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Comedy Spec Script 2016 – What is hot and what is not

Comedy Spec Script 2016 – What is hot and what is not


UPDATED:
A brand new 2019 list has been posted.
Click here to access it.

Like every year, it is now time to review which TV shows are good to spec, and which are not.
Dedicated posts will be made respectively for the best comedies (half-hour) and the best dramas (one-hour).
As the title says, this post is all about the comedies.
In addition, you’ll also find (when available) a script for the corresponding show for educational purposes only.
Canceled or dead shows have been removed since last season’s spec list.

NOTE:
Given Warner Bros’ rules for their fellowship, I have indicated with an asterisk (*) series that they will not accept specs for (mainly first-season series).

Here is a quick recap of how the list works:
The shows are divided into five categories regarding their appeal to readers and how well they are known/read:
– Over-specced (shows that have passed their prime, try to avoid doing them)
– Mainstream (shows that have matured enough that they have become on-the-nose speccers–and a lot of people are speccing them)
– Wild Cards (soon, everyone will spec those, maybe you can get a head start)
– Outsiders (specs that will get you out from the pack)
– Gamblers (risky shows that could pay off, or bomb)

There is also a grade regarding the show’s longevity in relation to its speccability.
Meaning, how long can you keep your spec script fresh without having to throw it in the trash?
To do this, we will use the greatest grading system on Earth; stars:
★★★★★ – Excellent
★★★★★ – Very Good
★★★★★ – Average
★★★★★ – Fair
★★★★★ – Poor

Let’s get started.

Over-Specced

Re-tool your spec if you have one, but you probably shouldn’t bother beginning a new one for these shows.

Archer (FX)
Yup.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Still here.

The Big Bang Theory/Two Broke Girls (CBS)
Bazinga!
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Ad aeternum.

Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
We’re going up to eight seasons, which should already tell you something about its popularity.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – It’s still an animated show, meaning you could pull off a rabbit.

Episodes (Showtime) *
Limited spec appeal for what used to be a gambler.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Especially with potentially a fifth (and final?) season.

Girls (HBO) *
So outdone that some fellowships don’t even accept the show anymore.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Over it.

The Goldbergs (ABC)
Replaced by fresher single-cam fares.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Four seasons and counting.

House of Lies (Showtime)
Listen to your spec consultant.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – It’s Showtime, it won’t end. Apparently the show may be ending this season (if you needed another reason as to why a new Lies spec might be risky).

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX)
The Simpsons of basic cable, in that it’ll run forever.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – The Gang wouldn’t write a new spec.

Louie (FX)
Beyond the fact that we’re on season six, it’s in an extended hiatus.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – On the bright side, it prolongs your spec one more season.

The Mindy Project (FOX)
If you already got one, good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t start.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Some serialized changes last season.

Modern Family (ABC)
I guess you could write another college episode about the grand-kids.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Another generation is upon us.

New Girl (FOX)
Used to reign among the single-cams.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Over 100 episodes. Enough said.

Veep (HBO)
Insert 2016 presidential election joke.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – A return to form last season, which also brought some changes in one specific area.


Mainstream

The current and new widespread shows in town that are getting read.

Black-ish/Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)
On top of their single-cam game.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Go, go, gadget.

Broad City/Workaholics (Comedy Central)
Succeeded in going beyond their niche statuses into becoming a lot of people’s go-to specs.
Longevity: ★★★★★ –

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
Big success in the spec world thanks to two very popular seasons, which means…
Longevity: ★★★★★ – …it’s probably living its last year in this category.

The Last Man on Earth (FOX)
A wild card in terms of storytelling, but definitely a hot pick for your ambitious single-cam.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Can you predict where they’re headed to?

Mom (CBS)
Still the strongest multi-cam on the board.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Also, the only viable multi-cam on the board.

Silicon Valley (HBO)
A curated comedy stack for your future open-source, community-driven jokes.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Made with ❤ in Los Angeles.

Transparent (Amazon)
A critical sensation becomes a go-to dramedy spec.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Already working on season three.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Season 2 is still not out yet, but that shouldn’t stop you.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Very likely to be renewed beyond if it can further its critical acclaim.

