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Learn from the 2-Time Emmy Award Nominated Executive Producer of the Emmy Award Winning Series GENIUS

If you have your own idea for a limited series, there’s no better time than now to get it in front of executives and decision-makers looking for this engaging television.

Over the last several years, the limited series has become one of the most exciting, competitive, and acclaimed formats in the entertainment industry. Limited series like Hulu’s DOPESICK, Paramount+’s THE OFFER, Hulu's PAM & TOMMY, Netflix’s THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, Amazon’s UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, and HBO’s CHERNOBYL have become global phenomena and greatly boosted the careers of the creatives behind them. It’s no surprise that buyers and big names on all sides of the camera are hungry for binge-worthy event programming like these limited series and are looking for the next hit to make.

So how do you know if you have a winning idea? How do you develop your material and package it together to attract a buyer? What steps can you take that can increase the probability of a sale or production order? 

Two-time Emmy-nominated producer Sam Sokolow will show you all of this and more.

Sam is best known for his work in developing and producing the Emmy-winning limited series GENIUS for NatGeo/Disney+, one of the first prestige limited series to find a wide audience. Over his career, Sam has executive produced 18 original TV series and set up dozens of television and film projects at major studios and distributors in Hollywood and is well-versed at finding success developing, pitching, and selling his projects.

Exclusively for Stage 32 in this in-depth 4-session on-demand class, Sam will teach you how to develop, pitch, and sell limited series to a streamer or network by first learning how to identify source material, packaging talent into your project, and identifying the buyers. He’ll review the pilot script for GENIUS: EINSTEIN to highlight what makes a world-class limited series pilot work. He’ll also show you how to build the pitch, approach the buyers, and even share what the deals look like.

PLUS! Sam will show you:

• The GENIUS pilot script
• A pitch deck he used for a limited series he worked on, so you can see how he put all the pieces together to ultimately pitch and sell the project.

You don’t want to miss out on this class!

Session 1 - How To Identify Source Material For A Limited Series

In week one, we will do a deep dive into how you can best identify the source material or idea for a limited series. There are countless books, graphic novels, shared universes, and real people’s stories to mine but how can you best determine what would make a great limited series from all of these potential ideas? And what about a completely original idea for a limited series? We will focus on how you can best assess your options and make the right choices before you dive into the development phase.

• What Makes a Limited Series vs. a Movie or Series?
• What Type of Intellectual Property Should You Look For?
• Whose Life Story Rights Could Work?

Q&A with Sam

Session 2 - Developing the pilot script & series pitch deck and Packaging Talent Into Your Project

This week we will discuss the structure and best practices for developing a limited series pilot script and pitch deck. We will discuss the pilot script for GENIUS: EINSTEIN (which will be a handout) and the choices that the show creators and producers made and why. We will also review a limited pitch deck that Sam is currently developing. Then we will discuss the process of packaging meaningful talent into your limited series prior to your trying to sell it.

• The Pilot Script & Pitch Deck
• What Makes A Great Limited Series Pilot Script
• What Goes Into Your Series Pitch Deck
• Packaging Talent Into Your Project
• What Talent Truly Moves The Needle?
• How To Approach Talent?
• Mistakes Commonly Made When You Approach Talent
• How To Leverage Existing Overall Deals.
• Email Example
• Finders Fee Example

Q&A with Sam

Session 3 - Identifying Buyers and How Best To Pitch Your Limited Series

In week 3, we will delve into how to identify a realistic list of buyers for your limited series and how best to build and deliver your pitch. Having a 360-degree plan of action that includes probable buyers and the correct tools to sell are an important part of increasing the probability of success. Your pitch deck is often the first element that buyers are exposed to and there is a proven way to deliver that essential document. We will cover that with an example of a pitch deck that Sam is currently developing.

• Identifying the Buyers
• What Outlets Are Looking For Limited Series?
• What Type Of Programming Does Each Outlet Want?
• What Is Already In Development?
• What Materials Do You Need To Generate?
• Financing A Script vs Pitching With A Writer
• What Do You Need To Walk Into The Room And Sell?
• How To Build Your Pitch
• Case Study: Sam will walk you through a real pitch document he used to help sell a limited series

Q&A with Sam

Session 4 - How To Approach Buyers And Make A Deal In Success

In this final class, we will discuss best practices in your approach to buyers, from how to make initial contact, present yourself in order to set pitch meetings, and how to pitch when you finally get “in the room or in the zoom”. We will discuss the perseverance some projects require. And we will also cover how to navigate the deal-making process in success and what to expect when your show actually goes into production.

• How to Approach Buyers
• How to Set Meetings and Present Yourself
• Tips On How Best To Pitch Your Limited Series
• The Art of Not Giving Up
• What Do The Deals Look Like In Success
• Once You’ve Sold Your Limited Series What Comes Next?
• Tips and General Parameters Of Limited Series Deals.

Q&A with Sam

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• This class is designed for students of all levels looking to pitch their next big project. This is an in-depth, practical, and detailed class with significantly more content than a standard 90-minute webinar.

• This class consists of four sessions, each roughly two hours in duration.

• PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 class is now available to watch on-demand but we highly encourage you to do any assignments to get the most out of the educational experience.

All levels of directors (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to develop, pitch, and sell limited series to a streamer or network.

All levels of writers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to develop, pitch, and sell limited series to a streamer or network.

Producers looking to develop, pitch, and sell limited series to a streamer or network.

Actors looking to develop, pitch, and sell limited series to a streamer or network.