Workshops
Guided by an accomplished writer/producer, learn how to sell your TV show
There are no available registration dates at this time.
SOLD OUT! Email [email protected] to be placed on a wait list.
NOTE: This course will be held in a Live, Online format using the Zoom Platform
Class meets Saturday and Sunday 2-5pm ET
Guided by Emmy-nominated writer/producer Colleen McGuinness (30 Rock, Ramy, Forever), examine the dynamics that go into creating an effective pitch for a show.
Colleen has designed this to be the class she wishes she had taken when she was starting out.
Crafting a pitch requires a writer to examine what the core of their show really is. As such, it’s not only a selling tool but a creative way to define what aspects of the idea most excite you.
In advance of the workshop, each participant will receive a template form to help them shape their idea into a pitch. This will help you think through your logline, pilot summary, future story ideas, characters, themes, and other components of your show. You will fill this in as best you can. You may not arrive at the workshop with everything thought out but this will help you launch the process that you will continue to work on during the workshop.
Colleen will provide notes and feedback so that you can revise and shape your document throughout the class. You’ll learn the dynamics of pitching in a supportive environment that simulates a “writer’s room.”
The group will discuss successful pitches and the dynamics and structure that helped them to land with buyers. Students will also be assigned some pilots to watch so the class can examine the elements that allowed the shows to launch with immediate impact and buy-in from audiences.
You’ll leave the workshop having taken your idea to the next level, knowing how to distill the essence of your show concisely and effectively.
PLEASE NOTE: Students might incur modest streaming fees (approx. $10) to rent episodes to watch on their own time.
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Instructor: Colleen McGuinness
Colleen McGuinness is an Emmy, WGA, and PGA nominated writer and director who has written for numerous television shows, including NBC’s Emmy-winning 30 Rock, Forever for Amazon, and Ramy for Hulu. She is an Executive Producer on Amy Schumer's new half-hour comedy for Hulu. McGuinness has developed projects with A24, HBO, F/X, NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, and New Line Cinema, as well as with producers Reese Witherspoon, Tina Fey, Carolyn Strauss, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. In 2019, McGuinness was named a Directing Fellow in the Film Independent Directing Lab for her feature, Personality, which will be produced by Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph's Animal Pictures, and starring Greta Lee. McGuinness is currently writing an adaptation of the book I'll Be The One, as a K-Pop musical film, produced by Anonymous Content and directed by Nahnatchka Khan for HBO Max. Colleen graduated cum laude in English from Harvard University and currently lives in New York with her husband, son, and dog.