You’re the Worst (FXX)
Has matured into a serious contender for a lot of people.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Depression is in the air.


Wild Cards

Not quite fully widespread but will get there given the chance.

Faking It (MTV)
Dark horse among the half-hours but gaining momentum.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Already on its third season.

Life in Pieces (CBS) *
Broad family comedy that could become a great Modern Family replacement.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Pending a renewal.

Master of None (Netflix)
Gaining traction as a spec, but its anthology formula can be a put-off.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Season 2 isn’t for another full year.

Superstore (NBC) *
The lone NBC comedy on the board, barely making it…
Longevity: ★★★★★ – …thanks to its precarious renewal.

Grandfathered/The Grinder (FOX) *
A full comedy slate rejuvenation for FOX single-cams…
Longevity: ★★★★★ – …assuming they go beyond their first season.


Outsiders

The shows (mostly cable) you may be tempted to take a risk on, getting you on top of the reading pile. Beyond that, it depends on the willingness of the reader and his/her knowledge of the show. Who knows, maybe the showrunner is into less popular shows and will value your risk-taking.

Baskets (FX) *
In the same spot as last year’s Man Seeking Woman, which could also mean a move downwards next season.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – FX seems to love its bizarre post-modern comedies.

Bojack Horseman/Rick & Morty (Netflix/Adult Swim) *
Although fairly popular in the mainstream, they still haven’t showed real success among specs.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Can you outcrazy and outsmart them?

Togetherness (HBO)
Mumblecore will not help the writing.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Slightly precarious spot in both the real, and spec-world, given its reserved nature.


Gamblers

For one reason or another, these are much riskier specs to do right now. You have been warned.

Baby Daddy/Young & Hungry (Freeform) *
Unknown to a lot of readers, which could jeopardize your chances.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – And they’re 4+ seasons deep.

Casual/Difficult People (Hulu) *
Not even on most people’s radars, yet has potential to grow if it gets more recognition.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Hulu’s betting on its slate.

Man Seeking Woman (FXX) *
A slight downturn from last year’s Outsider category, if only because it hasn’t gained the traction it needed in specs.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Similar boat to Baskets, albeit a season older.

Playing House (USA Network) *
Beyond niche, but could become another Broad City-type spec assuming it garners more eyeballs.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Hard to predict where USA is headed with its branding still in flux.


2016 Trends

A lot of older shows and very few climbing newbies means that, this year, we’re not even cracking 40 half-hour series in our list (nearly stagnating from last year’s 38 half-hours).

The big domination this season is coming from dramedies. Half of all “comedies” listed are blurring the line between drama and, well, comedy; most notably with Master of None, Transparent and Togetherness.
This is without a doubt linked to the equally-dominating presence of cable in the half-hour world (over 20 of all shows listed!). ABC rules the network side of single-cams, while NBC is barely on the board with only a single half-hour. How times have changed.

The expansion of niche comedies has brought variety, but also makes this an even tougher year for comedy specs. Apart from a few shows that were able to grow from their initial fanbase (Black-ish, Broad City, Fresh Off the Boat, You’re the Worst), the choices really lie between comedies on the verge of being over-specced, and obscure cable series. Tough call.

Seven Years of TV Industry

Seven Years of TV Industry

The television industry has evolved more in the past seven years than in its previous seven decades.
That’s a bold statement, I know. Let’s take a look at the business-related stories I did in that time.

One of my very early posts was a manifesto entitled “why TV is where you must be“.

Who would have thought 2 years ago that a small basic-cable movie channel was going to make not only one but two innovative shows, let alone one that wins Best Drama?

That was 2008. The network was AMC. The two shows were Mad Men and Breaking Bad.
Seven years later, AMC’s TV shows are everywhere. Hell, television shows are everywhere. It’s even a banality to say that.

We’ll dig into some of my TV industry predictions tomorrow, namely my “Nine ideas to save television“, also from 2008. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some other classics about the business.

The big NBC 2009 move was to put Jay Leno in primetime, every day. No more NBC dramas. My reaction was, maybe, an over-reaction. “Is NBC killing television?“, I wondered.

