TV Development Guide

  CD: The Good Wife. It was timely. It was political. It was from the

  point of view of the woman standing next to the man being ac-

  cused. She had to rebuild her life as a lawyer. It was a legal

  thriller. It was all these things. I loved it and I remember it like it

  was yesterday.

  SV: What is the best script you’ve developed that didn’t get made?

  What happened?

  CD: The Rainmaker, based on JOHN GRISHAM’S novel. I devel-

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  oped this show while at CBS with my now current producing

  partner, MICHAEL SEITZMAN. I loved it from the beginning

  and, for whatever reason, it didn’t get picked up. But, because I

  love it so much and believe it deserves to get on the air, we are

  working on repackaging it now and it will hopefully be on the air

  someday.

  SV: What is the most challenging aspect to developing a script?

  CD: Seeing the vision of the writer end up on the page. It is so

  exciting to hear a great pitch and then you go through the story

  area, the outline and the script process. Then, if you get the script

  and it doesn’t end up as good on the page, doesn’t live up to the

  expectations from the pitch, it’s unfortunate and probably the

  most challenging aspect of developing a script.

  SV: What are your thoughts about spec scripts?

  CD: I love spec scripts. I encourage all writers to always write

  original spec scripts, as opposed to specs of existing shows.

  Showrunners like to read original scripts vs. an example of their

  show because it showcases the writer's unique voice. MARC

  CHERRY (writer/creator/executive producer), really proved that

  and changed the business with his spec of Desperate Housewives.

  He pitched the idea around town and no one bought it, so he de-

  cided he needed to write it. He took a chance and it paid off. It

  rebranded ABC!

  SV: What do you love, or what is your favorite part of the TV De-

  velopment process?

  CD: I love hearing a really great pitch and having it be realized to

  pilot and ultimately series!

  SV: What are the most challenging part and least favorite part of

  your job?

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  CD: After working on a season of development with hearing up-

  wards of 400 pitches, developing 50 scripts that become eight to

  ten pilots, and then going to New York for ten days where it is

  screened for the company, getting their opinions and then going to

  Las Vegas where the pilots are tested with the public, and getting

  their opinions… My development ends up getting dwindled

  down to maybe two to three shows getting picked up to series,

  and hopefully, with one to two of them staying on the air. The

  odds are staggering.

  SV: What are your thoughts on Indie TV? Is there a successful

  Indie TV model that is similar to the Indie movie model?

  CD: Not in broadcast television. It can exist and does outside of

  broadcast television, but I do not believe it would ever work in

  broadcast.

  SV: What do you feel will be different about the process of TV De-

  velopment, specifically in five years, ten years?

  CD: I believe the process for broadcast television development

  will be changing because it has to. The current broadcast model

  does not work because it is still driven by advertisers. The ratings

  are dwindling and it has to change because it can no longer be

  about who is watching live TV. No one watches shows live any-

  more, with the exception of sports and news.

  SV: In today’s market, what is the measure of a successful show?

  CD: Awards, accolades, being recognized by word of mouth. A

  perfect example is Handmaid’s Tale. Because it has won awards,

  people will sign up for the “30-day free subscription” on Hulu

  and binge-watch the show. They will then see the other shows

  and probably become a subscriber. It’s all about subscriptions.

  *****

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  INTERVIEW WITH ADAM BONNETT

  Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Disney Channel

  I met ADAM BONNETT through one of my students at UCLA. His

  former assistant told him about my class and Adam offered to be a guest

  speaker. At that time, I had not developed any children’s (“kid”) shows.

  After his lecture that night, I was intrigued about the opportunities and

  benefits of that kind of programming and decided to pitch to him. My

  partners and I are currently working on several new ideas to bring to

  him. I met with him in his offices on the Disney lot in February, 2018.

  Stephanie (SV): What was your first job in this business?

  Adam (AB): I was an intern while still at NYU film school. I

  worked for GERALDO RIVERA and for CNN. Then my first job

  was working as an assistant at Nickelodeon.

  SV: Did you know you ultimately wanted to work in children’s

  programming?

