Getting Your Work Noticed: Part II Writing a Television Show Treatment

Gaining knowledge in the entertainment industry can be very challenging. Sometimes, people will even go as far as to keep their knowledge to themselves. Ever since I began my journey to obtain my masters of science degree in entertainment business, I have vowed not to be stingy with the knowledge that I have gained. A few years ago, my husband and I had a concept for a television show. Since we lived in Atlanta, there are a plethora of major television studios. We decided that we wanted to pitch our concept.  All we knew to do was to write a treatment for our television show. Just like many of you who may be reading this blog post, might not have a clue as to what a treatment is or what it entails.  When submitting a television treatment, there is no correct way to write one, because different companies may have different ways that you should submit one.  In this blog post, I will give some tips on how to write a treatment for television.

Steps to writing a successful treatment for television

·      You first want to include who the author of your television show is, or you can include “available by request.”

·      Secondly, you want to include the title of your show.

·      Thirdly, include a logline, for your television treatment. A logline is a summary of what your show will be about, and should be able to “hook” your readers in. Without a logline, your readers will not have an idea what your television show is about.

·      Next, you will want to include your Writers Guild of America (East or West) registration number. Including your registration number in your treatment allows you to appear to be more of a legitimate writer.

·      Finally, when you write a treatment for television you will want to include the synopsis of your show. The synopsis is a brief summary of what each episode of your show will entail. To be considered a full season, it is customary to include between 11-13 episodes.

You can also check out this website, for sample templates of what a television show treatment should look like. Good luck!