Screenplay Pitch Template

A screenplay pitch is the document that gets your script read. In film and television, almost no one reads cold scripts. The pitch -- whether it is a verbal pitch in a room, a written pitch sent to a manager, or a one-sheet handed to an executive at a coffee -- is what decides whether your script gets a chance. This is the structural reality of the industry, and the writers who succeed in it learn the form of the pitch as carefully as they learn the form of the screenplay.

This template covers the standard written pitch document for film and television projects. It works for feature pitches, television pilot pitches, and pitches for limited series. The template assumes you have a complete or near-complete script (or, for television, a complete pilot and a developed series bible). It will not save a half-formed concept, but it will sharpen any concept that has structural integrity.

One framing principle. A pitch sells the idea, the writer, and the project's commercial viability at the same time. The strongest pitches make all three cases without any of them feeling like a sell. The work is in the structure.

Section 1: The Title Page

The first thing the reader sees. Keep it clean.

• Title: The project's title, in larger type. Centered.
• Format and length: "A feature screenplay." "A one-hour drama pilot." "A limited series in six episodes."
• Logline: One sentence (under 30 words) that captures the premise. The same logline that anchors your written pitch and your verbal pitch. Use the Logline Template if you need help here.
• Writer's name: Yours.
• Contact information: Phone, email, and the name of your representation if you have any (manager, agent, lawyer). Bottom of the page.

What to write here: A clean one-page title document. Visual minimalism. The title page is not where you sell -- it is where you signal professional competence.

Section 2: The Hook (1 page)

The opening of the pitch document. The reader's first taste of the project. The hook does three things: establish the world or situation, introduce the central character or relationship, and pose the question or conflict that drives the story.

The hook should read like the opening of a great trailer narration -- propulsive, specific, sensory. Lead with image and conflict rather than backstory. Compare these openings:

• Weak: "In a small town in the Pacific Northwest, a young woman returns home after the death of her father. As she sorts through his belongings, she uncovers a secret that will change her life forever."
• Strong: "Maya Chen comes home for her father's funeral expecting one weekend. She finds the safe. She finds the list of names. And by Sunday night, she knows two things: her father was not who she thought he was, and someone on the list is watching her."

The difference is specificity, momentum, and the implicit promise of what the story will explore. The strong version sells. The weak version describes.

What to write here: One page. Polished prose. Read aloud to test rhythm.

Section 3: The Synopsis (1-2 pages)

The full story summary. Like a novel synopsis, the pitch synopsis tells the whole arc, including the ending. Unlike a novel synopsis, it is written with cinematic specificity -- visual, propulsive, conscious of the medium.

Structure roughly as:

• Setup (~1 paragraph): The protagonist, their world, and the inciting incident.
• First half (~1-2 paragraphs): The first act break and the early Act Two complications. The protagonist's pursuit, their allies, the antagonist's first moves.
• Midpoint and second half (~1-2 paragraphs): The reversal at the midpoint, the escalating pressure, the move toward the climax.
• Climax and resolution (~1 paragraph): How it ends. Specifically. The synopsis does not hedge.

For television, replace the climactic ending with the pilot's ending plus a paragraph on the season arc and the series arc.

Section 4: Characters (1-2 pages)

The principal characters, in order of importance. For each:

• Name and one-line role: "MAYA CHEN, 32, forensic accountant."
• A short character paragraph: Who they are, what they want, what their relationship to the central conflict is. Three to five sentences.
• What they would say is the worst thing about them: A useful sentence to include for principal characters. Captures internal conflict in compressed form.
• Their arc: One sentence on where they end up emotionally and structurally.

For features: 3-5 major characters with full treatment, plus a short list of significant supporting characters. For television pilots: the regular cast (4-8 characters), with extra weight on the protagonist and the two or three characters who carry the most story weight.

Section 5: World and Tone (1 page)

What the project looks, sounds, and feels like. This is where you communicate the texture that the synopsis cannot.

