How to Write a Television Treatment

A television treatment is important when trying to sell a script to a buyer. Most buyers do not have time to read the entire script and will ask for a treatment to get an idea of the script’s content. Some writers are interested in writing for TV, but do not know how to write a television treatment. However, a treatment is very important for getting in the television industry.

• Write a good title. The title needs to be memorable or something catchy to atrract producers.


• Determine a logline. The logline is one to two lines that sum up the TV idea for marketing purposes. It should explain what the show is about and why people would want to watch it. Loglines are also similar to the descriptions found in a TV guide.


• Expand on the details by writing a synopsis. A synopsis is a three paragraph outline that gives more information about the idea. You want to start with the ending when writing a synopsis. For example, if the conclusion is that Jenny finds love and plans to get married in the spring, then the synopsis would start with this information.  It is broken down into three acts, such as Act three, Act two and Act one.


• Establish an episode list for the script. The episode list is three to four pages long. It consists of a list of episodes for the script and a brief summary for each one.


• Determine the main characters. The treatment needs a character list with a short description. You want to sell the producers on the characters, which mean they should be relatable.


• Write a script for an episode. Producers do not require writers to include a script for the episodes when pitching the treatment. However, you can make the decision to include sample scripts for at least two.