Posts tagged as “Scripts”

Must-Read Spec Posts
Comedy Spec Script List
Drama Spec Script List
What is the difference between a “spec script” and a “spec pilot”?
Ten specs writing rules (and why you should care)

Latest Spec Posts

Comedy Spec Script 2014 – 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’ new 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 (FXX)
A popular animated spec. Too popular at this point.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – They completely reinvented themselves, which is both a good and bad thing for specs.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Seven seasons and counting should be enough to keep you away.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – The show isn’t going anywhere, but neither will your spec.

Community (NBC)
Dan Harmon is back, but the field is too crowded with Community specs at this point to be worth your investment.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Six seasons and a movie.

Cougar Town/The Middle (ABC)
A change of network for the former couldn’t have come at a better time. Both series are not that watched, but are surprisingly popular in spec-world.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Decent numbers, I guess.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX)
Don’t try to compete in this arena.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – New network means new lease on life.

Louie (FX)
Considered by many to be one of the best comedies on TV for so long now, which made it a very popular alternative spec.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Mo’ seasons, mo’ problems.

Modern Family (ABC)
You could create ten seasons of content with all the Family specs floating around.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – It will outlast us all.

Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Peaked last year, and is now definitely not the smartest choice.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – They shook things up with the departure of, literally, two major characters. Although it could be a good thing for the show, it isn’t for your spec.

Raising Hope (FOX)
Raising Hope has become very popular as the “small but not too small” comedy to spec. In other words, this will probably its final year before being considered over-specced.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – It’s the final countdown.

Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Good lord.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Yeah, no.

Wilfred (FXX)
Perhaps once a novel idea for an atypical spec, Wilfred has now become quite popular as a spec contender.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – New season later this year. Will it be the last?

Mainstream

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

Girls (HBO)
If you want to vent about your first-world problems, you now have the perfect show.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Don’t forget the nudity.

House of Lies/Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Both are well-recognized at this point to be strong contenders.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – The real challenge is finding something fresh to talk about.

Mike & Molly (CBS)
Your best bet for an established multi-cam.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Besides the situations having been recycled from every show ever, you may have something.

The Mindy Project (FOX)
As long as you realize you’re not the first person to spec this show…
Longevity: ★★★★★ – …you can go ahead and write for this new New Girl.

New Girl (FOX)
Pretty much the dominant single-cam spec for relationship shows.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Plenty of awkward situations to milk.

Shameless (Showtime)
It should be considered a drama given its length, but I’m a rebel.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Showtime ain’t letting this one go.

Suburgatory (ABC)
Slowly taking the place of Raising Hope as the cutesy under-rated family comedy.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Are the ratings any good?

Two Broke Girls (CBS)
Will you be the rebel taking on racist jokes?
Longevity: ★★★★★ – It has leveled off.

Veep (HBO)
Iannucci’s quick-fire dialogues are very difficult to mimic, much less surpass. But if you have the chops…
Longevity: ★★★★★ – …go for it.

Wild Cards

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

Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
The Archer alternative.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Under-rated by most, watched by some.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) *
The new hit on the block. Clearly a front-runner to be next year’s top spec.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – It is a critics fave, but also has shaky ratings.

The Crazy Ones (CBS) *
A single-cam on CBS?
Longevity: ★★★★★ – The timeslot switch may prove problematic.

Mom (CBS) *
If Mom continues on, it will probably end up being the go-to multi-cam to spec.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – A strong showing for CBS’ latest multi.

The Neighbors (ABC)
There are better options for single-cams.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Still living off average numbers.

Orange Is The New Black (Netflix)
Another category-ambiguous dramedy which has nonetheless become a hit (or so Netflix says). The question now becomes if you can match the quality.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Season 2 is about to premiere.

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.

Episodes (Showtime)
You never want to go full meta…
Longevity: ★★★★★ – …which could be a problem with this show.

The Goldbergs (ABC) *
A freshman series not panned by critics?
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Got picked up for a full season, but I’d wait until a renewal.

The League (FXX)
Still overlooked, which means if you nail it with the right reader, you could be noticed.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Getting crazier by the season.

The Millers (CBS) *
A Survivor winner is on the writing staff, so how bad could it be?
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Definitely on the hot seat.

