Episode 12: What Does It Take to Get a TV Show On Air?
May 14, 2024
The Creative Cut Up podcast is a lively and honest space for storytellers that sits at the intersection of craft, business, and creative freedom.
Join us weekly, where Felicia Pride and her co-hosts, Dria Roland and Georgette Pierre, talk shop and smack, share the good, the bad, and the ugly, and provide tangible tips to support your creative practice, your career, and your artist self.
Is it just us or does the process of selling a TV show or film in Hollywood seemed cloaked in mystery? Like how is it done? And then once you sell it, how does it make it to air? There are many, many steps. So in this episode, we cut up about what it means to actually sell a show, the roles studios and networks play, why selling a show doesn’t guarantee it being greenlit, and why films are often easier to pitch than TV shows.
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A breakdown of our chat:
(00:04:56) Felicia’s experience of selling her first TV show
(00:06:25) What happens during open writing assignments (OWAs)
(00:10:53) The role of the studio and network when pitching a TV show
(00:12:22) Setting up a show doesn’t mean you sold it
(00:12:50) Understanding if-come deals
(00:13:53) Next step after setting up an if-come deal
(00:16:44) The challenges of getting a show on the air
(00:18:38) The process when taking out a project yourself vs. an OWA
(00:21:23) How the wrong attachments can hurt a project
(00:23:55) Writers needing to wear their producer hats when pitching a show
(00:26:24) Development hell
(00:27:08) The difference between pitching a TV show vs. a film idea
(00:30:37) Films taking a long time to make
(00:30:59) How HONEY CHILE and other entities can position themselves to be more involved creatively
(00:32:00) Selling a project doesn’t mean it’s greenlit
(00:33:07) Our How We Create segment where Felicia, Dria, and Georgette share things inspiring them this week
HOW WE CREATE Recommendations
Felicia: Old Black ‘90s sitcoms
Georgette: The film Zola and Amazon Prime’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith
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PRODUCTION CREDITS
This podcast is a production of The Create Daily. It was produced by Georgette Pierre and executive produced by Felicia Pride. It was edited by Wize Grazette of the Indie Creative Network.
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