2nd Annual Television Comedy Writing Contest

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Breaking News: APA Literary Agent joins Judging Panel!

Stage 32 is excited to present our 2nd Annual TV Comedy Screenwriting Contest!

Open to Comedy Television Pilots!

The winner will meet with an incredible judging panel including

Executives from Cinemand, Ignited Entertainment, APA & more!

This contest is accepting submissions of half-hour pilot and hour-long pilot scripts NOW through June 15th, 2022.

What is more comforting than a TV Comedy? The half-hour classics that soothe the soul are some of the most streamed and beloved shows of all time. Can you imagine going through life without THE OFFICE and PARKS & RECREATION to take the pain away? We can't either - that's why we're bringing back the Television Comedy Screenwriting Contest for a second year! Whether you prefer wholesome laughs or something a little edgier, we want to see all of the comedy TV you've got. Our incredible judging panel have worked on everything from THE GOOD PLACE to CONAN, and they're ready to read your script!

What Types Of Scripts Can I Enter?

We are looking for hilarious Television Comedy scripts of all subjects and tones. Whether your story is a wholesome sitcom, an edgy single-cam or animation - our judges want to read it! This contest is open to Television Pilots for Limited Series and Recurring Series. If you write Comedy, this contest could launch your career!

Television Pilots:

This contest is open to Television Pilots for Limited Series and Recurring Series. Please no pilots over 65-pages.

Judges' Credits & Company Credits Include:

NEW! Feedback & Resubmission Option

Would you like immediate feedback on your submission and the option to make changes and resubmit? Using our NEW Feedback & Resubmission Option you will get 3-5 pages of coverage/notes back in 5-days with a guaranteed option to resubmit one (1) revised draft of your script up to 10 days after the Final Deadline! See what elements of your script are working and what still needs to be developed. You can position yourself for the best chance of success - all for an additional fee of only $99.

This option is good for a one-time use and is non-refundable/non-transferable if you do not enter an updated draft. See full terms in the Rules Section.

Congratulations to our Winner!

Congratulations to our Finalists!

Congratulations to our Semifinalists!

Congratulations to our Quarterfinalists!

The Grand Prize Winner Will be Flown to Los Angeles to meet with:

Rob Kutner, Writer (THE DAILY SHOW, CONAN)

Carli Haney, Executive Producer (FATHERHOOD, BETCHES)

Ashley Henderson, Television Coordinator, Westbrook Studios (COBRA KAI, BEL AIR)

Salvatore Antonio, Writer/Actor & Artistic Director, Armstrong Acting Studio (SCHITT'S CREEK)

Michael Wormser, Executive Producer, Cinemand (THE REAL BROS OF SIMI VALLEY, PBC)

Joe Fronk, Agent, APA (LAST MAN ON EARTH)

Tyler Straessle, Writer (THE GOOD PLACE, PARKS & RECREATION)

Maxwell Peters, Founder/Producer, Ignited Entertainment (PEN15)

LaVar Walker, Writer/Comedian (LIFE AFTER BETH)

If you reach the Finals, you still get massive exposure to decision makers!

ALL FINALISTS will receive a FREE MONTH OF THE MEMBER'S ONLY STAGE 32 WRITERS' ROOM and will be in a Stage 32 Look Book which includes their script title, logline & bio mailed to over 500 industry executives including, managers, agents, producers, development executives, and financiers! Stage 32 Look Books are some of the most sought after talent resources for the industry and have helped secure meetings with places like Verve, Good Fear, 3 Arts, APA, Echo Lake, Amazon, UTA, CAA, WME, First Friday, Pathfinder, The Cartel, Art/Work and many, many more.

Previous Stage 32 contest winners have gone on to have great success! Most recently, the winner of our 1st Annual Action/Thriller Contest, Gregg Guest, booked a writing job on a feature through Stage 32. Winner of the 6th Annual Television Writing Contest, Layla O'Shea, booked a job as a script doctor through one of the judges of the contest! To check out more of what Stage 32 can do for you, take a look at our Success Stories page!

Rob Kutner (Judge and Mentor) - Writer/Producer, "CONAN", "THE DAILY SHOW"

Rob Kutner is an Emmy, Peabody, and Grammy Award-winning late night television writer who has worked on shows like CONAN and THE DAILY SHOW. Starting out as a writers’ assistant on DENNIS MILLER LIVE, Rob is also the author of the satirical end-of-times bestseller Apocalypse How: Turn the End Times into the Best of Times! and has written material for the Oscars, Emmys, Writers’ Guild Awards, MTV Movie Awards, Guys’ Choice Awards, and two White House Correspondents’ Dinners. Rob has spent the majority of his storied career operating and thriving in the world of late night television.

Tyler Straessle (Judge) - Television Writer,

Tyler Straessle is a television writer who specializes in TV Comedy. He started his career as an intern on THE DAILY SHOW, and then worked on the production staff of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES during its eighth season. While there, he developed a good relationship with showrunner Marc Cherry, who took Tyler on as his assistant on his next venture, DEVIOUS MAIDS. Tyler also worked in the writer's rooms of huge comedies like PARKS & RECREATION and MASTER OF NONE before landing a position on THE GOOD PLACE, where he stayed throughout its three-year run.

