I just finished a pilot script that I want to submit to a few competitions. It's a 30 minute pilot, but the script is only 19 pages. I feel like the beats and pacing of the A-story are solid, so if I made it longer it would have to be by adding a b-story. But there's nothing jumping out at me that would make a b-story, and as a premise pilot, I feel adding one wouldn't be representative of subsequent episodes.
Will it hurt me for my script to be too short for a typical 30 minute show? I know shorter is usually better, but this is the first time I've attempted writing something that wasn't for the web, where structure isn't as much of a concern. But with cable and streaming being more fluid in episode lengths, does it matter as much anymore?
If the series is for network, then you need room for commercials - and I believe 22 pages is standard, although I write for features and I'm no expert. That said, I think those few extra pages are even more important in a medium where every second of airtime is counted.
Tennyson Stead Looking at a few scripts, even the network ones are at least 30 pages. I'm not sure if competitions look for projects that are ready to be shot or have development potential. If it's the latter, I think I'm okay, since that b-story can always come out in development. I just worry that padding it just to make my page count will weaken the script overall. And this is why I never want to write for network :)
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If you're competing with other screenplays for development potential, then adhering to structure is bound to be one of the criteria by which your script is compared to the other entries. Never settle for "good enough" in your work, because in the end your work is all you have to represent you. If you're writing a half hour show, then first and foremost you need to make sure you wrote a 1/2 hour show! Just my advice - which again, may be worth nothing.
Is it drama or comedy? Drama scripts have a slower pace, so 19 isn’t bad. Maybe you could use more the free space and make it 22, at least. If it’s comedy, or comedy-like, 19 sounds too short.
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19 pages is too light.
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It's comedic. I suppose it falls closer to comedy, but not sitcom, more like Catastrophe or other half hour dramedies. One scene is 2 pages of action, so the 1 to 1 count doesn't really translate for those. But I came up with two more scenes that don't dilute the story and it's now just over 22 pages.
The basic answer to your question regarding page count is: not very. (I'm not going into long-winded detail.)
Laura Scheiner It is NOT a sitcom. And, no, the scenes aren't essential, since I wrote what was essential to begin with in the 19 pages. But they also aren't filler and provide more clarity, hence my phrasing. I also stated that I've read through other tv scripts.
I'm not looking for advice on writing, my question is about structure, since, as I stated, I don't generally write for cable or broadcast, so page counts haven't been as essential.