Or a similar one.Įxecutives and showrunners would hire writers who could effectively emulate the tone and voice of the show they were staffing.

Or had a terrific take on an episode of Law & Order. And you were able to execute a sample script of those shows with confidence, then chances were pretty good that you would be happily considered for a staffing position on that show. If you “totally got” the way Ross and Rachel bounced off each other. You’d write a spec episode of a series you loved, and then submit that work through your agent or manager for consideration for a staffing position. How things used to be.Ī while back, this used to be by far the best way to break into writing for television. And all within intertwining, compelling and funny stories. In other words, their quirky character personalities, breaking the fourth wall, etc. Writing a spec episode of, say, Modern Family, would require you writing all the families as we know them now. This means following the show’s formatting structure and overall “voice” of the show. It means writing characters with pre-set voices and personalities in order to demonstrate that you’re a powerful writer with imagination. In a way that feels real and familiar, yet fresh. This entails writing an episode of an existing TV series that showcases your ability to write current characters that people know and love. But it’s less in vogue now than a few years ago. Writing a spec episode is the traditional way writers use to break into television writing. It’s also known as a “TV spec”, “sample episode” and “spec episode.” For the sake of clarity, we’re going to use the latter. In the world of TV script writing, a “spec” usually means a sample episode of an existing show. Let’s take a quick look at both of these in turn. In TV, there are two main types of spec script: This is a script written “speculatively” that showcases your talents and can be used as a calling card. If you want to get into TV script writing you’ll need a “spec” script (or three).Īs in the land of features, if you want to break in, you’ll need a “spec” script.

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