Selling a TV Series: The Role of the Show Bible

Selling a TV Series: The Role of the Show Bible

Today we are going to talk about what it takes to sell at TV series, and specifically the role of TV Show Bible and the way it works together with the Series Pilot to make the sale. We're going to answer the questions: What is a Show Bible? Why do you need one? What does a TV Bible supposed to do? How do TV Bibles relate to Pitch Decks? And how do you actually know if your TV Bible is working or not? 

How does a TV Bible help you sell your TV pilot?

There's an interesting history to TV Bibles. Back in the day, the TV Bible used to be a document that was put together by a young staff writer, story editor or assistant. It was a cheat sheet for new writers when they came onto a long running show. 

For example, Jerry Perzigian, who teaches our TV comedy writing workshop here at the Studio, were talking about the difference between what Show Bibles used to be and what they are now. Jerry is an Emmy Award winning showrunner. He came up on shows like The Jeffersons, The Golden Girls and Married with Children. These shows ran for a really long time, which meant that often they would lose their original staff writers as those writers moved on to bigger and better things (or, at least, different things). 

A new flock of staff writers would come on, and these staff writers hadn't necessarily watched every episode of The Jeffersons. They didn't necessarily know what had happened already in the show, what was happening, what could happen, what couldn't happen– they didn't necessarily fully understand the engine of the show.

The Show Bible was created for these writers. 

Back in the day, the TV Show Bible wasn't a sales document. It was an internal document, a cheat sheet that these writers could read like a training guide. 

They could look at the TV Bible for whatever show they’d just be hired on, and realize “Oh, I get it.  This is how the show works. This is the secret recipe, the secret sauce for the show.”

But today, a TV Bible has evolved into a different kind of creature entirely. Today, a TV Bible is a sales document. 

If you imagine your TV Pilot is the thing that gets the big fish to swallow the hook, the Show Bible is the thing that sets the hook and reels them in.

Without a great pilot, the idea of writing a TV Bible is just silly. 

Unless you are already a famous writer, the chances that you can sell an idea with just a TV Series Bible are close to zero.

The producer is not just interested in buying a great idea (they get lots of those). They’re interested in buying the successful execution of the idea. And they can only see that execution in the pilot that you write. 

The most important element in selling a TV Series is writing an amazing pilot.

Having a pilot that has a clear voice, a clear point of view, that feels like something we have not quite seen before, that is disruptive in some way, that grabs someone, shakes them a little bit, demands their attention and takes them on a journey– that is the most important element of selling a TV Series.

Your pilot allows the reader to fall in love with your characters, with your world. It makes them want to invite these people back into their living room again and again. 

That doesn't mean your pilot has to have nice characters in order to sell. 

If you think of shows like Breaking Bad or BoJack Horseman. These aren't nice characters, but they're fascinating characters going on incredible journeys. 

You also don’t have to have really dark or twisted characters.

If you think of shows like Ted Lasso, or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,