I've written pilots. I wrote a movie.
I've read many great samples, both of existing shows I liked and original pilots, and definitely hired the writers - or, at least, tried to!
To make a long story short, I auditioned for the role of Piper because I read the pilots every year and this show was head-and-shoulders above any pilot I've read in awhile. It was amazing. So, I read for Piper and I knew that I wasn't really right for it, but I loved it so much that I wanted to read for it.
In theater, you go in-depth with your character, so coming to the States, it was inevitable to dig into the pilots I liked. I knew what characters I was going to be reading for, so I would dissect them and really get involved with them.
Oftentimes, you read these pilot scripts that come through for American work, and they don't sing to you. I've got to be honest, not many of them ignite the flame or give you that burning feeling of, 'Oh, God, I really want to be a part of this.'
The pilot system in television is utterly broken. It's a huge waste of money.
You read so many scripts, especially pilots, that really feel like marbles in your mouth when you go to read them out loud.
I wound up getting pulled into being a consultant on the Lifetime drama 'For the People.' The executive producer said, 'I want you to write scripts.' We sold pilots to a bunch of different networks.
You read a lot of pilots during pilot season, and not all of them really grab you.
Pilot season isn't perfect, and it certainly is a very difficult time. But pilot season does work for us.
I get a lot of emails of scripts and pilots, and they want me to give feedback, and sometimes I can't because it's so many.
One year, I did 10 or 11 pilots of TV shows that never went anywhere.
I've done 10 or 11 pilots for network television, which is ridiculous.
