5 TV Agents on the State of the Industry

Pilot season RIP, even Amazon and Apple are cutting costs, and there's 'less being bought, less being made, less rooms, less staff.' But hope is unsinkable

(Photo illustration by The Ankler)

Last week, I talked to five scripted TV agents to find out what’s hot and what’s not on the market. (tl;dr: Hard funny comedies, yes, limited series, no. Elevated procedurals, yes, expensive period pieces, no. Make it all cost as little as humanly possible. But seriously, if you haven’t read the story, you should.) 

Any writer who’s been around the block for more than a couple of years knows just how wildly the TV industry has changed. “The broadcast networks were making, what, 70, 80, 90 pilots broadcast in pilot season,” one rep at a major agency tells me. “If you look at the landscape right now, I don't even think they’re making 10 pilots.” In a streaming-first world, the concept of “pilot season” is increasingly antiquated, as the process of making shows becomes a year-round endeavor. 

“CBS, specifically, this year is not abiding by the traditional broadcast cycle, and I’m curious to see if that ends up continuing,” says a different agent. “ABC and NBC, which have studios within their [corporate] families, are slightly more traditional. But I think everyone's still figuring it out.” 

Beyond what kinds of dramas and comedies Hollywood’s streamers and networks are looking for, the industry is also still weaving the new SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America contracts into its fabric, while contending with a production environment that is keeping a hawkeye on costs. (The former has meant the effective death of the loathed mini-room, which one agent calls “great” for her roster of clients.)

In this week’s Series Business, the same TV agents break down: 

• The state of the writers marketplace right now

• What the death of the mini-room really means for writers

• Why it’s easier than ever to attach talent to a show

• How the idea became king

• Why even Apple and Amazon are now minding budgets

• Just how strict budgets are to get a show made today . . .

• And its impact on L.A. production

• The studios succeeding despite not having a vertically integrated streamer 

• Why there’s still hope despite these choppy times