SCRIPT COVERAGE FOR TELEVISION CONTAINS MOST OF THE SAME ELEMENTS YOU ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH, EXCEPT FOR THE ‘SERIES CONCEPT’ WHICH REPLACES THE ‘LOGLINE.’

OTHER DIFFERENCES ARE NOTED BELOW IN BLUE.

STORY DEPARTMENT COVERAGE

TITLE: SUBMISSION BY:

AUTHOR:

GENRE:

LOCALE: SUBMITTED TO:

PERIOD: REC’D ON:

FORMAT: COVERAGE DATE:

DRAFT DATE: ANALYST:

SOURCE: ELEMENTS:

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SERIES CONCEPT: A series concept is a one or two sentence statement revealing the main idea of the series. It should contain the genre, the world, and what is unique about the series; plus a strong indication of the ongoing conflicts and character relationships that can drive this tv show for multiple episodes and even multiple seasons.

In a ‘Series Concept’ you must look beyond the pilot episode, to the promise of the series to come.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS: Same format as always.

SYNOPSIS: The length of the synopsis in television is shorter than for movies. You will still cover the major events of the episode, however your emphasis should be on the characters and character relationships and ongoing conflicts that are likely to sustain the series. Be sure to include enough context to keep the story events easily understood and tied to the central idea(s) of the series.

For example, if you were covering Episode One of “The Crown” you would not simply say, “the King becomes sick and goes into surgery.” You would want to say why this is important to the larger story, adding some context to make it obvious. For example:

“As the king is in surgery, news of his illness reaches Malta where the newly-wedded Elizabeth is still celebrating her marriage. The news brings a sudden weight and recognition of responsibility to Elizabeth. For the first time in her young life, she faces the very real possibility of accepting the burden of the throne of England.”

In this regard, context becomes even more important when writing a synopsis for television, because we must always try to see the bigger picture (the ongoing conflicts) not just the story events.

The length of your synopsis for a one-hour tv script should be 400-600 words. Save your writing for the comments section.

COMMENTS:

Always begin your comments with a brief restatement of the series concept, its target audience, and relative strength within its genre. This ‘overview’ paragraph is important to make certain you and your readers are all on the same page; and that your analysis can be understood within a clear context. How good is this comedy compared to other comedies? How good is this mystery compared to other, similar mysteries? This first paragraph is the best place to make relevant comparisons between this project and other similar television series.

Next, describe the ‘World’ of the series. What is unique or engaging about it? Is it the world of Advertising executives on Madison Avenue in 1960? Is it a dystopian future where America lost WWII and is occupied by Nazis? What are the important features of this world? How will they give rise to ongoing conflicts?

Identify the main characters and goals or traits of personality that will give rise to the series ongoing conflicts. For example, if you were covering House of Cards, you might identify its lead character, Frank Underwood, as “a cold and ambitious man, completely amoral and willing to humiliate, destroy, or even murder anyone who opposes him in a city where there is always someone to oppose him.” Or you might add that “Frank’s wife Claire still has a few bones of decency left in her body and this will set her on a collision course with her husband in future.” Great tv coverage will always identify the THEMES that animate the story and can sustain it for multiple episodes. Is this (like House of Cards) a story about the struggle between ‘ambition and decency’? Or is it (like 13 Reasons Why) a story that questions the high price of ‘belonging’ and penalties of being ‘authentic’ in the cruel world of high school.

Finding the themes that animate a series is not always obvious. But if you think about it for a few minutes, they will come to you. Look for the common problem that is shared by many of the characters in the series. That’s usually a good first step.

SUPPORTING ELEMENTS Once you have commented upon the strength of the concept, offered comparisons to other tv series, assessed the characters, ongoing conflicts and themes of the series, you can add one more paragraph to evaluate any other supporting elements that readers should consider. Are there strong visual elements? Is the concept timely and of-the- moment, like ‘Dear White People’ or ‘13 Reasons Why’? Is the pace and plotting particularly good? Or well structured? Is there some originality to the format? How good (or poor) was the dialogue?

SUMMARY PARAGRAPH Just like your coverage for movies, save your last paragraph to weigh the good against the bad and make a recommendation. Remember, there is no perfect script. But if there is a clear audience for it, and the positives are stronger than the weaknesses, then you must lean towards recommendation. Feel free to identify what needs improvement, but AVOID big blanket statements and condemnations that you cannot back up with real evidence from the script. That’s not good. Remember: you are writing professional analysis, not reviews and opinions.

That’s it. If you follow this outline, you’ll do well here. And very well in the business. Good luck!

RECOMMENDATION: (“recommend,” “consider,” or “pass”). ELEMENT RATINGS

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Premise

Story / Plot

Main Characters

Minor Characters

Dialogue

Visual Elements

Commercial

Artistic