Comments on: Drama Spec Script 2010 — What is hot and what is not

By: Will K.

Will K. — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:11:32 +0000

Is it really that important that a spec has to stay completely current with what’s going on in a ongoing, serialized series? If it did, nobody’s spec would be relevant, as most shows advance their overall plot at least somewhat. Otherwise, some people’s specs would be usable for like a month. It doesn’t seem very practical for the movers and shakers to demand that spec writers keep their specs as completely current as possible. Isn’t there some kind of leeway? Or do they actually demand that? It seems to me that if the writer has great, interesting dialogue and plot, and perfectly captures the tone of the show and characters, then that should be enough to get noticed, despite if the actual show has changed its arc after you’ve written your spec.

By: Rich Baldwin

Rich Baldwin — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:04:58 +0000

The Good Wife, then Castle. Eureka, Burn Notice or Leverage perhaps, depending on what stories come to mind. If I can swing a good Caprica or Sons of Anarchy, I’d love to write one of these as well.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:33:48 +0000

Great site and lists.…

I love True Blood and am looking to write a spec for it, but I am heeding your words on being aware of Ball changing the mythology and stories around, etc.

As for something lighter, I’m looking at doing In Plain Sight–its not on your list so I don’t know if it’s hot or not…

By: Bera

Bera — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:23:57 +0000

Supposing you were going to send a spec to Justified, what TV show would you all recomend speccing. My current top pic would be Burn Notice, (Strong lead, lightly serialized, action it has a number of decent parallels with Justified). Thoughts? Also, does anyone know where I can find Justified scripts?

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:10:04 +0000

Interesting you should ask that as I was discussing this very question with a friend a few days ago. We ended up with the same conclusion: Justified is at the moment still to young of a show to spec (in terms of finding the right 'voice' for your script). However, I'm sure that by this time next year, it will be a good speccer. Wait & See.

By: Bera

Bera — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:05:58 +0000

What do you think about the Speccability of Justified, assuming it gets renewed, (which I would say would be pretty safe bet at this point.)

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:49:09 +0000

I did a Chuck spec at the end of Season 2, anticipating season 3. It works well as a Chuck story but Season 3 ended up being a fundamental shift in the way the show operates.
Essentially, I went light, they went “Chuck goes Emo”… well, comparatively, at least.
Thus I’ve set that baby aside and gotten knee deep in a Mentalist spec. Thankfully, that’s going well.
I put the Chuck spec up on my site, so feel free to drop by and give it a read. I’ve got a Battlestar spec there as well for those who liked that series.