A Glossary of Terms You Need to Know If You're Working on a TV Pilot

Terms You Need to Know if You're Working on a TV Pilot

Core Concepts & Development Documents

• Pilot: The first episode of a proposed television series. It serves as a proof-of-concept to convince a network or studio to order a full season (i.e., "pick up the show").
• Logline: A one-sentence summary of the entire series. It must describe the protagonist, their goal, the central conflict, and the stakes. Example for Breaking Bad: "A terminally ill high school chemistry teacher teams up with a former student to cook and sell crystal meth to secure his family's financial future."
• Premise: The core "what if?" idea of the show. It's the foundational concept upon which the characters and plot are built. For example, the premise of The Good Place is, "What if a morally corrupt person accidentally got into heaven and had to hide in plain sight?"
• Bible (or Series Bible): A comprehensive document created by the show's creator that details the world of the show. It includes character biographies, backstories, episode ideas, season arcs, tone, and the "rules" of the show's universe. It's a blueprint for the series.
• Pitch: The verbal presentation of the show's concept to studio or network executives, usually delivered by the creator/writer. A good pitch tells the story of the pilot and maps out the vision for future seasons.
• Treatment: A prose-style summary of the pilot script, written in the present tense. It describes the story scene-by-scene but without formatted dialogue. It can range from a few pages to 30+ pages.
• Proof of Concept / Sizzle Reel: A short video (2-5 minutes) that establishes the tone, style, and world of the show. It's a visual pitch aid, often used to sell a concept when a full pilot is too expensive to produce independently.

The Script: Structure & Formatting

• Slugline (or Scene Heading): A line of text at the beginning of a scene, written in all caps, that states the location and time of day. Example: INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY.
• Cold Open (or Teaser): The opening sequence of a pilot before the main titles. Its job is to hook the audience immediately with a compelling question, a shocking event, or a hilarious situation.
• Act: A major section of the script. Hour-long dramas typically have a Teaser and 4-5 Acts. Half-hour comedies usually have a Teaser and 2-3 Acts. Each act ends on a high point or a cliffhanger to keep the audience engaged through a commercial break (even on streaming).
• Beat: The smallest unit of a story. It's a single moment of action and reaction. A scene is composed of several beats. In the writers' room, "beating out a story" means figuring out the episode's plot, moment by moment.
• A-Story, B-Story, C-Story: The different plotlines within an episode.
  • A-Story: The main plot, which takes up the most screen time and involves the protagonist.
  • B-Story: A secondary plot, often involving other main characters.
  • C-Story: A minor plot, often used for comic relief or to develop a minor character.
• Button (or Kicker): The final beat of a scene. It's usually a clever line of dialogue or a revealing visual that provides a sense of closure or a punchline to the scene.
• Parenthetical: A brief note in parentheses placed under a character's name and before their dialogue to indicate a specific action, tone, or intention. Use sparingly. Example: (beat) or (sarcastically).

Key Roles & People

• Showrunner: The head writer and executive producer who has the ultimate creative and managerial authority on a television series. They are the CEO of the show, responsible for everything from the writers' room and scripts to casting, production, and post-production.
• Creator: The person who conceived of the original idea and wrote the pilot script. The creator is often, but not always, the showrunner.
• Executive Producer (EP): A high-level producer. This title can mean many things: the showrunner, the creator, a non-writing producer who handles logistics and financing, a director of the pilot, or even a major star of the show.
• Staff Writer: The entry-level position in a television writers' room.
• Line Producer: The "on the ground" producer who manages the physical production and budget of the pilot. They are responsible for hiring the crew, renting equipment, and making sure the production stays on schedule and within budget.
• UPM (Unit Production Manager): Reports to the Line Producer and is responsible for the day-to-day administration and logistics of the shoot.

The Business of Television

• Development: The phase where a pilot script is commissioned, written, and polished under the guidance of studio/network executives before a decision is made to film it.
• Option: A legal agreement where a producer or studio pays a writer a fee to have the exclusive right to develop and produce their script for a specific period of time.
• Greenlight: The official "go" signal from a studio or network to begin pre-production and production on a pilot.
• Pilot Season: The traditional period (roughly January to April) when networks and studios cast, film, and screen their new pilots. While streaming has created a year-round development cycle, a version of pilot season still exists.
• Upfronts: An annual event in May where major television networks present their new slates of shows (including pilots that were "picked up") to advertisers to sell commercial time "up front" for the coming season.
• Picked Up to Series: The ultimate goal. This means the network has ordered a full season of the show based on the success of the pilot. The initial order might be for a limited number of episodes (e.g., 6 or 13).
• Back Nine: If an initial 13-episode order performs well, the network may order an additional nine episodes to complete a full, traditional 22-episode season.
• Notes: The creative feedback given by executives, producers, or other writers at various stages of the development and production process. Responding to notes is a critical skill.

Show Formats & Genres

• Single-Cam (Single-Camera): A format filmed with one camera at a time, similar to a movie. It allows for more cinematic shots, location shooting, and a more subtle style of performance. Examples: The Office, Severance.
• Multi-Cam (Multi-Camera): A format filmed with three or more cameras simultaneously in front of a live studio audience. It has a theatrical feel, is dialogue-heavy, and often features a laugh track. Examples: Friends, The Big Bang Theory.
• Procedural: A type of show where the main plot is resolved by the end of each episode (a "case-of-the-week" or "patient-of-the-week"). Character development happens slowly over the series. Examples: Law & Order, House M.D.
• Serialized: A type of show with a continuous, overarching plot that unfolds over a season or the entire series. Episodes must be watched in order. Examples: Game of Thrones, Stranger Things.
• Limited Series (or Miniseries): A show with a self-contained story that is resolved within a predetermined number of episodes. Examples: Chernobyl, The Queen's Gambit.