The New 'Blinking Yellow Light' Hell of TV Development
Budget gums the process earlier than ever as writers tell me how to fight for the 'sexiest version of the script' and what to expect
Lesley Goldberg is the newest member of Series Business, reporting from L.A. on TV development. She previously scooped that Hulu’s expected Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is set to film in L.A. and revealed insights from an anonymous veteran studio exec. As a paid subscriber to Series Business, you’ll receive dispatches from Lesley, Elaine Low and Manori Ravindran on the TV business. This is a standalone subscription separate from The Ankler. For access to Series Business and everything The Ankler publishes, including Sean McNulty's The Wakeup and Richard Rushfield, subscribe here.
During the height of Peak TV, platforms were handing out series orders to writers without so much as a script in hand. Now, as those same streamers, studios and networks prioritize finances over creative — or at least want to consider P&L alongside the creative — many writers are now being staffed on programs with a “blinking yellow light” that, in success, could turn into a solid green.
“I had to write production drafts and get those approved before getting a greenlight,” one veteran showrunner tells me of their latest project. “That’s something I’ve never done on any show.”
As one longtime studio executive told me for last week’s column, having a realistic budget in hand before committing to production has to be the process amid a new tight-fisted Hollywood climate. While producers and showrunners alike note that the focus on financial rarely enhances the quality of a show, in reality, it is a move that now comes with the territory. “That’s the job of being a showrunner: to bring the show in on budget, whatever that may be,” says the veteran showrunner.
Still, it’s another hoop for creators to jump through that significantly changes the rhythm of pitching — which has already been permanently disrupted by and development. Along with the rise of loathed if-come deals, in which writers are asked to do extensive development with no guarantee of a payday unless the studio is able to sell the show to a platform, it’s another sign of industry contraction, shortening purse strings and more demands on writers’ time and talents (often for free).
In this newsletter, I’ll tell you:
How a “blinking yellow light” period works and how long it can last
What a platform expects of a writer to “get past the toll gate,” as one former exec-turned-producer describes it
How a budget is determined while a show is still being written
How Wall Street’s sudden shift in expectations for streamers disrupted development
The impact on pricey IP like Netflix’s 3 Body Problem
How a disconnect between execs’ hopes and producers’ realities fostered this new model “to wrestle with that from the get-go”
Who pays for the extended timeline, and what it can cost beyond writers’ and a line producer’s pay
The upside for experienced showrunners
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