By: Sarah Chaisson-Warner
One of the best ways to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read and study scripts from professional screenwriters. For pilots, there’s a lot we can learn about writing compelling teasers, introducing characters, world-building, and more simply by reading and analyzing the scripts of successful television shows.
COMPELLING TEASERS
A teaser in a TV pilot is the opening scene (or short sequence of scenes) that is designed to introduce the show in an engaging and interesting way. It “teases” the audience into wanting to know more – think of it as the first bite of a meal. Good teasers introduce at least one main character, give a sense of the setting in which the show will take place, and provide either subtle hints or overt clues about the central conflict within the series.
Let’s start with “The Other Two” – a hilarious comedy that aired on HBO and looked at the absurdities of the entertainment industry. The teaser, or “cold open” as it’s denoted in this script, runs about 5 pages and introduces the audience to Chase, a 13-year old Justin Bieber-like musician who experiences overnight success as a result of a viral music clip. Take a look:
The teaser successfully uses a series of interviews to introduce the audience to Chase and his newfound fame and contrasts it using a series of quick cuts against the humiliating experiences of his older brother and sister as they try – unsuccessfully – to break into the industry as well, hinting at the central, familial conflict.
On the drama front, the teaser of “Yellowjackets” has been one of the most unforgettable, introducing the audience to the central issue immediately, while also creating intrigue around the mysterious circumstances of the death of the girl.
Notice how the teaser begins in the wilderness as she runs for her life, chased by an unknown force. The teaser then cuts to an interview-style scene with an older woman who admits that she was supposed to be on the plane that went down, helping the audience to quickly understand the central premise – that a plane went down in the wilderness, carrying a team of soccer players two decades earlier. The teaser invokes a lot of the elements that the audience will expect to experience throughout the script, and the full first season, including heart-pumping fear and can’t-look-away curiosity.
INTRODUCING CHARACTERS
Introducing characters in a way that is gripping, yet not overwhelming is more of an art than a science. The pilot must introduce, at a minimum, the protagonist and the problem ahead of them, while leaving room to discover the character even more as future episodes unfold.
The pilot of “The Bear” is well-known for its expert approach to introducing characters, particularly its protagonist, Carmy. The script starts with a dream – Carmy, trying to tame a caged creature. Despite Carmy’s overtures, the creature froths and lunges, leaving Carmy to wake up from the dream breathing heavily and in a cold sweat. The audience immediately knows that this is a man struggling – even tortured – by something or someone.
Throughout the script, Carmy continues to be introduced to the audience, both in terms of his physical presence – details like “tattooed fingers” – but also his status and stature within the rest of the cast. The script takes great care to help the audience understand that Carmy, while an insider to the restaurant due to familial connections, is actually an outsider among the restaurant’s staff:
Similarly, the pilot of “Good Omens” uses character descriptions deftly to help the reader picture exactly how the two main characters – Crowley (the devil’s foot soldier) and Aziraphale (the angel) might appear on screen. Based on the novel by the same name and starring veteran British actors David Tennant and Michael Sheen, it tells the story of two angel friends from heaven and hell who team up to prevent an impending Armageddon.
Let’s look at Aziraphale’s introductory description:
Notice how, not only does the writer describe Aziraphale physically, but also some of his quirks and his personality. The succinct telling of these characters allows us to, in a matter of moments, understand exactly who this person is.
WORLD BUILDING
World building is critical for all TV pilots, but it is especially important for genre scripts like sci-fi, fantasy, and period pieces. The reader must be able to envision the world in which the story takes place, introducing important visuals without overburdening the reader with extraneous details.
Consider “The Walking Dead” – the epic drama set in a post-apocalyptic era where zombies roam the earth looking for their next human kill. Lauded for its incredible writing, the pilot is a master class in world-building. (Frankly, we could have also included it in the “teaser” section of this article too, given how well it builds tension and suspense in the opening scenes!)
Notice how the writer builds the post-apocalyptic world not only through description of the landscape, but through the contrast of sound. All is still as a lonely police cruiser drives along the road. It’s desolate, quiet… until it’s not.
Similarly, the desolation is also cued with small details peppered throughout the script – take, for instance, the sign that says “No Gas” – signaling to the audience that this is a land not only of quiet, but desperate scarcity as well, and these details:
LEARN MORE
We hope this has been a valuable primer in how the pilots of successful TV shows can be instructive for demonstrating important parts of storytelling. These are just a few of them, and there are hundreds of great scripts you could potentially read to further your screenwriting education. But if you’re looking for a more curated set of pilot scripts to peruse, visit our “best of” library! You can choose from our “Best of the TV Networks” collection, “Best Drama” collection, or our “Best Genre” collection.
And once you have your TV pilot ready, be sure to enter it into our 2025 TV pilot contest! Opening on January 31st, Winners will be invited to our 8-week TV Writers Mentorship Program with meetings with Showrunners, Mentors, Development Execs, Producers, Agents and Managers, and more. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will open doors and shape your future in the TV industry! Don’t miss out.
