niceolelevy

I know, I know, people are tired of hearing me harp on this – but seriously, if you’re still trying to break into TV as a writer, you should have at least one current spec that’s ready to go if someone asks you for one. Why? Because sometimes having that to prove you know how to do the job you’re trying to get – mimicking someone else’s style and voice – can make the difference between who gets the gig when it comes down to “you and one other person.” Or you might run into showrunners who insist on specs at the staff writer level. Yes – that happens.

I know your reps may be telling you no one reads them – but sometimes people do. And in this highly competitive business – have EVERY tool available to keep someone from saying no to you.

So… one current spec. Always on hand.

And if you’ve never written one – please, PLEASE write one. Because as stated above – it’s the actual job you want. So practice.

So then the question comes – but what do I spec? There’s too much TV and no one watches everything and so how do I know what to write?

Fair – and I hear you. So I took the WB Fellowship list as a starting point, polled some writers to see what they thought I should add or delete – and voila! A LIST!

I used to be the girl who watched everything – I watch much less now. But honestly, there were maybe five shows total on this list that I had to look up to see what they were. Most of them I (and many showrunners) would know well enough that we get the tone and style of the show. So anything on this list for the 2022-2023 time period should work.

New stuff will come out – but remember, first-season shows are tricky. If they’re not already renewed for S2, you may get a very short bang for your buck. So try to pick something that feels like it will stick around. It’s fine to pick a limited series or a show in its final season – just know the same applies: you get less of a shelf life from that.

And yes, there are shows not on this list – and yes, you can spec them. These are suggestions to help narrow a very large field, but the first rule of writing a spec is “spec what you love.” So if you love something not on this list, and you really want to spec it… spec it.

And one last piece of advice – if you’ve never written a show with act breaks (you know, a broadcast or basic cable show) – may I recommend doing a spec episode of one of those shows? With all the major platforms going to ad-supported tiers, knowing how to craft an act break into a commercial might come in handy.

Okay – enough preaching. Here’s the list. Write, write, write! And HAVE FUN! (I tried to delete all the stuff that has been canceled or ended recently. If I missed one, apologies.)

SHOWS TO SPEC LIST

COMEDY

Abbott Elementary

American Dad
Archer
Barry
Big Mouth
Bob’s Burgers
Bob Hearts Abishola
Breeders
Call Me Kat
Dead to Me
Emily In Paris
Family Guy

Ghosts
Girls 5 Eva
Grown-ish
Hacks

Harley Quinn

How I Met Your Father

Loot
Master of None

Mythic Quest
Never Have I Ever
Only Murders In The Building
Paradise P.D.
Physical
Ramy
Reservation Dogs
Rick & Morty
Russian Doll
Search Party
Sex Lives of College Girls

She-Hulk
South Park

Star Trek: Lower Decks
Ted Lasso

The Connors
The Goldbergs
The Neighborhood
The Other Two
The Righteous Gemstones
The Wonder Years
Upload
We Are Lady Parts
What We Do in the Shadows
Woke

Young Rock
Young Sheldon

DRAMA

9-1-1

9-1-1 Lone Star
A Million Little Things
All American
All Rise

Andor
Billions

Bosch: Legacy
Bridgerton
Cobra Kai
David Makes Man
Doom Patrol
Euphoria
Evil
For All Mankind
Foundation
Ginny & Georgia
Gossip Girl
Grey’s Anatomy
Hightown

House of the Dragon
Homecoming

Interview with a Vampire
Lupin
Manifest

Ms. Marvel
Nancy Drew
New Amsterdam

Our Flag Means Death
Outlander
P Valley

Pennyworth
Perry Mason

Power: Book II, III, or IV
Queen Sugar

Severance
Sex Education
Shadow & Bone
Snowfall

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Stargirl

Station 19
Stranger Things
Succession
Superman & Lois
Sweet Tooth
The Boys
The Chi
The Crown
The Flash
The Flight Attendant
The Good Doctor
The Good Fight
The Great
The Handmaid’s Tale

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power

The Mandalorian
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Morning Show
The Resident

The Rookie
The Umbrella Academy
The Wheel of Time

The White Lotus

Titans
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
Walker
Westworld

Witcher
Wu Tang: An American Saga
Yellowjackets
Yellowstone
You