Carli Haney (Judge) - Executive Producer, FATHERHOOD with Kevin Hart, Executive Producer, FATHERHOOD

Carli Haney is the Executive Producer of the Kevin Hart film FATHERHOOD which hit #1 in over 80 countries through Netflix.

 

Carli has worked in Film and TV development for the last eight years as a Creative Executive and Director of Development. Most recently, Carli ran feature and television development for Kevin Hart at Hartbeat Productions. There, she worked to develop feature projects including NIGHT SCHOOL with Kevin Hart, WHAT NOW?, and LET ME EXPLAIN, as well as the television comedy "DAVE" with Dave Burd.

 

Her next Kevin Hart feature is MONOPOLY, which was just announced, as well as the TV-movie, "ALL FANCY" for NBC.

 

In addition Carli has worked with A-list companies and industry-leading talent including Jennifer Lopez at Jennifer Lopez Enterprises and an A-list production and finance company with a deal at Warner Bros. She got her start in the industry at Tea Time Films.

Maxwell Peters (Judge) - Writer/Producer, Ignited Entertainment

Maxwell Peters is the co-founder of Ignited Entertainment. He is a writer, producer and director with several titles in development. His credits include PEN15 and TO ALL THE BOYS: P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU as a writer. 

LaVar Walker (Judge) - Writer & Comedian,

LaVar Walker is a comedian and television writer. He has appeared on LAST COMIC STANDING and BET's COMICVIEW as a stand-up comedian. Most recently, he was a staff writer on the first season of Hulu's LIFE AFTER BETH, starring Amy Schumer. 

Michael Wormser (Judge) - Founder/Executive Producer, Cinemand

Michael Wormser is a producer and PGA member, who produced and distributed the psychological horror-thriller SMILEY, which was released through AMC Independent.

 

Michael also produced the the horror-comedy SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE, which was Executive Produced by John Landis and released through Anchor Bay Entertainment. Michael next produced the YA dystopian thriller THE THINNING for Legendary Entertainment, starring Logan Paul and Peyton List, acquired by YouTube Originals, and garnering a Streamy nomination for Best Feature.

 

Michael has produced features for Lakeshore Entertainment, Netflix, and IFC Films, as well as series for Fox Television Studios, Hulu, Netflix, and 20th Century Fox Digital.

Salvatore Antonio (Judge) - Artistic Director, Writer & Actor, Armstrong Acting Studio

Salvatore Antonio is an actor and writer, as well as the artistic director at Armstrong Acting Studio. He has been acting in film and television since 1998, and can be seen in projects like SAVING HOPE and MARY KILLS PEOPLE. He started writing on SCHITT'S CREEK in 2019, contributing to the 5th season. 

Joe Fronk (Judge) - Agent, Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)

Joe Fronk is an Agent at Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) representing Writers, Directors, and Talent in Film, Television, and New Media, including proud members of the D.G.A, W.G.A, P.G.A, SAG-AFTRA, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Previously, Joe was a manager at Island Park Entertainment where he set up the hour-long drama pitch Tinacious from writer Evette Vargas. Tinacious is set up MGM Television with Propagate Content, Rosario Dawson are set to Executive Produce alongside Marc Guggenheim, who will Executive Produce and Co-Showrun with Evette.

Joe began his career at UTA in departments including Motion Picture Talent, Literary, and Business Affairs. He left UTA for Chris Morgan Productions (CMP) at Universal as the assistant to writer/producer Chris Morgan, CMP’s VP of Production, and Director of Development.

In his time there, CMP sold four pilots in its first season of TV development, with CMP / Imagine’s “Gang Related” ordered to series for 20th Century Fox. Joe worked on set in production for the entire first season of "Gang Related" before continuing on to work in production on notable films including Disney’s THE JUNGLE BOOK, ANNABELLE, WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS and series including “Masters of Sex”, “Sons of Anarchy”, “Stalker” and “Kevin from Work.”

Fronk has also worked at the premium network EPIX for Head of Original Programming Jocelyn Diaz. The department's success contributed significantly to MGM’s $1 Billion acquisition of the network in March 2017 from previous joint venture partners Paramount / Viacom and Lionsgate.

 

Ashley Henderson (Judge & Mentor) - Television Coordinator, Westbrook Studios

Ashley Henderson is the TV Coordinator at Westbrook Studios, a subsidiary of Westbrook Inc., the media company launched in 2019 by founders Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Miguel Melendez, and Ko Yada, focused on empowering artists to tell stories that connect the world. Led by Co-Presidents, Terence Carter (Television) and Jon Mone (Film).

Ashley recently made her transition into Television and formally was doubling as a Creative Executive at Busted Shark Productions, the company behind 2019 Toronto International Film Festival official selection BLACKBIRD starring Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet, as well as, a Coordinator at The H Collective the producers behind BRIGHTBURN and THE PARTS YOU LOSE.

At Busted Shark Productions, she received an Associate Producer credit on the feature film WISH UPON directed by John R. Leonetti and starring Joey King & Ryan Phillippe. In addition, she will be receiving a Co-Producer credit on the upcoming film JOLT directed by Tanya Wexler and starring Kate Beckinsale and Stanley Tucci later in 2021.