By Neil Landau
In Hollywood, where episodic TV production budgets tend to be most substantial, showrunners will hire a staff of dedicated writers to bring a diversity of points of view into “the room,” and to maximize productivity, efficiency, and script quality.
Staff writer jobs are highly coveted in Hollywood (and increasingly elsewhere) as “entry level” opportunities for writers ready to take the leap from freelance or undiscovered talent into gainful employment. It’s extremely demanding work, so it certainly helps that even “lower level” staff writing gigs can be quite lucrative[1].
It’s one of the few creative professions that still offers emerging talent a place to earn money while they hone their craft. Under a supportive, nurturing showrunner, a staff writer can thrive and work their way up the ladder… all the way to showrunner.
But that takes time – often many years, if ever. So, how the heck do you get staffed?
#1. You need to write an A+ original pilot to get noticed.
What is an A+ original pilot? Again, it’s one that only you can write, that showcases your unique and fresh voice while engaging the audience the same way TV has always done: via empathy.
It used to be that you had to write speculative “spec” episodes of existing series, but from my research, less than 5% of today’s showrunners read these, and it’s now considered old school. Plus, with so many shows streaming today, the chances of a showrunner knowing the show you’ve spec’ed is quite low.
Nevertheless, I do strongly recommend that you write at least one spec episode of a show you love to demonstrate that you can capture the tone and essence of writing for characters you didn’t originate in a setting you didn’t create. It’s for your own edification. You never stop learning.
#2. Make a brilliant piece of short content.
If you don’t have an A+ original TV pilot script as a calling card, there is another way in: you can make an amazing short or feature-length film (I didn’t say this was the easier path). Another door into a TV writers’ room is coming off another show – but there’s an inherent Catch-22 in that scenario in that you’d need an A+ writing sample to get staffed in the first place.
Impossible? Not in this business. Anything is possible. I know of showrunners who’ve hired writers based on reading short fiction, journalistic articles, and even scholarly essays. Of course, playwrights, improv performers (who tend to be great TV writers, by the way) and standup comedians have all “come out to the coast” from New York for decades. But now you can also gain entry via a web series pilot or podcast. Draw on your personal experiences — or research your subjects to gain the highest level of authenticity.
#3. Get repped.
The other big Catch-22 is getting a rep. In other words, you need to have at least two A+ writing samples to get repped, and it’s unlikely that you’ll get staffed without a rep. The one guarantee is you won’t gain either a rep or a job without a great, emerging body of work.
Of course, “greatness” is subjective, and access and timing are also key. The definition of luck = opportunity + experience. Be ready.
Literary agents are preferable to literary managers, and some writers have both (plus an entertainment attorney). Many emerging writers will start off with a literary manager and then add to the team as success (hopefully) arrives.
I don’t recommend trying to get an agent too early. Once you’ve gained some traction in the business, the agents will come to you. Hard to believe, but it’s true if you have an exceptionally good writing sample. All your contacts in the biz are worthless if you don’t have exceptional, fresh material.
The onus is always on the writer to generate new material. If you blame your agent for lack of work and opportunities, you’re probably off base. Your rep’s job is to send out your material to warrant meetings, sales, and/or staffing opportunities. Part of your job as a writer is to make your agent’s job easier. No agent or literary manager is incentivized to withhold your brilliant scripts from execs and showrunners. They don’t get paid unless you get paid.
#4. Pay your dues
…And work your way up the food chain, from Writer’s P.A. to a coveted Writer’s Assistant position. Being a Script Coordinator can also be very helpful to eventually getting staffed on the show. Whichever position gets you inside the writers’ room taking notes: go for that.
#5. Internships
See #4 above, and avoid unpaid internships that solely require you to run errands. You’re there to learn, not to be exploited as free labor. Clarify — up front — what a particular internship’s main responsibilities will be.
#6. Don’t quit your day job.
Save your money when you earn, and live within your means. You never get staffed when you’re rabidly trying to get staffed. It’s not an absolute rule, but it tends to be true. Desperation isn’t attractive in the entertainment business. Brilliance is.
#7. Attend TV conferences for TV writer/producers/executives.
