How to Create a Television Series

If you have always wondered how to create your own television series, it may be easier than you might imagine. With a few great ideas and good writing skills, you can create a show that can someday be seen on national television.

• Choose a genre for the television show you wish to write. Selecting a genre helps you get more ideas for the pilot and for several episodes. Common television genres include comedy, drama, children and family, reality and specific categories within those genres like dark comedy or cop drama.


• Create a show with an original idea instead of an extension of shows already available on popular networks. You want a show impressive enough to urge networks to pick it up and unique enough for viewers to watch.


• Write an outline for your show that includes pertinent information such as the location and character development as well as specific story lines for the pilot and episodes following.


• Answer some questions that the network may ask. For instance, a network might want to know why people would want to watch your show over others similar to it and how the story will progress to have a longstanding series.


• Write a full script for the pilot episode before contacting television networks. While the network will not need this in the beginning, you should have it ready beforehand.


• Write a summary of your television series, known as a log line, to present to the television network you wish to approach. It should describe what your show is about, be appealing and be no longer than a paragraph.


• Protect your original television series idea by submitting the log line to the Writer's Guild; this is a way to copyright the series as your own.


• Contact television networks you believe are suitable for your television series to get information on how to submit your idea. Send your log line along with your personal information and wait for a response.