Screenwriting guide
How to Write a TV Pilot, with Outline Template
To write a TV pilot, design the series first: a lead with a flaw, a world that keeps producing stories, and an engine that gives you episode two, ten and forty. Then outline the pilot act by act, from cold open to tag, so it delivers one satisfying episode and promises the rest of the series.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
TV pilot outline template
Fill it in on screen, or print it blank. Fill with example shows the level of detail for an original hour drama.
TV pilot outline
New to scripts altogether? The how to write a screenplay guide covers premise, character and rewriting, which work the same way in TV.
What else do you need to pitch a series?
How to use it
- 1
Fill in the series section first: if the engine box is hard to fill, the show is not ready.
- 2
Outline the pilot act by act, with what each act ends on. Use the example to see the level of detail.
- 3
Print or save the outline as a PDF, or copy it as text into your notes.
What does a TV pilot have to do?
A pilot is two things at once: a good episode and a sales document for the series. It has to introduce the lead, the world and the tone, tell a story that resolves, and leave the reader certain there are many more episodes in it. Readers look hardest at the last point. A great pilot with no visible engine reads like a movie.
What is the engine of a TV series?
The engine is the repeatable mechanism that generates stories: a case of the week, a patient of the week, a family business that is always in trouble, a workplace where new people walk in every day. Ask what happens in episode six. If you can answer quickly, and differently for episode seven, the show has an engine.
Premise pilot or non premise pilot?
A premise pilot shows how the situation begins: the move to a new town, the first day at the job, the crime that starts everything. A non premise pilot drops us into the world as it already runs and plays like a typical episode. Premise pilots make the setup clear but risk spending the episode on exposition. Non premise pilots show the engine working but must make the world clear quickly. Choose the one that best shows what a normal episode feels like.
How do you outline a TV pilot?
Work in acts. Write what happens in the cold open or teaser, then what each act builds to and ends on, then the tag. For a network hour, that is often a teaser and four or five acts. For a half hour comedy, often a cold open, two or three acts and a tag. Streaming pilots may not mark acts, but outlining in acts still keeps the turns honest.
Under the acts, list the A story (the lead’s problem this episode), the B story (often a relationship or a supporting character) and, in longer shows, a C runner. Each act break should turn at least one of them.
What are the most common pilot mistakes?
Too much backstory: characters explaining their history to people who already know it. Too many characters introduced at once, so none of them land. A lead who is passive in their own pilot. And the most common one: an ending that resolves everything, so there is nowhere for episode two to go.
Questions writers ask
How long is a TV pilot script?
As rough guidance, a half hour single camera pilot runs about 25 to 35 pages, a multi camera sitcom about 45 to 55, and an hour drama about 50 to 65.
What is a TV pilot outline?
A document that breaks the pilot into its cold open, acts and tag, with what happens and what each act ends on, plus a short note on the series and its engine.
Do I need a series bible to sell a pilot?
Not always. Many writers lead with the pilot script and a short overview or pitch deck. A fuller series bible is often requested later, once someone is interested.
Should a pilot end on a cliffhanger?
It should end on a hook that makes the reader want episode two. That can be a cliffhanger, a new question, or a change that sets up the series. It should not leave the pilot’s own story unresolved.
Can I write a pilot for an existing show?
You can write a spec episode of an existing show for practice, but most writers now use original pilots as samples, and you cannot sell an episode of a show you do not own.
Further reading
- From the blogHow to Outline a ScreenplayA step-by-step guide to outlining a screenplay: why outlining helps you finish, starting from logline and theme, finding the tentpole turns first, breaking the gaps into sequences and scenes, choosing a format, and holding the outline loosely.
- From the blogHow to Sell a TV Pilot in 2026Most pilots never sell, and the ones that do rarely sell the way you think. Here is how pilots actually move in 2026, from spec samples to straight to series orders.