The Studio21 2023 script competition opens for entries
The winning project will be developed by Studio21, supported by an advisory board made up of the most creative showrunners and television executives in the business including Chris Albrecht, who built HBO with shows like Sex and the City and The Sopranos to Netflix’ former head of international programming and a raft of leading showrunners who have created and run series from Criminal Minds to Rome, Shameless, Spooks, This Life and many more. Studio21 will connect the project with the right coproducer, platform, channel or partner.
Previous winners now have their shows in development with leading producers, and the raft of new writers and projects taken under the Studio21 wing is commanding the attention of coproducers and commissioners worldwide.
From the pool of submissions, made between 15 June 2023 and 13 September 2023, a shortlist of 21 scripts will be selected and from these six finalists will be chosen to present their script to the global drama business at Content London 2023, or through the Content London digital initiative, whichever the world allows!
This audience includes key commissioners from digital platforms including Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, to broadcasters from ABC, BBC and C4 to YLE, and ZDF, attending Content London. Shortlisted entries will be announced on 6 October 2023 and the six finalists will be announced on 13 October 2023.
The winning writer will receive £10,000 from Studio21 to option the project and acquire the script. Studio21 will further develop the project in association with the writer to take out internationally.
The Studio21 Drama Series Script Competition is produced in association with C21Media, Content London and Script Angel.
Each finalist will also receive a free consultancy session from Script Angel. Don’t miss this opportunity to get your script in front of the world’s drama community! Studio21 are looking for original drama series with global appeal. Be part of the story.
Key Dates
- The script competition is open for entries between 15 June 2023 and 13 September 2023, 23:59 GMT.
- The 21 shortlisted projects will be notified on 6 October 2023.
- The six finalists will be notified on 13 October 2023.
- The script competition final will be held at Content London on 27 November 2023.
How to apply
Submissions must consist of a pilot script in the English language (“the Script”) and a 1-4 page series treatment (“the Treatment”) plus a Reference from an industry professional. You can read the guidelines for this here.
Submissions must be made through the online submissions form which can be found by clicking here. Any Submissions submitted by email or by any other method shall be not accepted or considered for the Competition.
The script, the treatment and the reference comprise “the Submission”. You may only enter one project per submission. An Entrant’s Submission must be typed in English.
There is an entry fee (“the Entry Fee”) of £40 (forty British pounds) per Submission to enter the Competition, to be paid online via credit/debit card. The Entry Fee covers the cost of paying for independent readers to evaluate the Submissions.
Entrants should include their full name, email address, country of residence and contact information with their submission. The Promoters are not able to return an Entrant’s Submission once delivered to the Promoters for consideration.
If you are experiencing any issues with your submissions please email info@studio21.com
The deadline to submit your application is 13 September 2023, 23:59 GMT.