I've gotten conflicting notes from readers about "removing my act breaks" (i.e. END ACT I, next page, ACT II...) and another reader saying I should put them in. I think I'm going to put them back in, what could it hurt, better I put them in than the reader guess wrong where they go, and at least it shows I know how to put in act breaks. Experience?
Screenwriting : Act breaks for contest scripts by Michael L. Mizrahi
Act breaks for contest scripts
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It depends upon where you foresee the show running. It is a Pilot, right? Screenplays don't generally use them.
In general, a Pilot for broadcast or standard cable where commercials are added, yes; premium cable and streamers, no.
BTW, it's an odd thing to flag.
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Yes to clarify, it's a one hour drama pilot for premium cable/streaming network.
Re: odd thing to flag. - Sure, gotta take it with a grain of salt with unknown qualifications of some readers.
Sounds perfect for a script with no acts. I see them all the time. There's a logic to it. Scripts with language and sexual content are not bound for broadcast/basic.
You got it. Some readers have no sense of story, character or dialogue. Therefore they bang trivial issues.
Good luck.
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Personally, after reading a ton of pilots and TV scripts, I've only seen act breaks on a 30-min comedy. All the drama scripts I've read, and even many of the comedies, don't include them. I'm not sure what advantages there is either way. One thing I noticed, though, is that a lot of the scripts were written by the same person directing or producing, so perhaps they didn't need to note act breaks?
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That may be. I rarely see them as well. Most are from the UK where broadcast restrictions are lower..
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TV Scripts for networks with commercials will label "Teaser" and "Act I" "Act II" etc. Single Camera shows for streamers or premium channels do not. If your script is for the streamers or premium channels, you do not need to label the acts.