  AB: No, I did not. When I took the job at Nickelodeon, it was

  1990. My favorite show was on MTV was Cindy Crawford’s

  House of Style. It was about fashion, design and architecture and

  stuff like that. This was before HGTV and all the different DIY

  shows that are out there now. It was the only way to watch that

  kind of stuff, and I loved to watch it and wanted to work on that

  show. I thought if I take a job at Nickelodeon, which was in the

  same building as MTV, somehow I would make my way to work-

  ing on that show, which was somewhat foolish because it was on a

  different network. But once I got into the groove at Nickelodeon, I

  realized how unstable and fickle the audience was for MTV and

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  how loyal the kid audience was at Nickelodeon. Also I liked that,

  in terms of creating shows, it had a little bit more longevity and

  the whole concept of creating kid stars was really intriguing to me

  and certainly how merchandise can come out of content. That felt

  interesting and attractive to me. So then I made the choice to stick

  around in this kid’s business and not try and go to the more glitzy,

  sexy division of Viacom like MTV or VH-1.

  SV: What is the biggest difference in being a network executive

  today from when you started?

  AB: When I was at Nickelodeon, my job at Disney today didn’t

  really exist because the great thing about my job now is that I

  oversee series development, movie development, current series,

  casting/talent relations and short-form programming. The short-

  form division didn’t even exist because we have these new plat-

  forms that need content. These are new businesses that never ex-

  isted and being an executive who oversees series and movies is

  pretty unique. You don’t see that all the time. Back when I was at

  Nickelodeon, they didn’t even make movies.

  Also, making sure that our talent grows up on our shows happy

  and healthy is so important to us and that’s a priority that has

  evolved over the years. So it’s my job that’s really unique and it’s

  always challenging me.

  SV: What would you s
ay are the main goals when developing pro-

  gramming for kids?

  AB: I think that you are targeting a very specific audience who’s

  as young as six and as old as 11 to 14. That’s the kids business.

  The preschool business is kids aged two to five. So whether

  you’re developing for a preschooler or kids, you have to craft a

  show that speaks to a very specific audience. For me, I like the

  specificity of coming up with an idea for a kid that is as young as

  six and as old as eleven. They’re going to love this concept or this

  character. Also, we’re boxed in. We can’t develop stuff that is pol-

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  itical or about sex or even too much pop culture. We are trying to

  create stuff that is very “evergreen.” I actually like having those

  guardrails. It forces us to be a little bit more inventive, clever.

  Then, on top of that, we are the Disney channel, so it’s not just for

  kids, it’s for Disney Kids. So you have to constantly keep “Big

  Disney” in mind and make sure that whatever we are making re-

  ally feels part of that brand as well.

  SV: Do pitches mainly come in to you or do you come up with the

  ideas internally?

  AB: A lot of the areas we develop we do come up with internally,

  and then we go to writers and tell them we want to do a show

  about a girl who’s a pop star that feels special, and what’s the

  twist? They would come back to us with what turned out to be,

  Hannah Montana. That’s not the only way. We went to TERRI

  MINSKY, who created Andi Mack and said, “What do you want to

  write?” She said, “I love mothers and daughters,” and she came

  to us with a pitch about a mother and a daughter show but with a

  very unique mother and daughter relationship. It varies, but we

  tend to come up with the ideas ourselves. We have this movie

  called Zombies coming out in two weeks, and it was originally

  called Zombies and Cheerleaders because it’s about the sort of lov-

  able zombies and these antagonist cheerleaders. We came up with

  it because it has two sets of cliques that didn’t belong together.

  We gave the title to the writers and said, “We want to do a show

  about zombies and cheerleaders, whatcha got?” And it’s amazing

  what they came back with. With Descendants, we said we wanted

  to do a movie about the children of the Disney villains, “Come to

  us with characters,” which is what they did.

  SV: For people wanting to develop shows for kids, what do you

  suggest they do?

  AB: The first thing you have to do is to remember what you loved

  as a kid and the kinds of content you would want to immerse

  yourself in…going back to your own childhood and getting excit-

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  ed about that time in your life. You also have to remember to look

  at things through a lens. You have to be able to say, “Yeah, I think

  this is funny, but would a kid think this is funny?” Remember to

  have a kid’s point of view.

  SV: What advice do you have for writers/creators looking to sell a

  TV show to you?

  AB: The best thing is to write what is personal to you. You have

  to have a personal connection to what you write. If you are trying

  to sell something to Disney, and you don’t have a personal con-

  nection, or it doesn’t speak to any personal experience you had as

  a kid, it will be hard to sell.

  If you don’t have any credits as a writer, always attaching yourself

  to a person who does is a good thing. Also, every network has

  incredible fellowship programs that give opportunities to up-and-

  coming creators and writers. For us, we get to work with a lot the

  writers who are part of the ABC fellowship program. They get

  assigned to shows or ABC/Disney shows and that’s a great op-

  portunity. Then, if you prove yourself and they want to hire you

  as a writer, you’re done.

  Another way is to get a job on the network executive side. We

  have a writer on Andi Mack that started out as an assistant here.