The best of the TV conferences can offer both educational panels and opportunities for networking and making contacts. But always remember that attending conferences isn’t the same as writing! Or as Whitney Cummings stated at a commencement event at UCLA: “Don’t network. Just work.”
#8. Enter the viable and legit TV writing contests.
Usually, the most viable competitions can give you a leg up in getting read and noticed. But avoid pricey entry fees and exploitative practices of competitions that also try to bilk you for script consultancy services. Always do your own due diligence and make sure you’re not being bamboozled. Many script competitions for TV writers are legit, but many more are not.
#9. Consider diversity programs and fellowships at the major studios and TV networks can be beneficial to getting staffed.
Acceptance rates are super competitive, and showrunners are incentivized to hire fellows from these programs because the fellow’s salary is paid from the studio/network diversity initiatives’ budget. (They don’t impact the show’s production budget unless the writer’s option is renewed.) The diversity programs themselves can serve as valuable learning and networking opportunities, but there is no guarantee that you’ll get staffed out of the program.
The only downside: some former diversity program fellows who have been staffed have expressed to me that it can feel demoralizing starting off their careers as the “diversity hire, a form of tokenism. Effective showrunners will treat all members of their writing staff with equity and respect.
#10. Create your own show.
The celebrated FX series, Pose, was written by my former grad student at UCLA, Steven Canals. Steven’s pilot was inspired by director Jennie Livingston’s documentary film, Paris Is Burning, which celebrated the ball culture of New York City and the Black, Latinx, gay, and transgender communities, but Steven’s original, much darker and grittier pilot script for Pose was based on his personal POV and experiences as a biracial queer kid growing up in the projects in the Bronx.
Steven’s meteoric career trajectory is extremely rare. In Season 1, he was credited as Co-Creator and Co-Executive Producer. In Seasons 2 and 3, he was credited as EP, directed several episodes, and served as the primary showrunner.
Steven Canals is living proof that personal passion, tenacity, and talent can break through and enter the zeitgeist, even for niche content. Of course, it helps if you can get Ryan Murphy on board to shepherd your series through development and production. (Steven shares Co-Creator credit with both Ryan Murphy and Ryan’s producing partner, Brad Falchuk).
In 2021, Steven was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Co-Writer and Outstanding Director of a Drama Series for the series’ two-part finale. Bottom line: Steven’s success story demonstrates that the most valuable I.P. of all in the TV business is a great pilot script and series mini-bible. No adaptation required. 
Neil Landau is an award-winning screenwriter. His screen credits include the teen comedy, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Melrose Place, The Magnificent Seven, Doogie Howser, M.D., The Secret World of Alex Mack, Twice in a Lifetime, and MTV’s Undressed. His animated movie projects include Tad: The Lost Explorer (Las Adventuras de Tadeo Jones) and Tad 2 (Tadeo Jones and the Secret of King Midas). Neil’s new projects include the new animated feature, Little Big Boy, for 4 Cats Pictures/A3/Artresmedia and Warner Bros. and the live-action feature film, Flinch, for producer Teri Schwartz (Sister Act, Beaches, Nuts) and WME (William Morris Endeavor) Independent. Neil served as an Assistant Dean of Special Projects at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television and Co-Director of UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting Program (Writing for Television track) for many years. Currently, Neil is an Associate Professor at Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communications and founding Director of Screenwriting in the new MFA Film & Television Program at the University of Georgia, where he also serves as Chair of the pre-jury selection committee for the Creative category of the Peabody Awards. Neil is author of six books, including the bestselling 101 Things I Learned in Film School (Grand Central Publishing, 2010; reissued by Random House/Crown, 2021), and the all-new 2nd edition of his bestseller, The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap: Creating Great Television in an On Demand World.
[1] Visit the Writers Guild of America website: www.wga.org and click on the MBA (Minimum Basic Agreement) to see salary ranges and script fees for TV writers. Please note that streamers pay staff writers significantly less than broadcast networks (yes, still), and streamers do not offer residuals for reruns. Some top showrunners on streamers are making hundreds of millions of dollars via overall deals.
Top article photo: A film crew working together. Photo by Hennie Stander. Follow IG @henniestander
