But, Do I Really Need an Agent?

by Margaux Froley Outhred

TV writing is a job where writers often have to work their way up the ladder. More so than in features, where, if you are lucky enough to write a million dollar spec idea, you are thrown into the feature pool. In TV there are a lot of annoying double standards. To get staffed on a TV show, the writer must show the showrunner writing samples which should be at least one spec of an existing show and also something, like a pilot, that shows their original voice. To be staffed on a show, the writer must prove that they can mimic someone else's voice (the showrunner's), and still bring something new to the table. (It's really about walking a fine line here.)

Now, how much do you know about showrunners? The quick answer is that showrunners are the people who create a show and then often will be the ones who run the writer's room, along with making the majority of decisions on the production of that show, from casting to costumes....the showrunner really does prove that TV is a writers medium. However, no network is just going to let anyone be a showrunner. (Most pilots don't get made for less than $1 million..so, you have to have a track record for them to put $1m in your hands.) In your case, you would have to have been working in TV for awhile to be considered as a showrunner.

There are cases, however, of less experienced writers getting paired up with existing, larger showrunners. However, those people often get pushed to the side...those larger showrunners, the majority of the time will pay you for your idea and basically get you to go away. If you are lucky, and have the track record behind you...you would get hired to be a higher level writer on the series.

Agents really are the name of the game in TV because they are good at getting people into those staff positions so they can work their way up to being showrunners one day. Again, the annoying double-edge sword rule is that you have to have good original material to land the agent in the first place. In TV, lots of the writing you do is what gets you hired to do more writing, as opposed to that writing really being a viable project to sell...at least to start off.

If you have written a sitcom that is GREAT, pair that with a solid and current spec or two, and you would be ready to shop to agents. If you land at a big enough agency, they MIGHT be able to pair you with a showrunner to push your pilot further, but the pilot would have to be spectacular (most showrunners prefer to create their own shows than hear others)..and the agency would probably want you to prove yourself as a working writer first. Getting you the experience it takes to be a good showrunner is key...because sometimes a showrunner can start off big, but lack the experience and know-how to keep a show going and how to run a staff. (which ends up being career suicide as opposed to a slower but safer rise to the top.)

Most studios and networks couldn't even read your pilot for pure legal reasons, so yes, you would need an agent, or a pretty well-known lawyer, to get your pilot in the door. But again, it wouldn't quite be worth it unless you have the chops to be a showrunner now. A pilot might serve you very well for staffing season, but again, should be paired with a current TV spec also.

This is a tight year for many TV shows and agencies also, keep in mind, (because of the strike), so, this could be a great year to use the strength of that pilot to enter into some of the Fellowship programs in town. I think both Disney/ABC and Warner Bros. want original material for their submissions. Having the pedigree of one of those programs really helps give you an upper hand among the competition.

-and Margaux should know. A recipient of the Warner Brother's Television Fellowship in 2007, she is busily working on a pilot and a one-act play. Her services are available through the Script Department. And to all the boys who continually tell me they have a crush on Margaux - yeah, you would. Too bad she's happily married to a handsome poker afficionado. :)

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