when asked, how do you see this playing out as a series. How many episodes are there? What happens at the end of season one? How many seasons are there? Is each episode a one hour or half hour? Do the episode stories continue from one episode to the next or does each episode stand by itself where a viewer can watch episodes out of order?

As mentioned above, my advise to students is to first be aware of what your potential series "buyer" will be looking for. If you are serious about wanting to get your original series made, then from here forward, think of yourself as a series seller who first needs to be a series designer. By the way, we don't call writers "designers" in television, I am just using the term for teaching purposes only.

As a series "designer" what you write and how you write it should serve the purpose of giving your reader access to your creative visual mind. A full map of your series needs to be given to your reader so they can understand what you envision.

So, how do you go about building this series map? Below are standard entertainment industry materials and should be a part of your series writer's portfolio. In the lectures to follow, I will give an overview of the following:

• A Series Bible
• A Pilot Screenplay
• A Pitch Deck
• A Proof of Concept

Not all of the above is always necessary but they are a good place to start.

Let's take a closer look into these materials for your portfolio. Think of the portfolio as the blueprints for your original television series.

Attached is a sample Series Bible for the series, House of Cards. In the lessons to follow, there will be many more examples including Pilots and Pilot Screenplays, Pitch Decks and Proof of Concepts.

Writing Exercise:

1. Write a logline for your series. Start by asking yourself these questions:
2. Who is the main character? No name, just description.
3. What does she/he/they want? What is their goal?
4. Who (villain) or what is standing in the way of the main character?
5. What makes this story unique?

Examples of a logline would be:

A teenage girl is caught in a tornado and whisked from Kansas to the land of Oz

where, on her quest to return home, she encounters magical beings and has

many adventures.

or

When a farm girl from Kansas accidentally kills an evil witch in the land of Oz,

the witch's sister swears vengeance and tries to kill the girl before she can

seek the protection of the powerful wizard.

In the above examples, the answers to the above questions would be:

Who is the main character? No name, just description.

A teenage girl

What does she/he want? What is their goal?

Is on a quest to return home

Who (villain) or what is standing in the way of the main character?

A tornado and evil witch

What makes this story unique?

Magical beings and many adventures

Now write loglines for your series. Try to write each from a different point of view as the above example demonstrates.