If everyone would pull a Zucker, and every network would simply remove dramas from the 10PM slot, original primetime content would be swallowed by clones of clones of clones of shit. […] I’m hoping that FOX/ABC will wake the fuck up and seize this great opportunity to be the underdog; bringing alternative, groundbreaking content to this 10PM slot.
Don’t ruin this for us, guys.
Please.

This reaction led, in turn, to a counter-over-reaction: “Is NBC reviving television?”
What I was actually talking about though was simple—

As I pointed out yesterday, the 10PM slot is begging to be changed.
Well, not really “begging”.
CBS’ Les Moonves himself declared the other day that “Taking a third [broadcast] competitor out of the marketplace will make us even stronger”, though he said that for different reasons (“‘CSI: Miami’ on Monday at 10 o’clock will beat Jay by a lot. Remember that. By a lot.”).
The Leno-move should not be without consequences for the 10PM slot on the other nets.
I am not talking about drastic schedule changes here (even if I’m guessing it’ll unfortunately come to that — affiliates anyone?).
I am talking here more about quality changes.
We have in one corner C.S.I., and in the other Jay Leno.
Bring on the alternative!
And if there aren’t any alternative on the Big Five, then we sure as hell will tune to other content-providers.
Like Cable.

Yup, still sounds about right seven years later.

We could also talk about my Emmy (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and Oscar (2009, 2010, 2011) recaps. I miss doing them. Maybe I should start covering again.

There’s hundreds of industry stories we covered over the years, but there’s only be a handful I really cared to dedicate lengthy articles for. Some we’ll talk about tomorrow (Netflix, the future of the TV industry, etc.).
Others, well, I’ll mention them right now.

Since we’re on the subject of alternative programming, Lordy wrote about potential “new outlets for scripted fare” in the days of 2010. Namely: A&E, Starz, EPIX. Kudos on the foresight.
He also did a great piece about “what’s it gonna take to bring your bubble show back?” Among his solutions: international/DVD sales, other networks, and a producer with clout. Rare options five years back, but now mainstays to save (or bring back) TV series.

On my end, I wrote last year two pieces on the great Stephen Colbert, one in reaction to his Late Late Show announcement, and the other for his last Colbert Report episode.
Now I’m bummed.
Let’s cheer up by reading my review of the Jay Leno Show.

Overall, it was your typical Jay Leno talk-show.
There was no “revolution” here, just me being mostly bored.

Ah, the good old days of NBC bashing. I’m feeling nostalgic.

Reminds me of the time I asked Lorne Michaels “what he did”.

Everyone (including the President himself) is telling you to hire someone being able to do a good Obama impersonation, so you audition great comedians, and then you don’t hire any of them?
What. The. Fuck.

And now, he’s adding two new female cast peeps.
Okay, that’s a good thing.
But then he subsequently fires two other female cast members (Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson)?!
What. The. Fuck.

[And] according to E!‘s Ted Casablanca, Wilson was asked to loose 30 pounds during the hiatus (and was fired because she didn’t).
What. The. Fuck.

At least Casey Wilson got Happy Endings out of all of this.

Can you believe I’ve been crying about the TV business for seven years now?
I can, but I don’t want to. Otherwise I’ll start crying again.

Let’s see where the TV industry is heading next.

Meet the People Who Decide When and If Shows Live or Die

Here’s an interesting 45-minute long interview with two TV network executives coming from KCRW.

Now that the 2015 TV upfronts have wrapped, Michael Schneider and Joe Adalian sit down with two of the people responsible for deciding which primetime shows air when.

Kelly Kahl is in charge of scheduling at CBS Primetime and Andy Kubitz heads up scheduling at ABC Entertainment. Kubitz used to work at CBS, so while the men have a bit of a professional rivalry today, the two remain friends.

Kubitz and Kahl tell us when they start the planning process for the new TV season and what kind of factors go into their decision making. While they’ve both got many shows that they would love to keep on the air, they’ve got to be rational. The decision whether to keep a show or pull the plug usually comes down to one thing: money.