How to sell a great idea for a TV show?

N: A Good Idea for TV?

• Hi there, I'm a 14 year old boy from Singapore and my dreams have always been to make it big in New York City. It has always been my dream to live in NY. However, what I want to do is more suited in Hollywood. What I want to be, my ambition is a creator and executive producer of a hit TV series. I love watching TV( Lost, 24, Flash Forward, Fringe, Glee, The Event). I also want to be a host like my idol Phil Keoghan( and be the future host of The Amazing Race), but this question is not about that. I have an idea which I really want people to check out. An idea for a TV Series. It will be a drama-mystery-thriller(maybe)-conspiracy… sure if I want to inc. sci-fi). It probably will have 4-6 seasons, each season spanning 20-24 episodes, each with the standard 40-45 minutes. The idea: A plane is en-route to New York City from Washington, D.C. The flight contains 204 passengers, including Mary, a 45- year old going to meet her biological son in New York. On a ground, three men in black activate some weapons, press a couple of buttons and controls and the plane rips itself apart, exploding in mid-air, debris falling from the sky. All passengers are reported dead. One of the three men is 30 year old Jackson. On that very same day in Singapore, the third term of school is beginning( it's late June). (SG terms: Term 1 - Jan - early Mar, Term 2: late Mar- May, Term 3: Late Jun- August, Term 4: Mid Sept to end Oct). A boy, 13 years old(call him SG guy) begins a new day of school. But not any day, he has just transferred from his old class to another class of the same stream and level, due to person and psychological problems faced previously. He meets a teacher, K, who makes his fitting in a little less harder and the new educational consultant, Jackson, who is revealed to be the very same who made the plane explode. Jackson gives the boy a very hard time, but fortunately he can tell all this to his psychologist, Mr O who supports him on his road to recovery. New York City- On the same day, a 15-year old boy( NY guy) prepares to start his summer vacation(I originally wanted him to start his first year of high school, but there is an obvious loophole). This was the very person that Mary was coming to meet, her biological son whom she had never met. He currently lives with his adoptive father(his adoptive mother died in a car crash), who is preparing to tell him about his real parentage. The show name is N(not exactly sure what it stands for, though my name starts with N), follows the lives of these two youngsters and how their destinies corelate and intertwine. What they will discover and what they will execute along the way will bring them to the forefront of a century-old conspiracy that will shake the very fabric of reality. Everyone is a player in this game and somehow will all play a part in filling up this tremendous puzzle, which may not want to be solved. In Season 1, the show will alternate. Meaning, in odd-numbered episodes(except the 2h pilot), focus will be on the SG guy and in even numbered ones, focus will be on the NY guy. This will happen until after Episode 10(the fall finale), where the two will meet. Some revelations include, NY guy meeting his biological father and discovering many secrets about him, Jackson being a son of the NY guy and killing him at the end of the season. These are just one of many. I will strive to give answers regularly on the show, so to not leave viewers hanging for more, at the same time, opening up new questions, taking the 2 steps forward, 1 steps back approach. So what do you guys think, should I write the full script for the pilot episode and send it to someone to really take a look(not to sell it, just see it)? This story was somewhat based on my own experiences, especially the character and human-driven parts of the story. Once I graduate from secondary school, I intend to take a Diploma in Creative Writing and after that, go to a college or university in New York City. What do you think of the idea?

• Answer:

  Hi, Usually I ignore these types of questions, as more creative things tend to be open to interpretation, but I decided to give your plot a read. I must say, it wasn't bad. I'm not sure how it would do, and there are definitely still questions... Like, who the target audience would be? Sounds like lots of people dying, so it's definitely not a kid's show. But, the main characters are both young teenagers, which may not be as interesting to adults.. (Is the show going to focus on their school life? High-school drama? Most adults aren't interested in that anymore) I know you're keeping secrets because you don't want to give away too much of the plot, but motives for the characters have to be extremely clear when you're talking about people comitting crimes at a federal level.. killing family members, etc. You have to be really clear about why a man that is involved in blowing up a plane would be working as an "educational consultant." (By the way, what is that?) Like in the show "Heroes" - the cheerleader's father "worked" as a consultant for a paper company, however that was just a front.. he didn't _actually_ do any paper work.. your character however, is actually working as an educational consultant while blowing stuff up. One of the things that made shows like LOST so good, was because it was very character driven. Flashbacks from other moments in their lives built up this incredible story. However, it sounds like you have two principle characters, and they're both young. There's only so much that would fit into a flashback. Is there going to be enough interesting character-driven information? The concept could be interesting.. I really enjoy plots that diverge and converge as you are describing. Keep at it, build up your characters, but keep them real. When shopping a story like this, you have to focus on a single season at a time, and hope that it gets picked up for another season. Start strong to capture an audience. Hope to see your show sometime. :)