Source: PCMag
Two weeks ago, one of my best friends told me that he had a television script that is being considered for production by Netflix. I was surprised and excited by the news. My friend and I don’t live in the same city anymore, but when we did, we never talked about dramatic literature. At the time, he was in law school and I was working in non-profit administration and freelance writing. At his university, I took a course in Playwriting and another in Screenwriting. At my university, I took another course in Playwriting and a special topic “Page to Stage” class that required creating a script and getting it performed by student actors. While I was honored that he wanted my opinion regarding the script, I found myself wishing that I knew earlier about his interest in dramatic literature because we could have collaborated on many projects for the stage, TV and film. We can connect through technology and work on projects now, but it seems like Netflix is probably going to greenlight the show as they have selected an Emmy-nominated producer and a lead actress for the show already.
Script Format
The first thing I checked was the script format and if it corresponded with industry standards. I found the script to be tightly written, and featured about 35 pages of dialogue which is a good number to be around as every page may count as one minute of screen time. It also gives the production staff room to revise or delete portions of the script that they may want to go in a different direction.
Romance Comedy
While there is a working title for the show, since it is not officially contracted, I can not reveal the name, plot, or those over at Netflix whom are working on the script in their capacity. However, I can say that it is a romance comedy that has some dramatic elements to it as well. I felt like it was a good mixture of comedy and serious interactions between the characters. Since the script was a pilot, or potentially the first episode, it became apparent the style in which he was using dialogue to introduce characterization. There is one protagonist that is the central character and all episodes will be starring this particular character. All the other characters were plugged in through the depiction of various scenes; most if not all of them will probably not be seen in episode 002. However, analyzing the pilot as an individual creative work, it was clear to see how the future lines would play out If the production goes forward.
Can You Get 100 Episodes from a Pilot Script
After all of the script analysis, the most important question is can you turn this project into at least 100 episodes, preferably more if possible. Reaching such a milestone would give Netflix the opportunity to continuously stream the entire seasons of the show or put it through syndication on television, internet or another streaming service. Based on what I’ve evaluated, I think it’s possible to reach 100 or more episodes. It would take the creation of dozens of comedic roles and a variety of dramatic situations in order for the script to reach that milestone, but I think as long as the characterization evolves throughout the run of the production the better it will be.
Contributions
I have already submitted my script analysis to my friend. He initially wanted me to audition to become one of the supporting cast members, I am willing to help out where I can but instead of being on screen, I think it would be better for me to make contributions to the writing team. It would be a lot of fun for me to make contributions to Arts Tribune and work as a writer for a Netflix show at the same time. The writing team is not finalized yet but I have already expressed my interest in joining that team. If I’m selected to be a writer after they shoot the pilot, I will be able to tell good stories through characterization-which is one of my favorite aspects of creating dramatic literature. I am looking forward to how this will play out. My schedule would become a little busier, but it would be continuing to build Arts Tribune, work on scripts for Netflix, and work in Cybersecurity which is my current field of study.