Story Maps: TV Drama: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot

Show us who we will be following for 100 hours, in an active, unique way that says something about this person and their current, or soon-to-be, place in the world.

Establish a Framing Device: Establish how this story will be told, the glue that holds it together.

a shocking yet inevitable turn

it begins by showing us the result of the dramatic turn that came at the end of Act One.

The Catalyst should leave us with an intense need to turn the page, a compelling hint at more to come. The launch of a fascinating dramatic question.

Hint at Central Conflict (“The Compelling Crisis”): Give us a taste of the ongoing dramatic dilemma of this series.

The protagonist is thrown into a meaningful skirmish (First Trial) that produces some kind of failure or victim (First Casualty), which can be themselves, another character or a figurative death, like a loss of innocence.

Express Theme: Show us why you’re writing this story, what it is about, in action.

Enter the action of your story as late as possible in the world but as soon as possible in the script.