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Spec Script: Is fresher better?

Spec Script: Is fresher better?

Would you rather spec Better With You or The Big Bang Theory? Blue Bloods or The Good Wife?

I’ve recently received a few comments about the annual “Hot Spec Script” list and how it’s apparently already outdated.

[The list] is stale, if not outright old, as that’s a post from March. Might want to issue an update as it’s six months later…

I’m amused at the thought of a post being stale after six months, especially something called an annual list.
Has the state of television series changed so much in the last six months that an addendum–nay, a revisal of the list is required?
Either the person is talking about shows getting canceled, or how some shows are outdatedly classified as mainstream or wild cards. And I’m pretty pleased to see that out of over fifty shows listed, only three have been canceled in the past six months.

This brings me however to one of the core issues in picking a show to spec: longevity.
Before trying to break a show, or even research it, you obviously need to choose it.
Of course, each person has his/her own ability to take on a given show, regardless of the series’ age, and I’ve already talked a bit about this tricky subject.

There are two aspects to longevity.
The first is the fear of renewal.
As Lone Star and My Generation can both attest, being on the air is one thing, getting renewed is another.
Though it might have seem tempting to spec My Gen before it even premiered (what with all the billboards and whatnot), it would have proven to be a waste of time.
No one can really predict with 100% accuracy if a given show is going to get renewed, you can only guess it to a certain extent. If the series has ratings and an interesting story-world, then I’d wager it will continue.

The other aspect to the “longevity” issue is what is debatable, and perhaps even more important.
At the center of this is a simple question:
If a show has been on the air less than a full season, should you consider speccing it?
Blame it on Facebook, ADD or Jersey Shore, but it seems that people are not happy anymore sticking with the “at least one season under the belt” formula.
Everyone wants to “get ahead of the curve,” and the most obvious way to do it is to spec a brand new show.
Is this a ground-breaking issue? Hell no. But it’s now more than ever a central one.

Perhaps the best example of this situation is last season’s Modern Family and Community.
Both shows had been on the air for only a few months, and already you could tell they were going to be great comedies to spec. And the fact that neither of them were renewed at that point made no difference.
It was, and still is, a smart choice to try to spec them, but one key component that many people seem to miss is the fact that a new show hasn’t found its footing.
Case in point with Glee. Watch the first half of season one, then compare it to last week’s episode.
If you can’t see how vast the show has changed, you should reconsider speccing it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t think about writing a Nikita spec script.
It’s always good sometimes to take mitigated risks when it comes to choosing a show to spec. But no one should feel rushed into breaking an episode of, say, The Event before it’s even renewed for a second season.
The show is as speccable now as Caprica was only two weeks ago. And then look at what Syfy did.

If you are going to commit several months of your life researching, breaking, and then writing a spec script for a brand new TV show that has been on the air for less time than the Chilean miners were underground, wait a bit.
You need to really think things through in terms of storytelling, dialogue, structure, characters; not gimmicks.
The show might not have found its foothold in the first season, let alone first two months of being on the air.
It’s certainly a safe bet to say Hawaii Five-0 will soon be the go-to action procedural to spec in a few months, but until then, don’t presume that a show two seasons in, like NCIS:LA, is already past its due with no more stories to tell.
I’m sure a few people are already spit-balling spec stories for The Waking Dead right now.
By all means, jot down your ideas. But maybe it would be wise to hone them once a few more episodes have been shown. You know, more than one.

You have to realize that if you have so much faith in your chosen show and your script, then neither of them are going away anytime soon. You are aiming for a shelf life of a year or two at the max, which is plenty of time for you to go from research to final draft. Don’t rush into a spec just because you have found a new show and “omygod no one has thought of this but me!”
This is tantamount to being scared of your own shadow. You’re racing against an imaginary enemy.

Your script isn’t going to stand out because you are the first person ever to spec Modern Family or Hawaii Five-0.
It will stand out because it is great by itself.

Born to Run (Emmys 2010)

Already another award show?
It’s as if time isn’t standing still anymore.
Unlike when you’re stuck watching an award show. Badum-ching.

For once, the opening Emmy number was good (surprisingly). It was also a nice big ad for FOX’s Glee…on NBC.
I do have one major caveat though: Jimmy Fallon, please stop singing.
I mean it.
We could all tell you had a hard time catching your breath and you were pretty much completely off-cue during the live part of the song.
I do wonder why they didn’t use Auto-Tune like Simon Cowell.

The best moments of the night didn’t come from Fallon (as expected, like the Conan jokes), but from Neil Patrick Harris, Ricky Gervais, and even a clip featuring the Modern Family cast discussing ‘options’ with a fake suit.

The running-gag of Twitter jokes was as bad as that time we had reality presenters as actual hosts of the Emmys. Remember?
You shouldn’t be scarce on jokes when you’re hosting an award ceremony, that is all.

There were several awkward moments during the night, especially with some presenters. The first one coming to mind is the Matthew Perry/Lauren Graham duo that epicly bombed.
That was soon followed by John Krasinski forgetting his lines–even though the teleprompter was right in front of him.
Awkward.

This year was also the year of popular vote it seems, with lots of newcomers and fan faves winning. Jane Lynch, Jim Parsons, Eric Stonestreet, Aaron Paul, you name it.
And, yes, Bryan Cranston did deserve to win again!
I’m however sorry to point out that Eddie Falco was not the best choice as Lead Actress in a Comedy. She even admitted it herself.


Still nothing new under the sun regarding the Best Drama-type categories, which brings me to this now-popular joke: Will Erin Levy get fired for winning an Emmy? *rimshot*

Lost didn’t win anything.
I find it sad that Darlton actually used as their Emmy joke a true anecdote showing how poorly planned their mythology was. Though that’s old news by now surely.

