SCOOP: Uni TV ‘Beta-Testing’ New Deal Structure With Writers
Erin Underhill, pres of the studio behind 'Hacks' & 'The Gilded Age', reveals the innovative talent pact agents are loving. Plus: How to pitch a show now
Elaine Low recently interviewed MRC TV president Jenna Santoianni about how the indie studio beats the big guys, reported on the rise of “pop culture investigation” doc series and offered up a creative exec survival guide for 2025. Reach her at elaine@theankler.com
I’ve just returned from SeriesFest in Denver, where I served as a juror for the festival’s indie comedy pilot competition — the best kind of jury duty — and got to enjoy the work of many talented writers and craftspeople. Truly wild what creatives can do with a modest budget and a scrappy crew, often filming an entire episode of self-funded TV in less than a week. I felt privileged to have the role and took it very seriously, knowing how much joy and anguish goes into the work. Congrats to all the winners!
While I was there, I also moderated a keynote conversation with Universal Television president Erin Underhill, who has spent the last 27 years at NBCUniversal — a veritable unicorn in this age of revolving-door execs. She gave a peek into her own career, unpacked the shifts in drama and comedy development in recent years and shared her outlook on the market now.
Underhill’s first job as an executive plopped her right in the golden era of drama at NBC in the late ’90s and early aughts, when she found herself working on ER and The West Wing and giving notes to Aaron Sorkin, Aaron Spelling and John Wells. (She now oversees more than 40 productions, including HBO’s The Gilded Age, Max’s Emmy-winning Hacks and Netflix’s A Man on the Inside and The Four Seasons.)
NBCU has taken its part in the industry’s ongoing game of executive musical chairs, shedding both TV and streaming staffers as it spins off most of its linear cable business. Some are staying with SpinCo, while others are getting the boot.
When I asked Underhill, whose outward vibe can best be described as grounded, what’s behind the longevity of her tenure at NBCU, she traced it back to her parents — “very simple people,” she said — and her mother’s Golden Rule philosophy to “treat people the way you want to be treated.”
After the panel, I also snagged some intel from Underhill on a new deal structure they’re beta-testing over at Universal TV, which you can read about after the jump. Plus, she has sage advice for scribes looking to make a sale, fresh off a chat with her development team at the studio.
Today I’ll tell you what else I learned from Underhill about:
The new deal structure Universal TV is experimenting with and how it’s working so far
How to pitch a show in 2025, and how much the process has changed
Exactly how long to present to what materials and ideas to bring
The specific guidance if you are pitching a “prestige-ural”
The listening tour studio execs completed last year with writers’ reps, and what they learned
The personality traits needed to have longevity in a career like Underhill’s
Plus: How to build the next generation of showrunners, per Underhill and Four Seasons creator Tracey Wigfield