Series Development As An Independent Producer or Filmmaker

Hi there,

Hope you all are having a great week!

Last week we delved into the topic of series development and I wanted to pick up that thread and talk more specifically about series development as an independent film producer or filmmaker.

Because that’s our little corner of the world right? And although not all of you are diversifying your slates to include series, I know enough of you are based on the emails and feedback I’ve been receiving.

Like I said before, I think one of the biggest advantages we have as producers and filmmakers with roots in indie film is our existing knowledge around packaging and cobbling together financing from multiple sources/territories, since those skills directly lend themselves to putting series together in today’s market.

Where I believe things get difficult and where many bottlenecks occur is the fact that series value to potential funders is typically predicated on having an experienced and pedigreed writer/showrunner on board a project.

As indie filmmakers, this is a whole new world to us not to mention a

totally different set of contacts! I’ll cut to the chase and say it’s brutal out there trying to get an experienced enough writer or even budding showrunner attached to a series project, usually because they have plenty of their own material they are trying to get off the ground. It’s a real catch-22 and forces you to go even deeper into the process and find creative ways to reach and engage these folks, but also find a place on their dance card.

I’ve worked with a handful of clients over the last year in getting pedigreed writers and showrunners on board projects and we’ve done everything from paying writers an up front fee to attach themselves and/or write a pilot (when there’s been development funding to do so) to partnering with bigger production companies who have easier access to the major agencies/management companies and their writer clients, to getting really creative in looking under the hood so to speak and finding the hidden gems in the rough we can access directly. This last one is where having indie film chops come in handy :)

In summary, so far we’ve learned that series development can be expensive (securing IP/rights, hiring writers) and that the writer/showrunner is the big value-add on a project and you’ve got to figure out how to access the ones who can move the needle, lest you run into the dreaded packaging the wrong talent dilemma which many of us know from indie film too.

Maybe in the next installment we can dissect a third option for series development and that is the value of celebrity and some workarounds there.

What do you think so far? If you have any questions for me, please put them in the comments section by clicking the button below.

If you’d like to explore working together on your series (or feature) project, you can check out our updated EP Services page here and fill out the form so we can start a conversation on whether I can help your specific case or not.

On that note, I’ll wrap things up for today and speak to you again soon!

To your success,

Stacey

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