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PITCHING PILOTS

THE BIG IDEA

There’s no two ways about it: in order to sell a pilot in today’s competitive market, you need to have a big idea. If you’re wondering precisely what I mean by a “big idea,” I am specifically talking about an idea that’s so fresh and original, when you pitch it, everybody automatically responds with genuine enthusiasm. Think of a show where, the moment you heard the premise, something stirred in your gut, and you immediately thought, “What a great idea. Why didn’t I come up with that?”

A perfect example of this would be the Showtime series, Homeland. For me, buying that show must have been a no-brainer. The concept lends itself perfectly to television and all but promises an exciting series. We all know the world is a scary place. Terrorists target Americans and they can strike anytime, anywhere as evidenced by 9/11. Who amongst us wouldn’t find a show about agents who risk their lives to protect our country fascinating? It’s one of those concepts that, when you hear it, you immediately get it. You can easily visualize it. Instinctively, you know that it has all of the makings of a good drama — and that, if well executed, the show could potentially draw a huge audience.

See how uncomplicated all of that is? Keep in mind, that ideas — at least from a pitching standpoint — should not be overly complex. If your idea is complex, try to simplify it for the pitch in a way those listening can follow. Make sure your idea is fresh and original. Before you head out to pitch, ask yourself what it is about your idea that’s new? If you can clearly articulate this to executives and producers, you will be ahead of the game.

BREVITY IS YOUR FRIEND

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to be brief, but thorough in your pitch. Everybody in today’s world is crazy busy — racing the clock with a list of a thousand things that needed to get done yesterday. So if you can get your pitch out quickly and concisely, executives and producers will love you. I am not suggesting you just give a one-liner and then sit there like a bump on a log waiting for them to drag the rest of it out of you. But what I am saying is that if you drone on about this character and that character with every detail of their backstories, you will lose people’s interests. Definitely find that happy medium where you are giving enough information so your premise and characters are clear, but not so much detail that they can’t wait for you to go home because they are bored to tears. When the soldier and I pitched to Warner Bros. and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, I believe our pitch took about two minutes. I remember when we were finished, the president of Bruckheimer Television made a comment to the positive that our pitch was short and sweet. Your pitch may not be that short, and it doesn’t have to be. Just get it out as quickly as you can. When you look at the details you are planning to include, ask yourself if each one is absolutely necessary. The less time you spend going on and on, the more time you will have for a conversation with executives and/or producers about your show. And that’s where, in my mind, they are really going to invest in you and your show. Once they hear the premise and characters and then have the opportunity to ask specific questions, they’ll gain an even better understanding of what the show is and how you see it unfolding.

THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

You should begin your pitch with some kind of personal story that shows you have an emotional connection to your subject matter. You want to own your idea in a way no one else can. To give you an example of what I mean — imagine if I walked into Warner Bros. solo and pitched the idea of a comedy based on the war in Afghanistan. I likely would have been laughed out of the room. No matter how much research I may have done on the war, I have no personal connection. I have never stepped foot in Afghanistan, much less battled the Taliban. But, bring in two soldiers who have done several tours of duty and it’s a whole different ballgame. No doubt these two buddies are going to bring to the table lots of personal stories that no one else can tell. And in the pitch, their passion for this series came shining through. For these guys, this wasn’t just a show; it was the show. So, you need to find that emotional connection to your premise and be able to articulate how you came to it and why it’s so darned important to you that this story be told now.

THE HEART AND SOUL OF YOUR PITCH

After you have explained why the show is important and stated your personal connection to the material, dive right into the premise. Tell them what the show is about. Set up the world in which your characters reside. Mention the themes you plan to explore. From there, introduce your main characters. Give a brief description of each. In a few sentences, you should be able to get across who each character is at his/her core. What makes him/her tick? What are the character’s flaws and quirks?

When it comes to pitching characters, there is the one area that can sometimes be overlooked in a pitch, and that’s how the characters relate to one another. Therefore, don’t just talk about your characters as individuals, but also be clear on their relationships. Character relationships are the reason people watch shows. It’s where the main conflicts reside. So make sure that whatever you do, you bring these relationships to life.

SOME SAMPLE EPISODES

Before you go into a pitch, you should come up with a handful of stories for future episodes. Good executives and producers will likely ask you to toss out some ideas. You don’t have to have these stories worked out; a simple logline describing each will suffice. Hopefully, your series idea naturally lends itself to an infinite number of episodes. Think of CSI or Modern Family. When you hear the premise of each of those shows, you instantly recognize that the pool of ideas for future episodes is bottomless. Still, when it comes to your show, executives will want to get your take on it… they’ll want to know where you see the show going down the road. Also — and this probably goes without saying — but when thinking ahead, if story ideas don’t roll freely off the tip of your tongue, you may want to pause and ask yourself if your idea has legs strong enough to build an entire series on. Remember, producers and executives are not looking to produce shows that only last a season or two.

SELL IT LIKE A USED CAR SALESMAN

Make no mistake. Pitching is selling. And as with any other sales job, you need to seal the deal. These executives and/or producers hear hundreds of pitches a year. Why should they buy your show over someone else’s? It’s your job to convince them. It’s your job to politely state all the reasons they’d be crazy not to glom on to you and your idea. But, there is a fine line here that you don’t want to cross. In your enthusiasm, you don’t want to come off as being obnoxious. Remember, this is a job interview. You want to be hired. So step up to the plate with passion and confidence. Let them know you believe in this project with all your heart. After all, if you don’t believe in it, why should they?

I remember just as our pitch at Warner Bros. was coming to an end, one of the execs asked me if I had anything else I wanted to add. Instinctively, I knew this was the moment. The door was open. Time to go in for the kill. So I told them that I knew someone was going to do our show. I mentioned that ABC had the right idea with Combat Hospital, but in my opinion, they had chosen the wrong arena. In going with a drama series, they were only mirroring what was presented each night on the evening news. And when the news was bad, it was downright depressing. People didn’t want to watch more of the same under the guise of “entertainment.” (I’m reading your mind. The answer is, no, I didn’t tell them we had originally developed our show as a drama — smart salespeople know when to keep their mouths shut.) I said for our show, comedy was the way to go. I mentioned that one of the current trends in television at the time seemed to be remakes, and that our show was, for all intents and purposes an updated M.A.S.H. I closed by saying that our idea came with a built-in audience… the countless military families both in the U.S. and around the globe would undoubtedly embrace it. I am not sure how much — if any — of what I said mattered. Maybe they were sold on the idea already. But, the point is, if producers and/or execs are at all on the fence, it’s your job to make them see the light.