• The world: Where the story takes place, in specific sensory detail. The texture of the setting matters as much as the geography.
• The tone: What kind of story this is. Tense and grounded? Stylized and operatic? Comic and warm? Tone is hard to convey in summary; specific reference points help -- "the tone of Mare of Easttown," "the gloss of Killing Eve," "the slow burn of The Americans."
• The visual language: If you have a clear visual vocabulary in mind, describe it briefly. Composition, palette, pace. Avoid over-prescribing -- you are writing a pitch, not directing the project.

Section 6: For Television Only -- The Series and Season Bibles

Television pitches require more than feature pitches. After the pilot synopsis, include:

The Series Arc

The macro story across the show's intended run. Where does the protagonist begin in Episode 1 and where do they end at the series finale? Even if the finale is hypothetical, you should be able to articulate the destination.

The Season Arc

For Season 1, a paragraph per major episode (8-10 episodes for a streaming season, 13 or 22 for traditional broadcast). Each episode gets a logline-style summary plus its position in the season's arc.

The Format

How does the show work, episode to episode? Procedural with a serial spine? Pure serial? Anthology-of-the-week with a season-long mystery? Format is one of the questions executives will ask first, and the pitch should answer it explicitly.

The "Show Engine"

What sustains the show across hundreds of episodes? This is the question of long-term storytelling viability. A show about a detective has the case-of-the-week engine. A show about a family has the lifecycle engine. A show without a clear engine usually does not get to a second season.

Section 7: Comparables and Positioning (1 page)

Where the project sits in the marketplace.

• Comp titles: Three to five films or shows that share your project's territory. Some recent, some classic. For each, note what is shared and what is distinct.
• Audience: Who watches this? Specifically, in terms the industry uses -- "audiences who watched The Queen's Gambit" rather than "anyone who likes good drama."
• Platform fit: Where you imagine the project living -- a specific streamer, a specific network, a theatrical release of a specific size. Be realistic; comping to Severance on Apple TV+ is meaningful only if your project's tone and scope actually align.

Section 8: Writer's Statement (Half page)

Why you, and why this project. A short paragraph (or two) on what drew you to the story and what makes you the right writer for it.

• Personal connection: Without overclaiming. Lived experience, professional background, long-standing interest, family history.
• Vision: What you want the audience to feel by the end of the credits.
• Stakes for the writer: Why you have to write this. The strongest writer's statements are honest about why the project matters to you.

Section 9: Bio (Half page)

A short biographical paragraph about you, focused on relevant credits and experience. Industry credits (produced work, options, residencies, fellowships), education if relevant, awards, and any platform or audience metrics that are genuinely impressive.

If you have no industry credits, focus on what makes you distinctive -- a different career that lends authenticity to the project, a unique perspective, a story you alone can tell.

How to Customize This Template

• For feature pitches: Sections 1-5 and 7-9. Skip Section 6 (television-only). Most feature pitches run 6-10 pages total.
• For half-hour comedy pilots: Tone (Section 5) becomes critical -- comedy depends on voice in a way drama does not. Include sample jokes or comic premises within the synopsis to demonstrate the comic engine.
• For one-hour drama pilots: Full template. Plan to spend the most time on Section 6 (series and season bibles). The hardest question executives ask about new dramas is "how does this last?"
• For limited series: The show engine is the resolution, not the perpetuation, of the story. Treat Section 6 like a long-form feature -- the season-arc paragraph is the full story summary, the series-arc paragraph confirms there is no extension planned.
• For genre projects (sci-fi, horror, fantasy): Add a short section after Section 5 on the world's rules and the project's relationship to genre conventions. Reassure the executive that the genre material is handled with craft and originality.

Build your pitch in Plotiar. Keep the title page, synopsis, character bibles, and writer's statement in one project, ready to send -- and ready to revise as the project evolves. Try it free.