Write Your First TV Pilot

Want to get your foot in the door in the TV industry? A TV pilot is your best calling card. In this special 8-week live online course, join veteran TV writer Bo Kaprall who will guide you through learning everything you need to write your first comedy and/or drama TV pilot. Plus, he will share the ins and outs of the industry and give insider tips to help you break into script writing for television.

All writers are welcome- no previous experience is necessary.

The TV pilot course will cover:

• The typical steps a first-time television writer will take toward writing your first script (what a “pitch” is and how to create yours, how to assemble your ideas, character development, style, story acts, etc.)
• Structure
• Character development
• The importance of your first script as a calling card
• How to find an agent and get your script read
• Who you’re writing for
• Who does what job on a television series
• The outlets for new shows and new ideas
• How to develop your idea
• The best way to write for you
• The Writers’ Room
• The collaboration process
• An overview of winning past and current television show scripts
• Constructive feedback on your current concepts, outline, scenes, and scripts

Course Outcomes

Learn everything that goes into crafting a successful 30-minute or 1-hour TV pilot, plus get the details on what to expect on the business side once you have the pilot ready to show agents and production companies.

Gain a full spectrum of creative insights and instruction as well as the hands-on feedback and practical application for how to take your TV pilot into the world.

Through close study of short- and long-form screenwriting, including identifying the differences between writing scripted and unscripted shows, you will learn how to bring your ideas into the best script format.

Following the course, private one-on-one mentorship to revise and prepare the TV pilot with Bo is available.

Course Details

Dates: February 12-April 2, 2025

Length: 8 weeks

Where: Online

Format: 2-hour live weekly meetings over video conference.

Weekly Meeting: Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Central Time (7:30 p.m. EST | 4:30 p.m. PST)

Instructor: Bo Kaprall

Price: $469

Your TV Pilot Writing Instructor

Bo Kaprall has been a television show creator, director, writer, producer, executive producer, and actor for over thirty-five years. Currently he is Executive Producing and has created a new television series, “Operation Undercover,” for HBO Max & Discovery ID, which debuts this September. Bo got his start in Chicago as an actor in the touring company of Chicago’s Second City. In the seventies he moved to Los Angeles where he started the Comedy Store Players and joined Kentucky Fried Theatre (Kentucky Fried Movie, Airplane, Police Squad). He then went on to write and produce several network series including The Carol Burnett Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Cher Show, Aaron Spelling’s Friends, Norman Lear’s Year at the Top, and Welcome Back Kotter. In addition, he has written over thirty network pilots.

Over the years Bo has created and executive produced shows for ABC, CBS, NBC, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Discovery, TLC, and HGTV. In the nineties Bo moved to Minneapolis, where he started his own creative production company focusing on humorous radio and television commercials and corporate communications. Bo has recorded, written, and produced over 1,000 radio commercials, winning several Cleo and Radio Best Awards. He has appeared as an actor on over 50 television shows, the latest being Law & Order and Third Watch. For the last five years he has been teaching a course in “Beginning writing for television,” at various writing and film centers in Minneapolis and across the country (via Zoom).  Bo is represented by Scott Kaufman at The Buchwald Agency (N.Y.C. & L.A.).

How the Online Course Works

After enrolling, you will receive a receipt plus a welcome email with course details including how to access the readings and materials. A day before the course begins, you will receive the Zoom link you will use to log on at the course’s start time (6:30 p.m. CST)

Writing Course Terms and Conditions