Gamblers

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

Anger Management (FX)
Why?
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Only 600 episodes to go.

Childrens’ Hospital/NTSF:SD:SUV/Eagleheart (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim) *
Once again, a very odd and unique choice for shows to spec.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Good luck predicting where they’re heading to next.

The Exes/Hot In Cleveland (TV Land) *
Can you name five different unrelated people that watch these shows?
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Legit/Workaholics (FXX/MTV) *
Starting to gain momentum, but still obscure enough that you’d gamble on people reading it.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – Probably not going anywhere.

Men At Work/Sullivan & Son (TBS)
Not widely seen means not widely read.
Longevity: ★★★★★ – TBS doesn’t have many options.

Another record year for the spec list with 42 comedies this time around. To put that into perspective, the WB Writers’ Workshop is only accepting 33 comedies this year.

Critical faves Louie, Modern Family and Parks & Rec have moved away, and Raising Hope was recently canceled, which means it’s time for some new blood.
Despite the departure of these major shows to spec, you can see other hot series becoming increasingly popular; not the least of which is Mindy, very popular ever since it premiered last year. With Archer gone (or at least reinvented), Bob’s Burger has taken its place as the go-to animation spec.
Premium cable still offers a strong showing, with Girls, House of Lies and Veep topping the list.
And let’s not forget Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which is sure to become the hottest “must-spec” freshman series in years.

Click here for the Drama Spec Script list.

Scribosphere Carnival #4 – Advice

The Scribosphere Carnival is a weekly discussion from a variety of screenwriting blogs around a rotating theme.

Emily over at Bamboo Killers chose today’s topic:

ADVICE — A recommendation regarding a decision or course of conduct.

Okay, I admit. There wasn’t any description given for the provided topic, so I just took Merriam Webster’s generic definition of the word advice.
The true topic is apparently about giving advice, and more specifically what is my best writing advice.

A lot of great tips about screenwriting have been given, specifically in the few other Scribosphere posts of my fellow bloggers.
Writing ad nauseam (AKA you should write because you’re a writer) has been covered.
What to do with screenplays has been covered.
Readjusting your expectations has been covered.
So what is left to say?

Well, here’s my personal bit of advice:

Done is better than perfect.

Thoughtful, eh?

Let’s dig a little deeper.
In my mind, there are two parts to this maxim:
1. Done is better…: Combating procrastination (working on the script)
2. …than perfect: Combating perfection (finishing the script)

1. Be done

The process of writing a script is kind of like a mini-feature production in of itself:
– Pre-production (research/development)
– Production (outline/treatment/draft)
– Post-production (editing/rewrites/corrections/notes)

While you’ll probably be spending 90% of your time on the last 10% of your work with most (other) creative projects, my personal experience has taught me that, when you’re working on a fresh script, the biggest evil is procrastination (which usually occurs way before the finishing touches).

We’ve already covered a bit on the subject, but one way to combat the negative effects of procrastination is to increase productivity.
Having a fixed writing schedule definitely helps. In fact, I’ve started working on one for myself.

There are also other alternative productivity techniques.
A fairly well-known example would be the Pomodoro technique. The idea is to entirely focus on the one task for a limited amount of time, and then move on or come back to it after a break.
Forget the fancy trademark gimmick of the original company, all you need to do it is a timer. It can be a free app, or a physical kitchen timer in the form of a tomato (pomodoro in Italian).
The basic concept is as follows:

– Decide on the task to be done.
– Set the pomodoro timer to n minutes (traditionally 25).
– Work on the task until the timer rings.
– Take a short break (3-5 minutes).
– Every four “pomodori” take a longer break (15–30 minutes).

Rinse and repeat.

Regardless of which technique you end up using for your own productivity, you should hopefully find something that works for you, and that leads to you actually working on your script.
Note that I said “working on” rather than “writing a draft of”, since brainstorming and outlining are extremely vital part of the process. Even an occasional mental evasiveness and/or reverie is more than welcomed during any creative process.

Ultimately, you want to push through into getting a first draft done.
Spoiler alert: your first draft will probably suck (that’s why they call it a vomit draft). Best case scenario, it is merely mediocre.
But being done with it is the first step to salvation.

