Rebecca Windsor the Head Of the Warner Bros. Television Workshop which develops promising TV writers and directors for the industry. “It’s the talent pipeline where we can find the show runners of tomorrow.” She helped to launch Stage13 (Warner Bros’ now defunct short form digital brand), and worked at Sundance and Mandeville films.

She explains that the Warner Bros. Television Workshop is not a writing school. There is an expectation that writers have a solid grasp of TV writing. There are a few requirements to apply for the program starting with a spec script of an existing TV show.

“There is no such thing as a perfect script, but we have to feel the writer’s voice.” For instance, there may be structural issues with your script, or the ending fell flat, which are addressed in the programme. “A key element the workshop seeks is whether a writer has something to say in a way that we haven’t seen before.”

Rebecca Windsor adds, that the main focus of the workshop covers business aspects of the industry TV writers need to be successful. “We look at the soft skills… the things people don’t tell you.” TV writers require a definite collaborative character since writing TV shows is a communal writing experience.

The workshop currently accepts 8 – 10 applicants each year. They typically receive around 2500 applications per year and whittle them down to approximately 25 finalists. These finalists are invited to submit an additional original script. “After eliminating the more socially awkward, overly precious, interrupting, or opinionated writers who don’t read the room,” we invite the remaining writers for a short interview to get to know them as people. “This doesn’t mean rehashing your bio, or the Wikipedia version of life.”

Writers voice: What makes you, you? Why do you write the things you do?

Windsor asks writers about aspects of their lives that compel writers to write certain stories. “It has to be heart-felt. You need to know your writing, know yourself, and what you bring to the table. You need to be memorable because you’ll also need to impress a showrunner both as a colleague and a TV writer.”

Rebecca Windsor

The Warner Bros. Television Workshop is one of the few programmes that requires a spec script from a pre-approved list of existing TV shows as part of the submission process. Most programmes request an original script to evaluate a TV writer’s skill level. Despite some pushback, Rebecca Windsor stands by this policy.

To Spec Or Not To Spec

“A staff writer must write in the showrunner’s voice not their own. Any writer can write an original TV pilot, but capturing the tone of the show ensures this showrunner isn’t constantly rewriting them.”

Spec scripts also create a baseline against which the applicants writing can be assessed. Original scripts vary so wildly, it makes the evaluation process more difficult because a reader is more inclined to react in accordance with their own tastes.

A streamlined spec script approach also speeds up the reading process because the characters and their worlds are already established in existing TV shows so the readers aren’t spending too much time catching up.

Writing Your Personal Statement

Aside from submitting a spec script to the Warner Bros. Television Workshop, applicants are required to write a 2000 word compelling personal statement. Rebecca Windsor advises them to be “personal to you.” Generic, over-written, or attention-seeking statements generally don’t impress.

Many applicants discuss the personal challenges they went through as a child such as death, discrimination, or divorce. “Writers should discuss how these experiences influence them as a writer.” A tough childhood isn’t necessary for a strong personal statement.

Personal statements could include a spiritual, eye-opening cultural experience where they had an epiphany about their lives.

Applicants might discuss a film or television show that inspired them to become a writer. “Statements like ‘writing makes me feel less alone’, or ‘I feel more understood’ work well.”

The key is for writers to be honest and authentic with themselves rather than say what they think the workshop staff want to read.

“What can we learn about you as a person that makes us excited to want to work with you?” Rebecca said. “We know how you write, but we rely on these to know who you are.”

What Happens In The Workshop?

The lectures cover a variety of topics starting with a macro view of the workings of the television industry. “Broadcast studios make their money through deficit financing and working with networks and international sales agents.”

However, the majority of lectures are more creatively focused. “We have a pitching workshop and give feedback.” Workshop participants also take an improv class “to learn to think on their feet and not censor themselves.” This is especially important for younger writers who tend to be more self-conscious. “If something they say doesn’t land, they might beat themselves up for the rest of the day. We want to take that pressure off them.”

A working writer and a director discuss what happens when a writer is invited to set. “How do you interact with a director or cast member?” How do you navigate set rewrites?

Showrunner discuss the DOs and the DO NOT DOs of working in a writers’ room, specifically the things that make certain writers stand out, whether inadvertently or not.

There is a session on working in difficult writers’ rooms. “How do you navigate that? How do you find allies?” There are different levels of hostility and different personality types to deal with. “Some writers ignore it, some are too afraid to speak up, others rebel and quit.” Not all toxic environments are created equally. The more obvious forms include racist and sexist comments. “The more insidious forms of toxicity such as gaslighting are more nuanced and difficult to address.” Windsor advises TV writers in that situation to talk to their network or their reps if they have them. “If none of these options are available, find some joy outside your job to practise self-care.”

Speakers discuss different types of interviews such as a general interview with a studio executive or an interview for a staffing job with a showrunner. “How do you prepare for each?”

Finally, there are simulated writers’ rooms in the workshop with an invited showrunner. “They talk about certain structural elements in an episode. Why you want some things to be set up in Act 2 or why you want Act 3 to end in a certain way.”

Workshop participants even do group writing exercises. “Sometimes production schedules are under the gun and you have ‘Frankenstein’ scripts with different people writing each act that must read as a cohesive script.”

The workshop allows writers to further develop their submission script and also write a new spec script. Writers are also trained in the process of outlining which some don’t do. “If you can’t work out your story in a one-page outline, it’s not going to work in a script. If you have a blueprint, the spec script writes itself.”

Warner Bros. TV has historically been very broadcast-focused, but this trend is shifting toward cable and streaming subscription models. “The mindset for Warner Bros. is that if we love the material, we’ll find a home for it.” This change allows Warner Bros. to work with more “outside the box” writers they may not have considered previously since they cover both platforms. They have also set up projects with other services. “Streamers are more open to taking a chance with an outlier on a limited series.”

In conclusion, Rebecca Windsor recommends writers work on their versatility to boost their chances of succeeding as TV writers. Work on both your comedy and drama specs. “Writers should always have an openness to knowing what they don’t know. Learn to grow.“