1. You must be 19 years or older
2. You must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident
3. You must be a resident of British Columbia (meaning a resident in BC for at least 200 of the 365 days immediately preceding the date of application and you have filed income tax in the province of British Columbia within the past fiscal year)
4. You must have completed some post-secondary training or have some work experience in the craft of writing. (This includes everything from a journalism degree to creative writing workshops.)

We encourage applications from writers from all backgrounds, including those from equity-seeking communities, including those who have faced marginalization due to ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and physical or neurological differences.

Successful applicants who show proof of financial need may be eligible for tuition bursaries.

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We are looking for well written TV pilots and supplementary materials demonstrating strong voice, fresh ideas, an understanding of structure, and a talent for dialogue. 

Specifically, scripts are evaluated for originality and voice, ability to create well developed characters,  dialogue,  story structure, and demonstration of technical writing ability (script formatting, grammar and punctuation, readability).

We are also looking for evidence of your commitment to a writing career in your supplementary material.

Additionally, the Showrunner (once attached in the later stages of the evaluation process) will be looking at applicants from other perspectives in addition to the strength of their applications. For example, life experience relevant to the particular project that the cohort will develop might be considered. Because the group will be collaborating over several months, the Showrunner will be looking to generate the right creative alchemy for the show they are developing.

An application review committee of industry professionals (writers, agents etc) will review your application, evaluating it using a supplied rubric. The review committee will include members from historically marginalized communities.

The first round of evaluation will consist of a “blind” read of scripts containing no personally identifying information.

Scripts will be evaluated on the strength of their originality and voice, ability to create well developed characters,  dialogue,  story structure, and demonstration of technical ability as a writer (script formatting, grammar and punctuation, readability).

Feedback on submission scores will not be provided.

If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted for an interview in person or via Zoom. Final selections will be determined after these interviews.

Scripts should be submitted as .pdf documents. Format the script as closely to the industry standard as possible, demonstrating a professional approach and an understanding of the TV medium. Our jurors will not read handwritten scripts.

In addition to committing to a continuous writing, feedback gathering, and revision cycle, the best way to improve your chops is to study great television scripts. The Writers Guild Foundation offers some great advice on where to find TV scripts online. 

Here are some TV scripts that we highly recommend seeking out:

• Dead to Me for brevity on the page while still conveying necessary information. It’s also a great example of genre/tone combining comedy and grief.
• The Last of Us (ep 103) for its exploration of character
• Severance for its world-building.
• The West Wing pilot for dialogue and character
• The Euphoria pilot for a great example of technical writing ability
• True Detective for voice
• Lost (ep 103) for readability/pace 
• Insecure for character specificity and originality
• The Sex Education pilot for dialogue, readability, and its promise of stories to come
• Beef for character, tension, ratcheting the stakes, plus just sucking you in

Ensure that your pilot length is in keeping with the genre you are writing. Eg: A crime series or a supernatural fantasy series generally contains hour long episodes. A dramedy or sitcom is usually 22-30 minutes.
The maximum page length allowed in your submitted script is 50 pages. (44-50 pages is considered the ideal length for an hour-long pilot script.)

Here are some questions to ask yourself, and to ask of readers able to give you feedback:

• Does the main character feel authentic and are they compelling? 
• Does the character go through a journey in the pilot episode?
• Is the protagonist active in their own story?
• Does the pilot feel like it launches further stories for the characters?
• Is the world authentic and does it feel fresh?
• Does this feel like it ‘could be a TV show’? (Is it filmable within a TV show structure and budget?)
• Is the story propulsive, and well-paced?
• Is it clear what the series is about thematically?

No, it does not.

Trick question…In a way, both! A good synopsis will focus on the pilot while touching on the series as a whole. Your overview of the pilot should inherently give us an understanding of the main characters, world, tone, and central conflict of the whole series. After all, that’s what a strong pilot does!

We recommend you ask someone in the writing and/or film industry who you have worked with or studied under.  The reference need not be long or complicated. It’s just to affirm that you have some experience writing either as a student or professionally.  Remember, by far the biggest weight will be placed on your script rather than supporting documents. Letters can be addressed “To Whom It May Concern,” or to the “Selection Committee.” (We’re not picky.) 

We would love to but because showrunners rarely know what shows they will be attached to in a year, we generally don’t have our showrunner committed until well into our application process.

You will work on revising and pitching your submitted pilot script, and possibly your alternate idea, later in the SSL program. It wouldn’t make sense to pitch something that is already attached to a producer.

Absolutely! If you have previous creative writing experience in areas other than TV, we welcome your application. That said, this program assumes that successful applicants will demonstrate a strong working knowledge of the craft of writing specifically for television, as demonstrated in their pilot script sample. 

This program is for writers who are serious about a career in writing for television. You will need to have some writing experience, either through post-secondary training, or work experience, and a strong working knowledge of television structure demonstrated in your sample script.

We are not accepting writer teams into the program. Please submit a script that you have developed on your own.

Yes, you are still eligible to apply.

No. Applicants are asked to submit a script that has not yet been optioned by a producer so that you can make the best use of your time revising and pitching the yet-to-be optioned script if you get into the program.

You will work on revising the same pilot script that you applied with. This is also the project that you will hone a pitch for, and present on, at our annual Scripted Summit.

After spending ten weeks developing the showrunner’s project in the writers room, each participant is connected to a senior writer mentor who gives them feedback on the pilot script that the participant applied with. It is our experience that you will look at your original pilot differently after your learning experience with the showrunner and you will have new skills to apply to your revision. Furthermore, we have found that there isn’t really enough time to get a fresh project drafted, revised, and polished to a high enough standard given our busy schedule in those last five weeks of industry meetings, script coordinator training, and pitch preparation. (This is why it is critical that the script included in your application has not already been attached to a producer.)

Yes. Even though the program’s hours become more flexible for the final five weeks, participants will be expected to be available during this time, and to attend the final Vancouver Scripted Summit event.

The program runs full-time (approximately 9:30 am–4:00 pm) from Monday to Friday for the first ten weeks of the program, (the showrunner-led portion). The following weeks, (the mentorship portion) are self-directed but participants will also need to be available to join online meetings and/or training most days at various times within the hours listed above.

Although this program is not eligible for Canada student loans, participants who demonstrate financial need may be eligible for tuition bursaries.

Due to the intensive, full-time nature of the program, this program is not compatible with working full time, but prospective applicants can contact the office to discuss individual situations.

No, for your benefit and the benefit of your fellow participants, you must be physically present for the entire duration of the course.

No, the $25 application fee is non-refundable. 

No. Due to the volume of applications our jury does not provide feedback on individual work.

While there is no rule against applying again with the same script, we strongly recommend applying with a new script. Successful TV writers have the willingness and ability to develop a portfolio of multiple original scripts so here is a chance to show us that you have what it takes!