1 spot remains! Learn from a top TV executive who has worked with  Netflix, Amazon, Starz, ABC, CBS, Sony, Nickelodeon and more!

Receive  personalized one-on-one consultations and expert strategies to map your TV series seasons and episodes!

With TV audiences craving binge-worthy, long-running series, producers and executives want shows that have staying power — stories that stay engaging across multiple episodes and seasons. If you’re writing a pilot, it’s not enough to have a great first episode; you need a clear vision of where your show is going and how your characters’ journeys will evolve. Mapping out your series’ seasons, arcs, and episodes is both the most exciting and challenging part of the process. It’s about imagining your show fully realized, crafting season arcs and episode ideas that bring it to life. This lab will guide you through that essential step — creating the long-term story blueprint that today’s buyers are looking for.

Many writers struggle with imagining the long-term trajectory of their show. It’s difficult to craft season arcs that are both fresh and cohesive, while also making each episode compelling on its own. Without a clear roadmap, shows can feel disjointed or lose momentum. Plus, explaining your vision clearly in pitch bibles or in meetings can be intimidating without proven strategies. This exclusive Stage 32 lab breaks down these obstacles and provides practical tools to overcome them!

Your educator Anna Henry has over 15 years as a producer and development executive, having worked with Netflix, Amazon, Starz, Nickelodeon, and more. She’s helped develop hit shows like THE CHI, THIS IS US, VIDA, and FEAR THE WALKING DEAD. Anna’s expertise lies in guiding writers to craft scripts and storylines that captivate decision-makers and translate seamlessly to the screen. Her hands-on experience across hundreds of pitch bibles and series development makes her the perfect guide for your TV journey.

Over this interactive 8-part lab, Anna will walk you through developing your series — from the overall story engine and character arcs to episode breakdowns and long-term season planning. You’ll gain tools to build serialized, episodic, limited, or mini-series that stand out. Plus, personalized one-on-one consultations will help tailor the process to your unique project. You’ll walk away confident and prepared to pitch your show with a compelling, clear vision.

PLUS! You will receive the following handouts to help you:

• Series Development Checklist

• Character Arc Mapping Guide

• Episode Breakdown Templates

• Pitch Bible Structure Guide

• Season Arc Planner

About the Screenwriting Lab Format:

This interactive Stage 32 lab is held on Zoom and goes substantially more in depth than a Stage 32 webinar. Best of all? As soon as you sign up you will be linked on email with Anna and given a questionnaire to fill out and send back to her. You will have access to Anna for the duration of your lab by email to ask her any questions you have about your craft or career - it’s like having a mentor on demand! And, if you can't make a live session, don't worry!

All lab recordings will be available 48 hours after each session and you will be able to view them in your Library on your Stage 32 profile.

Finally, you can expand your network with like-minded creatives - you'll have a dedicated lounge for interactive support and discussions with your fellow classmates!

Praise for Anna:

This was my first Stage 32 webinar, and it exceeded my expectations, both in terms of quality (and quantity) of information and overall value. Anna was personable, knowledgeable, and organized. The slide deck was helpful, and her overall presentation hit all the key topics. Anna and Stage32 delivered the goods.
- John R.

What a thoughtful, thorough and inspiring webinar. It's clear that Anna Henry put an enormous amount of work into this presentation. Not only was the content there, but the structure was also superb. I feel educated and inspired to go back to my own work and do better than what I thought was my best. What could possibly be better than that! Thank you Anna for your genius and your generosity.
- Crispin L.

"Comprehensive, insightful. Combined a lot of material I had heard snippets of on character, world dev, etc. but artfully stitched together in one presentation."
-James F.

"It was amazing, enlightening - completely. I learned soooo much - especially as a feature writer who's been asked to turn a feature script into a pilot!! Thank you soooooo much."
-Kristin G.

Session #1: Developing Your Series

In this first session, we will go over the key elements of a successful television series, including story engine, episodic structure, world, characters, themes and tone, and how you can use each of these to mine story. We will discuss classifying tv series into different formats and genres and how this impacts the way you map out your episodes and seasons and what you need to have prepared for a pitch. We will also address situations where it can be challenging to determine where your season should begin and end. 

