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Getting Your TV Series On The Air
Did you ever have a great idea and later watch someone make a fortune from the same idea? What about an idea for a TV series? If you have one, you will need to find a path that leads to the door of a network executive or someone else with connections in the television industry. Then you will be on your way to becoming a TV Producer and/or writer!
Unfortunately, in real life people with no previous success in the industry are almost never allowed to pitch an idea for a new series. This is just a reality that you must deal with or give up your thoughts of getting your series on the air. Television executives each get dozens of new show pitches every season from people who have had previous successful shows previously on TV and thousands sent to them from “unknowns” who are trying to get into show business. There are only a limited number of spaces to fill on any one network’s schedule and those who decide which shows will make it have very little time to hear new ideas.
Networks typically just shred unsolicited pitches that they receive without ever opening them or they simply return them to the sender still sealed. They do this due to the fact that they may already be considering or even producing something very close to your new show! If they were to open tons of packages full of scripts or outlines from everyone with a great idea, they would certainly get sued many time each season for “stealing” someone else’s idea.
So how does someone who hasn’t already had a hit series on the air get their show on a network’s schedule? Well, a very small number of them know someone influential in the industry who can get an appointment to pitch the show. The remaining ninety-nine percent of us will most likely have to do it the hard way.
If you are really serious about getting that show on the air or just somehow getting your foot in the door towards a career in television, you will need to realize that the TV industry is very much like other careers. All business executives (including those at the networks) want to work with people that they feel are likely to be successful at what they do and that typically means getting education and experience. Education would, in this case, most likely be a college degree in communications, English literature, or some other field related to developing TV series. The experience could be many things including developing TV shows for a high school or college TV station. Having written a play or two in high school or college might give you that “edge” over others in getting yourself into the business. Did you consider pitching a series first to local stations or small networks before approaching a huge conglomerate like NBC? After all, NBC executives might have seen your one-hour chimpanzee special on Animal Planet and loved it! They will be able to see that you are able to take an idea for a TV show and get it produced to a point where it can be aired.
Even then, it’s nearly impossible to get an appointment to pitch a show to any network without being represented by an agent. Getting an agent that can get you in to a network meeting isn’t easy either though. You will need some education and/or experience before even those guys will speak to you! The agents act as kind of a “go-between” and assure the network guys that you are worth their very scarce and valuable time. Of course, they have to be convinced of that first because they won’t risk their reputations on your assurances that your idea is a good one.
In any case, it can be frustrating to know that you have something that is a guaranteed success but no one will listen. Television is just another business. You would never get an appointment with the CEO of Ford Motor Company just because you know you have a great idea for a car and you will not get an appointment with CBS because you know your TV show will be number one.
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