Yes, I've seen producers looking for this category. Actually, quite a lot lately. And mostly for Lifetime television. I've written one of these scripts and recently renamed it Chasing Rachel Church. I've had interest in it using another title on two separate occasions, but no sale. So I freshened it up a bit.
Who else has written or tried to write for this genre?
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I don’t mind putting a woman in peril. But I also give her agency to save herself.
Like Craig, I treat a Thriller with a female lead the same as I do if it had a male lead.
I have one that has almost become a Lifetime movie 3 times (optioned by Production Companies that feed Lifetime, approved by Lifetime) only to crash and burn at the last minute when Lifetime had a change in management or policy. Hey, I had a company read it during COVID lockdown. Sort of REAR WINDOW in an apartment complex. The lead investigates a fellow tenant's suspicious death and one of her neighbors is the killer. So it's not some violent ex or anything that makes her an instant victim, it's cause and effect. And she kicks ass and apprehends the killer when the police won't help...
For all I know, those are the reasons why it got dumped by the new Lifetime executives.
The thing about Lifetime is that it is a hungry market - they make a lot of films. They constantly need screenplays.
Yes, like most TV they need screenplays that can be shot on a tight schedule, by writers who can work on a tight deadline. Those are skills that a writer needs to develop anyway.
Find the hungry market that needs a lot of screenplays and focus on that. Just have better luck than I do.
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This is news, Thanks for share @Phil I did not realize this sub genre was in such demand currently Eg such as in "Lifetime Television." I call it "Women in Jeopardy" and it was a common denominator in films as early as Vintage Noir. I get what @CJ is saying, a lot of it is amateurish fear porn but some of it executed with sophistication and intrigue. Eg I have to turn off soaps where the story is girl meets prince who turns her into a vice girl, it's been a regular on TV shows for decades. However, there have been masterpieces in film with superb executions of this aspect of humanity. I included this scenario in a few of my scripts BUT as a Micro story within a larger Macro plot. Stay Safe @All!
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I've written a man in peril script, but I've yet to see a request for one of those.
Richard:
I hope you're the first person to get a deal for one.
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Probably need to add a gimmicky trope to sell tickets. Leigh Whannell added an "Invisible Man" and Anthony Jaswinski added a shark in "The Shallows."
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I have a limited location sci-fi thriller with female lead. She's also physically/mentally handicapped - BUT - she's empowered and defeats the bad guy on her own. (Overtones of "Wait until Dark" and "Rear Window:) It's getting a lot of requests - and I worked with a female director to shape it for her to direct. The people with the money - didn't really have any - so it's still on the market.