2. Don’t be perfect

Battling perfection is the other half of the equation.
You’ve probably heard the aphorism “perfect is the enemy of good”, which is an adjusted translation of Voltaire’s “Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien dit que le mieux est l’ennemi du bien” (In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of the good).

Whether you’re about to e-mail to everyone your first draft, or the one after getting your first notes, it’s time to realize that those endless tweaks you pull right before sending it “out there” are, well, mostly vanity tweaks. Or at the very least self-deceptive.
It’s like that moment when you’d rather organize your desk than write an e-mail. You are fooled into thinking a usually productive effort will be more rewarding/useful than what you should actually be doing. In this case just hitting send and moving on.
Your script will probably never be the greatest script ever written, especially to your eyes (We are our own worse critic, right?). So don’t waste a lot of time trying to “perfect it”.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work your hardest, but there’s a difference between fixing a broken (unfunny) line, and fretting over what kind of hat your protagonist should wear.

The same can be said about addressing notes. Fact: the more people you get them from, the more contradictory they will be.
It’s your job to sift through the mess, and once you’ve fixed the relevant problems, you shouldn’t waste your time trying to perfect the script to everyone’s taste.
Because that’s impossible.
At some point, you’ll have to send your baby into the world, or pull out the band-aid. Whichever metaphor helps you cope with the reality that your imperfect script will be viewed by someone other than you.

Done is better than perfect, because perfect is an unattainable goal.

Write on.

Scribosphere blogs also on the topic:

Red Right Hand | Jonathan Hardesty | Bamboo Killers

Scribosphere Carnival #3 – Criticism

The Scribosphere Carnival is a weekly discussion from a variety of screenwriting blogs around a rotating theme.

And I’m continuing to catch up on those I missed.

Michael over at Red Right Hand chose today’s topic:

CRITICISM — This week’s Scribosphere topic is how we each take criticism, or how we don’t, who do we seek out to provide it, and what do we do with it once we have it, how we give it, or, you know…whatever.

Giving it

In my long-standing experience as a professional critic (*takes a puff of cigarette*), there are a few things I always try to do when giving criticism (and more specifically, giving notes).

The Frame
How you say something is just as important as what you say.
This is especially true when giving notes, since, as you already know, writers are very sensitive creatures. An obvious tip is to never lead with the bad.
I’ll go a step further and mention the ~~shit~~ criticism sandwich. Heard of it? You’ve probably been on the other end of one, as it’s a psychological trick often used by HR and in performance reviews.
Basically, you start your criticism with a compliment, then move to a real issue, and conclude with another positive comment. Repeat ad nauseam.
Here’s a pretty comic strip to illustrate the idea:

You’ll still be saying what you want to say, but in a nicer way.

The Content
What is the one thing you should always be doing when giving notes? Be doing honesty. That’s right.
If you’re trying to help someone with their script (or anything else for that matter), there’s nothing worse than downplaying and/or outright censoring a negative comment you may have. You need to put it all on the table and actually talk about the issues with the project, even if it’s going to mess up with, say, act two.
That doesn’t mean you should just point at the page and say it’s the worst thing ever. Or be like this:

(He’s talking about the Photoshop job.)

Giving notes is about trust. Yes, I’m already tearing up.
If you’re willing to give notes, then you should be willing to put aside any personal feelings (good or bad), be objective, and be honest about it all.

In terms of what your notes should generally be about, a common rule of thumb is to start off with the macro first, and then move on to the micro.
In other words, start with the big picture. Structure, plot and characters are probably going to be the three biggest triggers.
As we’ve seen, don’t just pile on the negative. Unless it was literally the worst script of the decade, you probably (for example) engaged with some things, but not others. What about that turn in the fourth act? How amazing was it when the clown ended up being the serial joker?
Then, move on to the smaller things. It can be anything like syntax, phrasing, character names, formatting, etc.

Finally, if you’re sending out negative criticism, try to offer some sort of solution (or suggestion) to the problem(s) you’re highlighting.
Nobody likes a complainer.
It’s likely that they won’t actually be putting the ideas to use, but, like the ~~shit~~ criticism sandwich, it’s a way to soften the blow. (Plus it shows that you cared enough to think about the problem.)