It’s funny that the Emmy peeps recycled last year’s bottom-screen announcement, such as ‘George Clooney in 17 minutes’ or ‘True Blood cast in 21 minutes.’
I mean really?
Is that what people watched the show for, or is NBC that desperate to get eyeballs?
Funny to think that the cast of True Blood is also seemingly as popular as Clooney.
At least this year they didn’t pull out the ‘In Memoriam in 30 seconds‘ card.

Oh well.
At least a deserving series won for Best Comedy.

What’s it gonna take to bring your bubble show back?

What’s it gonna take to bring your bubble show back?

It’s that time of the season again. Many shows are on the verge of being cancelled by the big Five networks, and several cable channels, and hopes are dimming for a few of them. So, let me get this out of the way: yes, ratings are a key factor, along with DVR showings, etc. It depends also on the level of the development season, and the will of the networks to balance scripted and unscripted shows, or to launch new scripted blocks. That’s what’s expected for ABC and NBC, at the very least, since they renewed the totality of their 2-hour comedy blocks, save for ABC’s “Hank”, but still ordered a dozen comedy pilots for next season.

All of that is obvious, and has been repeated in many stories all over the specialized sites. But lately, due to the financial crisis, both studios and networks have been creative in trying to find ways to bring shows back. So, stop trying to aggregate for “Save Show” campaigns or sending gifts to executives, and…


(That one takes us back, doesn’t it?)

International sales?
A very interesting story has emerged from the “New York Times” last week. It came on the heels of Sony negotiating with premium channel DirecTV to bring a fourth season of “Damages” to air. Sure, “Damages” garners critical acclaim and Emmys for Glenn Close, but this season the ratings have been disappointing to the FX brass.

This quote in particular is interesting:

The formula for making the cable drama business pay is changing, but, as Zack Van Amburg, president of programming and production for Sony Pictures Television, said, so is the world.
“International is critical for these shows,” he said. “Five years ago broadcast shows were more valuable. They were thought of as better-produced and of higher quality. Now cable shows have gone out and performed well.”
Sony’s “Damages” attracts about 1.4 million viewers an episode, barely survival ratings on FX (though Mr. Landgraf jokingly said it does very well “among viewers with I.Q.’s over 140”). But Sony has sold the show to international outlets for a total of about $2 million an episode.

So, the international sales, especially for a drama coming with a “prestige” stamp like “Damages”, have been instrumental in getting the talks going to finance more seasons. (However, it looks like that wasn’t enough, since Sony doesn’t want a substantial license fee reduction, so it might be dead after the Season 3 finale, according to Variety.)
Shows drawing an international audience can be saved from the bubble, like “Alias” in its time, or “Heroes” now. That’s the prime reason a final season, though short, can be ordered by NBC, since otherwise the show has nothing going for it.

Other networks?
Granted, that’s a rare case of networks jumping in, and usually it doesn’t take place until after the bubble show has been cancelled in the upfronts. (There are exceptions of course, “Friday Night Lights” on DirecTV being one.) But, lately, it has not been unusual: “Medium” jumped from NBC (poor marketing, consistently great ratings) to CBS (Friday Night Slot of Death, but great promotion); “Scrubs” ended its run on ABC after 7 seasons, including one aborted, on NBC. But “SAVE OUR SHOW” aficionados, don’t jump to conclusions that quick or try to play Armchair Executive too soon. That will happen if the parties willing to order more seasons have a personal stake in the show: “Medium” is produced by CBS Paramount TV (keyword: CBS. Sister arm of production), so Les Moonves had interest in promoting a new season. Plus, Glenn Gordon Caron already produced the late, great “Now and Again” for CBS back in 2000. Same case with “Scrubs”: not only is it produced by ABC Studios, but Steve McPherson himself developed the show, back when he was the head of Touchstone Television.

DVD sales?
This one is less realistic. Sales of a cancelled show on DVD, if significant, might help the network reconsider more seasons. Sadly, this has only happened for two animated shows: “Futurama” and “Family Guy”, both produced by 20th Century Fox. As far as I’m aware, selling 2 million copies of, say, “The Forgotten” season 1 won’t make Steve McPherson reconsider bringing Christian Slater back on the air. (Especially since Slater has already jumped ship on another pilot. And no, no one really wants to see new episodes of “The Forgotten”.)

A producer mogul with beaucoup clout?
The times where you could get a TV show made based on the sake of your name are now long gone. On network TV, that is. After all, David Milch got “John From Cincinnatti” ordered without HBO executives blinking once. But a few of those moguls subsist: that’s how John Wells, Executive Producer Extraordinaire, responsible for “China Beach” and especially “ER”, took the filmed episodes of season 2 of “Southland” to TNT. The first season, aired right after the end of “ER”, in the slot of Thursdays at 10, was already a sign of goodwill from NBC execs, who gave the keys to a late-season run to an eager Wells, that wanted to keep the real estate and momentum. But fall came, Leno at 10 too, so “Southland” was supposed to air on Fridays (gasp) at 9 pm (ugh). The rest is history: NBC chickened out, Wells got pissed and terminated his contract. But the 6 unaired episodes of “Southland”, broadcast after reruns of season 1, didn’t attract many eyeballs. So, specialists wonder if TNT made the right move by believing in the show. And among the bubble shows, save for “Cold Case” and “The Forgotten” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, none of them are produced by a bigtime producer.

Many shows won’t get a second chance to come back next month. Some won’t even see the light of day on DVD, such as aforementioned “Cold Case”, held up ever since its premiere for music license rights. So, at the end of the day, it depends on the will of the studio and the network to find avenues to bring the show back and recoup the money well beyond the ad revenue.