TV Script Writing Project: Part 1 - The Treatment

TV Script Project Part 1: The Treatment
 You will eventually be writing your own TV script, but first, we start with the treatment. The treatment is like a proposal for the show you want to write, before actually writing the whole thing. The treatment outlines the show, the characters, the setting, and the basics of the plot(s) that the characters will go through. This helps producers understand your vision for the show, and decide whether or not they want to pay you for it.
 
There are four different ways to come up with your ideas for a TV show:

1. Original – Come up with an original show that does not currently exist, with all new characters that don’t already exist

 

1. Spin-Off – Take a character from a TV show that already exists, and give them their own show from their perspective.

 

1. Re-Start – Create a new season for a show that ended, but re-start the show where it’s last season left off – or – re-write a new ending for the show to either continue it, or end it differently.

 

1. New Season/New Episode – Write an episode for a TV show that already exists and is still going on, as if you are being hired to write the next episode or a new episode to start the next season.

 
Starting the Writing Process:
Step I: Decide which TV idea you’re going to write for from the above list and circle it.
Step II: Start the Treatment Process

1. List of Characters
2. Setting: Time/Place(s)
3. Logline: 1-2 sentence on the idea being proposed
4. Title: Of the episode you are writing (And TV show if you are creating a new one)

Step III: Write your treatment! FINAL DRAFT DUE: Thursday, April 27th at the start of class!
            Requirements: Typed, 2-3 pages

1. Title of show and episode
2. Logline – 1-2 sentences
3. Characters and Bios – 1 paragraph each character to describe them
4. Synopsis – outline of the episode’s plot, subplot(s), and acts – 2-3 paragraphs