Getting it

To go on a slight tangent, if you’ll recall, I did a “script experiment” a few months back by publicly putting up my Star Trek: Terran spec pilot.
I was surprised at the amount of feedback and criticism I ended up getting (e-mail/Facebook/smoke signals). And I don’t mean one-line bashing; I’m talking full-on notes. From complete strangers.

It was an interesting experience (that is still ongoing), not only for the kind of criticism I received, but also from whom. Even more surprising to me was the 50/50 split between writers and non-industry people who were just Trek fans in their own rights. And all these people read my weird 1-hour pilot draft out of their own volition (no pets were kidnapped)! Still can’t believe it.
As I’ve previously said, a writer never wants to write in a vacuum. I’m always grateful when someone reads my work, let alone gives me notes in return.
Sometimes it is hard to get good feedback, or find people who can give honest feedback.

A good place to start is–wait for it–your friends.
Like many people (I assume), I tend to divide the people I get my notes from between writers/industry folks, and non-writers/non-industry people.
As you can probably guess, the idea is to end up with notes that will help both the craft and the story.
A layman doesn’t care about structure, but he’ll probably tell you that he fell into a deep coma around page 4 of your boring church description.
This is especially useful for genre/convoluted scripts, which I sometimes (often) tend to write. The stories can be intricate, so it’s nice to know where/when a reader gets confused or what s/he missed entirely.

Besides BFFs, another great way to get constructive (and continuous) feedback is through a writers group.
There’s a few ways of going about those. It can be a “build as you go” group, in which case people trade/reads X pages every week, and everyone comments about each other’s scripts. It can also be a writer’s room-type format, where each session revolves around a participant’s project.
Whichever way you go, it’s again about valuing the people’s opinions. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your material and/or getting notes from the other members, you’ll be wasting more than just your time.

Taking it

There could be an entire book written about the “proper” way to “take a note”. But this isn’t anger management.
The good news about criticism is that it isn’t always about bad news. Real criticism is supposed to measure and analyze both the positive and the negative behind a piece.
That is, in theory. The reality is that, as writers, we often only hear that bad news stuff.
We’re too sensitive.

The initial outpouring of energy when receiving negative criticism tends to go in two directions:

Anger
“The third act could use a little trimming.” Gimme a razor, and I’ll trim something alright.
“That character didn’t pop.” I’m gonna pop one right in your face!
“I wasn’t engaged with the story.” *sounds of head bashing*

Justification
“You don’t understand! There needs to be a floating pig in act three to symbolize the protagonist’s purgative withdrawal from the feeble-minded society surrounding him! Also, I love Pink Floyd.”

Neither reactions are worth your time (or your reader’s).
Criticism can be harsh, but regardless of our personal feelings, we need to realize that every comment, every criticism, and every note has its value. Even when it sounds lame.

Simply put, listen to the note behind the note.

Listen to the problem behind the criticism.
The person giving you feedback doesn’t always (read: never) know your script better than you. S/he therefore won’t always be giving the best solution or most relevant comment. But maybe it’s only a question of phrasing the problem properly.
If you’re getting notes from a non-writer, chances are that real structure issues will be disguised as issues regarding the reader’s comprehension/engagement (among other things).
If someone forgets to comment on an entire plotline (e.g. C story), maybe you don’t need it. Or if you do, then it’s definitely not as compelling as you think it is.
The same can be said about potential fixes/suggestion given to you. Listen to the problem behind the solution.
Even if you don’t agree with the fix (or find it appalling to even consider! My God, what the hell is this guy thinking?! That’ll bust my entire third act! I can’t even–), that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.
Abre los ojos.

Once all the notes have been received and tabulated, I try to organize them according to their importance, both on an “urgency” scale, and a “meta” scale (i.e. the aforementioned macro vs. micro problems). Note that the “importance scale” is in reference to the script, not the person giving the note. (Assuming of course I already know who’s giving it to me. Nomsayin’)
And then it’s time for draft number two. Or three. Or back to the outline. Or the ledge.

Well. That’s a lot about criticism.
Any notes?

Looking to start your TV writing journey?

Posts tagged as “Scripts”