  When the show went into production, he came to us and said, “I

  love that show you guys developed and I want to work on it.”

  Because we had a relationship with him and trusted him, we were

  like, “We’re going to give him this opportunity.”

  SV: What is the most memorable pitch you’ve heard?

  AB: Well, we do get the crazies who dress up like a clown and

  come in with props. But, when I think about the most memorable

  pitch or casting meeting, I think about when the JONAS BROTH-

  ERS came in. At the time, they were just singers. They did a scene

  for us to show that they could act, but then JOE JONAS jumped

  on the table and started singing out the scene as a MICK JAGGER

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  type of actor/dancer/singer preforming for us. I will never forget

  when he shocked us by jumping on the table in the middle of the

  conference room. Then recently there was a pitch where the

  writer was pitching a show about a family who lives with a robot

  and he hired an actor to come in as the robot in a robot suit. It was

  annoying and distracting. For a good pitch, you want to talk

  about the characters and stories, and these props often take away

  from the pitch.

  SV: Are you open to original spec scripts?

  AB: Definitely open as long as they are submitted the right way,

  through an agent or manager for legal reasons. Of course, it’s

  hard to nail it on your own, but if you’ve already done it…

  SV: Have you bought any specs that have become a show?

  AB: I know we’ve done it on the movie side, for sure. As a series,

  no, not specs, but we’ve bought busted scripts from other net-

  works.

  SV: What is your favorite part of the TV Development process?

  AB: Two parts. The first is when you hear the idea that feels

  where you say to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s just

  so good, like Descendants was. It was a great idea. The other part

  is when you sit in a casting session and the lead kid… you see it.

  You’re like, “wow” that kid is not only the character we are trying

  to cast, but depending on the project, you have the sense that this

  kid is going to be a star when they grow up. If you look at our

  history, starting with HILLARY DUFF, RAVEN SIMONE, MILEY

  CYRUS, SELENA GOMEZ, DEMI LOVATO, DOVE CAMERON,

  the list goes on and on. We have a great track record and on the

  boys’ side, ZACK EFRON, ROSS LYNCH, and THE JONAS

  BROTHERS. To be able to find talent at a young age, nurture it

  and see them go on to be such a big part of pop culture… and it

  means so much to kids and teenagers. It’s really fulfilling.

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  SV: What is your most successful/proud project that you were a

  part of?

  AB: Gosh, really good question. Different projects for different

  reasons. I think about That’s So Raven as our first sitcom. I was so

  proud of starting the sitcom business for us back in the day be-

  cause so much of what has defined the Di
sney Channel after that

  has been sitcoms. So to start that genre at the channel, which was

  like 16 years ago, was really exciting. It was also that RAVEN was

  the first African American girl to star in a sitcom with her name in

  the title. The only other show at the time was MOESHA, which

  was played by BRANDI, and she was playing a character vs.

  RAVEN, where we used her name in the title. She wasn’t a con-

  ventional teenage girl. She was incredibly talented, unique in her

  own way. She had a different comedic point of view about the

  world. She felt vulnerable and special. I’m really proud of

  launching that show. I know it meant so much to kids back in the

  day, and now as millennials watch her again, but [this time] as a

  mom, is really fulfilling. Also, Hannah Montana because of the

  commercial appeal of the show and everybody remembers that

  show. I think that show really merged music and kids television

  story-telling in such a unique way. I used to oversee animation

  and I developed two shows that I’m really proud of. One is The

  Proud Family, the first animated series about an African American

  family. The creator really wanted to animate and create a show

  about his family, and for a show to feel so broad yet real was

  something that I was really proud of. Lastly, was this cartoon

  called, * Kim Possible, about a female crime-fighter and it just felt

  ahead of its time. You look at all the crime-fighter shows out to-

  day, there’s nothing about a teenaged girl. To introduce a real ac-

  tion adventure show that still felt real, I felt was really ahead of its

  time.

  Side note: *About nine months after our meeting, Disney an-

  nounced it was bringing back Kim Possible as a live-action

  movie. It’s will be done and released in 2019. I didn’t call Adam

  to see if our conversation had anything to do with this reboot,

  but I’d like to think it did!

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  SV: In today’s market, what would you say is the measure of a

  successful show?

  AB: Any show where people are generally passionate about it.

  When a kid lights up when they talk about the show, when they

  want to stay home and see it live so they can talk about it the next

  morning, that’s what gets me up in the morning. You don’t see

  that a lot with adults. For us, what matters the most is that pas-

  sion a kid has in how much they love the show. Then I love to see