Session #2:  Character Arcs to Season Arcs

In this session we will do a deep dive into character development and how backstory, goals, motivations and personality can be used to generate story arcs. We will focus especially on how characters should drive the season and how their relationships and conflicts throughout storylines are used to escalate stakes and create emotional crisis points. We will go over strategies for laying out the first season arc for serialized multi-season series (length, detail, what to include), and how to make sure every character has a role in the season with A, B and C storylines. We will also look at how to develop and present season arcs for episodic series. 

Session #3: One on One Consultations

Individual consultations to go over your show concept, characters, and preliminary ideas for season-long storylines.

Session #4: Episodes- Breaking and Making Story 

In this session we will look at the episodic nature of television more closely and how seasons can be broken into a structure of thirds. We will discuss how to think about the episodic structure of serialized shows, and the role of the creator vs. writer’s room. We will look at what makes episodic series successful and strategies for writing episode summaries of various kinds and lengths for episodic series and mini-series. We will talk about what to include in episode “loglines” for episodic shows and how to pick the best sample stories that will sell your show. We will address how to break a mini-series into episodes and communicate both the overarching story and key details. Finally, we will talk about creating effective season finales that will bring the audience back for future seasons.

Session #5: Future Seasons- Depth and Longevity

In this session we will discuss ways to create more complexity in storylines. We will look at developing secondary threads that highlight supporting characters, consider multiple points of view and ensemble shows. We will discuss how the relative importance of storylines can change, or one storyline can hand off to another at pivotal moments. We will find ways to make the most use of the world of the show, exploring all the different types of stories the world can present. We will “get messy” – finding ways to challenge tropes and generate more creative story ideas. Finally, we will talk about reinventing your show in future seasons, as well as anthologies and franchises.

Session #6: One on One Consultations

Individual consultations to go over the work done so far on season arcs and/or episode ideas.

Session #7:  Selling Your Vision

In this session we will zoom out to the big picture, thinking about servicing your genre(s), ensuring your tone stays consistent, and re-thinking the original themes of the series. We will circle back to the structure of a pitch bible with alternatives for laying out story and characters in tandem. We will talk about the role of the pilot in the season and how to make sure your pilot fulfills the promise of the premise. Finally, we will go over the structure of a verbal pitch for a television series and strategies for communicating your long-term vision in the room.

Session #8:  One on One Consultations

Final individual consultations to go over finished season arcs and/or episode ideas in the written pitch; or practice your verbal pitch with Anna.

• Writers developing a TV pilot or pitch bible who want to build out compelling season arcs

• Screenwriters at all levels preparing to pitch their series to networks, execs, or reps

• Creatives looking to strengthen the long-term vision and structure of their episodic or limited series

• Anyone interested in understanding what executives look for when evaluating a show’s sustainability

• Writers at any stage — from early concept to a polished draft — who want guidance from a top TV development exec

Saturday, August 16th, 10am-12pm PT

Saturday, August 23rd, 10am-12pm PT

Saturday, August 30th, 10am-12pm PT {One on One Consultations}

Saturday, September 6th, 10am-12pm PT

Saturday, September 13th, 10am-12pm PT

Saturday, September 20th, 10am-12pm PT {One on One Consultations}

Saturday, September 27th, 10am-12pm PT

Saturday, October 4th, 10am-12pm PT{One on One Consultations}

Praise for Anna:

This was my first Stage 32 webinar, and it exceeded my expectations, both in terms of quality (and quantity) of information and overall value. Anna was personable, knowledgeable, and organized. The slide deck was helpful, and her overall presentation hit all the key topics. Anna and Stage32 delivered the goods.
- John R.

What a thoughtful, thorough and inspiring webinar. It's clear that Anna Henry put an enormous amount of work into this presentation. Not only was the content there, but the structure was also superb. I feel educated and inspired to go back to my own work and do better than what I thought was my best. What could possibly be better than that! Thank you Anna for your genius and your generosity.
- Crispin L.

"Comprehensive, insightful. Combined a lot of material I had heard snippets of on character, world dev, etc. but artfully stitched together in one presentation."
-James F.

"It was amazing, enlightening - completely. I learned soooo much - especially as a feature writer who's been asked to turn a feature script into a pilot!! Thank you soooooo much."
-Kristin G.