TV writing jobs are nearly impossible to come by. It takes years of building up your network, refining your scripts, and putting yourself into a position where you can get an interview and, eventually, a writing job on a TV show.
However, there are programs that can usher you directly into a TV staff writing job at a major network or studio. These are called...
Workshops and Fellowships
Workshops and fellowships are programs created by all the major studios in Hollywood that support up-and-coming diverse writers.
They do this by holding workshops in which participants learn what it's like to be in a writers' room, they refine their scripts, they get to meet and learn from current working writers and showrunners.
Then, at the end of the program, the studio workshops connect their program alums to whichever of the shows at their studio are staffing and the participants are given a priority in staffing.
How are they given a priority?
Well, the program pays the salary of the staff writer. Let me explain...
TV shows are allocated a certain budget for their writing staff. But workshop participants are paid for by the program, not the show. So, they get an extra writer for free, which greatly incentivizes TV shows to hire from the programs.
TV Writing Workshop History
Years ago, certain studios recognized the strict barrier-to-entry for anyone trying to break into TV writing who had no connections to Hollywood.
So, they created workshops for this exact thing. In more recent years, Hollywood has struggled, and continues to struggle, with a lack of diversity.
Therefore, these programs have pivoted to being exclusively focused on supporting underrepresented writers in TV.
How do you get into a TV Writing Workshop or Fellowship?
First, you need to apply.
Usually there is an extensive application, which includes submitting one or two of your own scripts, a personal statement, and other information.
If you make it past the first round, you have to interview as well. Thousands of people apply for these positions and each year they only accept around ten. These are difficult programs to get into.
What are the TV Writing Workshops and Fellowships I can apply to?
With corporate takeovers happening at a fast clip these days, the names tend to change pretty quickly.
So, do a quick Google for the latest information. But these are the current TV workshops and fellowships attached to a studio that can usher you directly into a TV writing job:
Warner Bros. Discovery Access Writers’ Program
NBC Universal Launch
Sesame Workshop Writers’ Room
Nickelodeon Writing Program
Fox Entertainment Writers Incubator
Disney Entertainment Television Writing Program
Paramount Writers Mentoring Program
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