Mickey Fisher on Writing, Selling, and Producing a TV Pilot Spec Script — Part 6

7-part series on going from original TV pilot script to network series.

On May 24, 2013, I posted about a TV pilot spec script which had Hollywood all abuzz:

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’s also a time when writers can learn an awful lot about the buying pulse of Hollywood.

Such is the case right now as Hollywood froths over a 56-page spec TV pilot “Extant” written by newcomer Mickey Fisher. Background from TheWrap [emphasis added]:

Mickey Fisher, an unknown and unsigned writer until recently, has film studios drooling over his script “Extant” for weeks. There’s just one twist: it’s not a film script.

Fisher wrote “Extant” as a TV pilot. It’s a one-hour sci-fi drama about John and Molly Watts and their son, a human-like robot named Ethan. Molly, the space-traveling wife, is also pregnant with a baby that is part human and part alien. The family intrigue deepens in subsequent episodes.

Multiple agencies sought to sign the writer after reading the script, and WME won out. WME and manager Brooklyn Weaver, who discovered Fisher, sent the script around to the studios who are hot to trot for a high-concept script mixing sci-fi and familial drama.

“Everyone is freaking out about it,” an agent at a rival firm said. “It’s ‘A.I.’ as a TV series.”

— —

Warner Bros. still made an offer to acquire the project and turn it into a movie, according to multiple individuals inside and outside the studio, but now the studio is talking with Fisher about acquiring a different pitch. The studio declined to comment.

WME and Weaver always harbored dreams of turning “Extant” into a TV series with Steven Spielberg producing. They are halfway there: Amblin TV, which produced “ER” and “The Americans,” is developing and packaging it. It remains unclear if Spielberg will take a credit, though his involvement would make it even more attractive to networks.

Here is Mickey Fisher. Apparently he is a Hollywood outsider. He writes a spec TV pilot script. It turns the town on its head. Now he has interest from movie studios. TV networks. Perhaps “acquiring a different pitch.” Steven Freaking Spielberg.

That script turned into a CBS series which ran for two seasons.

In 2016, Mickey Fisher — a long-time fan of the blog — posted this:

It’s a tremendous read with lots of information and insights into the craft, so I reached out to Mickey and he agreed to let me serialize his entire missive. It’s a great story and I’ll use the opportunity to spotlight the many takeaways Mickey touches on in his observations.

Today in Part 6, Mickey talks about what happened after he pitched “Extant” to 9 potential buyers:

POST PITCH

We got offers from (I think) six of the nine places. A number of those were straight to series, including CBS. At the time of our pitch, Amblin and CBS were having a huge success on their partnership with UNDER THE DOME and Greg had worked with them for a long time as well. I think all of those were factors in the final decision. In my very first meeting with WME I told them I thought there was a big general audience for this show. Maybe not LOST big but big, and that this could be a cable style show for broadcast. It didn’t need the cable toolbox — there wasn’t any nudity, no graphic violence or gore. I felt like not only could it play on a broadcast network but that there might also be a NEED for something like it. When we got a straight to series order I got my chance to find out.

A couple of days later we had a team call with Steven Spielberg, Amblin and Greg, confirming that we were going with CBS. While we were waiting for Steven to jump on the line I just started giggling. When the guys asked what was going on I said, “I have to tell you guys something crazy… this is my birthday… I’m turning 40.” When Steven hopped on they told him and he wished me happy birthday and remarked that it was quite a way to usher in a new decade. The news hit later that day and we were off and running.

Back to the payment thing, in case anybody was wondering how it might work for them. It was late October before I got my first installment for the pilot script. Luckily I had the money from my motorcycle sale to live on in the meantime because this whole process was like two full-time jobs. (Side note: I’ve since bought another.)

