Developing a TV Project - Help?

My wife and I have written a TV comedy pilot and show bible that's received positive feedback from a few veteran Canadian actresses (one of them is iconic) who have read the script. We've knocked on countless producer doors, but that approach is pretty much a total dead end when you have unsolicited material.

We are now launching a new strategy, pitching the show as branded content - there are ongoing references to wine in the series that would effectively translate as a marketing vehicle for a winery.

We are looking for any sort of help that might get our material in the hands of production companies and or wine industry marketing departments.

All input and feedback will be appreciated, but please refrain from telling me how impossible this will be - I know it's incredibly difficult to make a connection, but we're determined. The series title and logline is below, along with a link to the pitch website.

The Hannigans
A newly retired American couple pack up and move to a small English village, but they’re not getting the peaceful life they hoped for.

The Hannigans

Thanks

 

You might reach out to a respected actor who you imagine as one of the leads, in search of a new project.

 

Move to LA, hire a lawyer, get an agent, network yourself with as many people as possible, and meet as many people as you can. Without financing and representation in place, you have zero chance of selling a show like this where you are.

There are rare exceptions where established TV execs and writers are able to sell shows while living far away from LA or NY, but generally they do have agents and lawyers making those deals and handling the negotiations. But they're extremely experienced people who have track records and some industry success.

It's been said that it's actually harder to sell a TV series than it is to sell an indie film idea. You might theoretically be able to write a 2-hour script to sell this idea as a film and secure financing (and a distributor) that way, but even then, it's an uphill battle. It's not impossible, but it's kind of about as possible as winning the Lotto: barely possible.

 

The television industry is much broader than LA and NY. We're focusing on other countries.

 

We did take this approach initially and got quite positive feedback, but agents (we suspect), shut down communication.

 

Sooo...you think the biggest impediment to success at this stage...is/are professionals of the like you haven't hired, eh? I'm going to take the cynical look that, there is something to be learned from this.

My second point being...what exactly are you trying to do here? Is it, pitch a winning idea for a series to people who would produce it? Or is it, meeting more people in Hollywood with which to network? OR, could it be, make a large, emotional investment in a project you intend to do with your wife, that will inevitably lead to ruffled feathers and constant pitches of a property decision makers have no interest in...because they don't own a piece of that? I dunno, maybe you're just looking for a less-expiedient way to set fire to your marriage.

I think it's doubly-hard to get any sort of respect for one example of work you have written, if your target audience (Hollywood types), doesn't know you as writers. A fresh, new idea, coming from a source with neither any connections in the biz, let alone no track record, is a doomed idea. You're better off writing it for community theater.

Which brings me to actionable advice. You're not done writing yet. You got a pilot and a bible...and, you're writers. So, what's the first five episodes? What's the trajectory? Plot that out, maybe two seasons worth, show where there's a turning point in the story, when the Big Bad comes into the plot, and not only what's interesting about the characters but, what do these interesting charcters do. Is it all building to something? You are writers; as long as you're not breaking big into Hollywood right now...keep writing!

And not for a teleplay, either. DO try it as a community-theater-sized project. DO a novelization of the first "season", only with all the emotional beats, just not a cliffhanger at the end of the book. DO "cover" the plot as if it's an actual life of actual people, in a podcast. While you're learning how to get a foot into Hollywood, howabout finding a dedicated artist who can help you re-shape it into a comic book series. That can then be bound into a graphic novel (look! two books for the sweat and toil of one!)

All I'm trying to say is, don't put all your eggs in a basket marked, Hannigans; set a basket aside marked, "we're writers"...and set a few eggs in that one.

And remember, as focused as you are on your challenge to be the one couple who beats the system and breaks into Tinsel Town as two total nobodies who sucessfully pitched their only one idea, and got it made, don't forget your real treasure. You're writers.

And, for every story you write...there's another one.

 

Probably a stupid question but have you tried contacting some of the production companies in Canada? Specifically those based in Toronto. There's quite a few that do UK-Canada co-pro deals that they could take advantage of in terms of your show. There are quite a few smaller companies banging about for content these days.

However, one thing @Vidiot did suggest, get an agent, would be a good idea. A local one will do. They'll be able to shop this around and get some doors opened far more easily than you can. Do you research as there are rip off merchants a plenty out there. It'll cost you but you can even hire them on a contract basis for x-months or what have you. An agent will also help you in terms of dealing with the agents of other talent you're talking to e.g. that well know Canadian actress you mentioned.

I was also going to suggest putting together some financing on your own and filming some segments so you can use it as part of your show reel. It would be better if you had "names" in it. But it sounds like that might be difficult here (I thought since you had interest it might not have been).

But you can probably still put together something decent using film students, recent grads. That sort of thing. Not a full episode mind you, but just enough so people get the idea.

I know a lot of people in the film world who did this sort of stuff and added it to their reels which eventually led to paid work.

 

Even those countries are going to require financing, experience, an attorney, and an agent. Get those four things in place, you can make anything, anywhere.

 

Yes, we've reached out to several Toronto production companies, but getting past the "no unsolicited material" wall is very, very difficult. We're getting to the point of exclusively pitching the branded content concept. It's likely our best hope.

 

Yeah, good point, I forgot about that actually. I'd still consider getting an agent though. If it's someone who's has the right contacts they can get you by that "no unsolicited material" issue.

Re: branded content concept..I can't remember where the CRTC left off with branded content but they were discussing new rules coming in that denied any government grants/tax breaks for shows that had a certain % of product placement in it. It was a rather low %, IIRC and it was going to have a big impact on a lot of series. You might have looked into it already but if not, do a bit of research as you'd have to take that into account since it may eliminate the ability to get any tax credits, etc.

 

I don’t want to be the one to piss on your fish and chips, but, from the perspective of a native Briton, this comes across as a North American’s fantasy of what living in Britain is like. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent here, but there’s nothing that strikes me as realistic about the setting, and the characters are painted with extremely broad strokes, like they’ve been assembled from bits and pieces of clichéd characters taken from other British television shows.

This 73-year-old punk fan would have been 32 in 1977. It’s not impossible — nothing is — but he’s really not of that generation.

And it’s not hard to find Pinot Grigio in Britain — anywhere.

Just one man’s opinion, and I wish you luck with it. Who knows, the faults I’m seeing may not matter much to a North American audience, but I think it’s always a good idea to write about what you know.

 

Thanks - I appreciate that you took the time to look at the website and accompanying material. Truthfully, there are some cliched characters, but that's by design. A complete understanding of the story would include a reading of the pilot script.