Television Development: How Hollywood Creates New TV Series is the world's first textbook on TV development.

The book pulls back the curtain on Hollywood's mysterious TV development processes: Who pitches new shows? How do they get into networks to pitch? Who decides which pitches networks buy? What role do TV studios play in TV development and how is it different from what TV networks do? What kind of notes do network and studio development executives give to writers? Do writers have to take all those notes? How do people get jobs as network development executives or agents? What's the best way for young people to begin careers in TV development? How do writers get agents and get their first jobs in TV? It looks so competitive—is it even worth trying? TV is changing so quickly—won't a textbook on TV development be moot by the time it takes to read it?

The short answer: No.

TV distribution is undergoing a period of massive disruption, but TV development isn't. Hollywood TV development is always evolving, of course, but by and large the processes of TV development are the same as they've been for decades. The fact that Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple, YouTube and Facebook hired veteran TV development execs whose careers included long tours in broadcast and cable is evidence of this reality. TV development is primarily about material: ideas, pitches, stories, outlines, series bibles, scripts and increasingly pre-existing intellectual property.

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Quotes

“Anyone who hopes to create a hit show needs to learn how to write and how to navigate the Hollywood TV development process. Levy's book is the only book that explains the Hollywood development process in detail, and it’s awesome!”

Kevin Williamson, creator of Tell Me a Story and Dawson's Creek, co-creator of The Vampire Diaries and writer of Scream

"Levy’s book is a terrific resource full of detailed insider information on how to create a new series—the best guide to the subject I’ve seen."

Evan Smith, Syracuse University’s Newhouse School

“Levy pulls back the curtain and reveals how Hollywood creates new TV series. With decades of experience as a producer and network development exec he knows all the secrets and shares them in this excellent, comprehensive book!"

Neil Landau, UCLA'S School of Theatre, Film & Television, author of Writing on Demand: Creating Great Content in the Digital Era