So that is a big overview of how everything happened and some of what I learned along the way. At some point soon I may write another that covers the next two years of making the show, but for now I’ll leave you with links to some resources I found helpful along the way. I’m also going to post my original overview document so you can see what that looked like. Not a day has gone by since that I haven’t felt like the luckiest person in town, even when things were at their hardest. It was never lost on me that this was a rare opportunity. After two seasons the ride ended and I had to buy another ticket (write another pilot) and get back in line to wait for the next chance to get on. Hopefully I’m getting closer every day.

Best of luck to you!

SCREENWRITING WEBSITES I LOVE

GO INTO THE STORY is a blog run by Scott Myers and it’s full of information for tv and film writers. There’s more information and inspiration than you could digest in five years. I follow Scott on Twitter and visit once or twice a week still to learn something new.

http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/

There’s a ton of great information and announcements for opportunities on the DONE DEAL PRO BOARDS. It’s the first place I found out about Tracking B, The Blacklist and The Industry Insider Contest.

http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/

DREW’S SCRIPT-O-RAMA has lots of scripts available to read for inspiration/research:

http://www.script-o-rama.com/

CONTESTS / OPPORTUNITIES I LOVE

TRACKING B was the contest that finally helped me break in. They have a feature and a television pilot contest and a reputation for helping winners get repped. They were enormously smart and helpful as I was navigating my way through those early rapids.

http://www.trackingb.com/

THE BLACK LIST website allows any tv or film writer the chance to get their material into the right hands, no matter where you live. Franklin Leonard is one of the most stand-up, awesome guys I’ve met in this town. I dreamed about a sight like this for years and now it’s here.

https://blcklst.com/

The Writer’s Store in Burbank is a one-stop shop for writers, filled with all the books, scripts and software you’ll ever need. And they run a really fun contest, which may give YOU the opportunity to have lunch with someone like the awesome Susannah Grant. Kay, my mentor through the process, has become a friend and she’s a stellar writer herself.

https://www.writersstore.com/

SCREENWRITING/TV WRITING/CREATOR PODCASTS I LISTEN TO EVERY DAY

Nerdist Writer’s Panel
WTF with Marc Maron
Scriptnotes with John August and Craig Mazin
The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell
Black List Table Reads (check out my episode THE WINTER KING, co-written with Brian Depetris and starring Jason Ritter, Haley Joel Osment, Mae Whitman and more.)
The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith
Nerdist
BAFTA Screenwriters Lecture Series
The Writers Guild Foundation
Scripts and Scribes

Takeaways:

• We got offers from (I think) six of the nine places. A number of those were straight to series, including CBS: That is amazing, not only the number of offers, but also the straight-to-series commitment. Proof that if you write something Hollywood wants, it can pay off big time.
• I felt like not only could it play on a broadcast network but that there might also be a NEED for something like it: When you write your project, be mindful of the various platforms available. In TV, broadcast network is different than basic cable which is different than pay cable which is different than streaming. Don’t worry so much about act breaks and format issues, rather zero in on the tone, atmosphere, and feel you want to go for, and who your target audience is.
• It was late October before I got my first installment for the pilot script: The wait for payment can seem interminable. Deal is made. Deal get signed. You’re already working, but where’s the money? If you sell a spec, you can expect at least 2–3 months before money hits your checking account.
• I’ll leave you with links to some resources I found helpful along the way: This speaks to a point I make often: It’s not just about the script, it’s about learning the craft. As Mickey points out, there are a lot of great resources online, most of them free, which you can use to up your understanding of what it takes to be a Hollywood writer.
• After two seasons the ride ended and I had to buy another ticket (write another pilot) and get back in line to wait for the next chance to get on: The challenge to sustain a writing career never ends. There are inevitable ups and downs, so much of what happens out of your hands. However there is one thing you can always do and it’s totally in your control — and that is write. Just like Mickey is doing.

Tomorrow in Part 7, I will post the original series overview Mickey created for “Extant”.

For Part 1 of this series, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Part 4, here.

Part 5, here.

Mickey is repped by WME and Energy Entertainment.

Twitter: @MickeyFisher73.