According to one Hollywood agency’s stats so far this year, 33 comedy pilots have been picked up by CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX. Only 3 are written by women. And 36 drama pilots have been picked up by CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox. Only 6 are written by women. This is being called “the worst year in a decade” for female writers and showrunners. “‘Created By’ is a credit where the money and power is — and women are being denied it,” one source keeping track tells me. “Nina Tassler, Les Moonves, Christina Davis, Steve McPherson, Susanne Patmore, Channing Dungey, Angela Bromstead, Kevin Reilly, Peter Rice need to comment on why they all gave women the sack this year.”
Worst Network Pilot Season For Women?
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It’s sad that you didn’t mention Dawn Ostroff considering the fact that The CW is a broadcast network. Having said that, I don’t think that network executives are blacklisting females. They simply aren’t ordering female written pilots because they aren’t good.
Wesley, you’re just playin’ right?
“female written pilots because they aren’t good.” That is the most oft quoted line for any type of both racism and sexism. One should look at the prevailing trends. Is it that the recent influence of the movie targeted at the young male audience has finally found it’s way into the small screen. TV was where you could go for great divergent and unique drama is that all changing. A medium focused on those ignored by the big screen, this is a big question to be dealt with, thanks Deadline for bringing this to everyone’s attention.
Wesley, have you actually READ any of the pilots written by women? Have you read ALL of them? Because if you haven’t, you need to shut up. Do you even work in television? Somehow I highly doubt it.
Dawn picked up one female scripted pilot by Amy Sherman Palladino this season. Last year she picked up two. Considering the few pilots CW makes that is a much better track record than ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.
FX, USA, HBO, LIFETIME have no pilots scripts picked up to production by women. So cable sucks too.
Come on, Wesley…WTF does that mean?! You aren’t tired of the same crap that CBS puts on every year?? ABC’s pickups look like McPherson was trying to imitate Moonves….
OMG…if you actually believe that, you are a sick one.
In my five years as an assistant for two multiple Emmy-winning male show-runners, here’s just a small sampling of the general bias: not a single writer recommended by the studio to staff our shows was EVER female. The buckslip always said things like “all young guys.” UTA once called to say writer so-and-so, who was heading over for a meeting with my bosses “is in a wheelchair — is that okay?” One of my bosses said no, but she had already arrived. Later he told me if there had been a back door, he would have taken it. Another time, an agent called to say writer so-and-so is African American. Is that okay? Again, the answer was no. I will never understand why white male writers feel so threatened by the rest of us, but then again, I don’t quite get the Taliban either.
Holy shit.
And this is why TV sucks.
Blame it on the internet and video games all you want. But the white men in this town are deathly afraid of people finding out that most of them don’t have any talent and they will let the business crumble into dust before they will ever stop.
There is so much unconscious bias against women in Hollywood, it’s astonishing. Of the few female-written shows that were picked up, I bet most have female leads. This is because of the absurd belief that women can only write women while men can write men and women.
Ummmmmm, is it possible the pilots were just bad? Women want equal opportunity, but then if you don’t give them bonus points, they complain. Do me a favor. Compile a list… Of the top series of all time…or of the last year… which were written by women. Comparing the series that are written by women, I believe the ratio is about the same for the new pilots here. It’s not bias, it’s mathematics!
What is the ratio of male/women writers for TV series? Probably at least 3/1. Now tell me, how many pilots TOTAL were submitted by women? What if out of 100 pilots submitted, 15 were by women, and 9 of them made it? That’s 60%. While the remaining 85 submitted by men, around 70%… Considering how many more men there are writing then women, seems women have a much higher percentage of shows being passed. Seems the biased is reversed.
NOW…One more statistic. Search google for demographics of shows… Shows written by men have higher viewings OF women then shows written BY women. … I won’t even go into movies… Gender, race or religion…you are only limited by yourself. “People who put all their effort into achieving their dreams have no time to complain that life is unfair.” – ME
“Gender, race or religion…you are only limited by yourself.”
Agreed. Though to not acknowledge that it is harder for some genders, races, and religions to succeed is to wear blinders. The folks with the resources *identify* with those who are like them, more often than not. The identification has to be there to get the green light. I don’t think there is a conscious effort to hold certain groups back. But I do think, on a human level, it is easier to “groom” those like you for success, because you identify with them. Perhaps you remember your own struggle when you were coming of rank, or the person reminds you of “you” ten years ago.
I’ve seen it happen. I have seen certain groups being taken under wings because they are “sons of” or potential “sons of” etc. They are set up to succeed, given access to the inside track. However, I am not saying that those groomed horses won’t get trampled on the track, if they don’t work their balls off, too, to become more than a “son of.”
But, personally, I don’t create from the point of view of gender or race or religion. I try to create great stories. And I engorge myself on the human experience, so that I can identify with genders/races/religions, other than my own.
However, I’m still drawn towards portraying areas of experience where there’s a deficit. But striking a balance between the unprecedented and areas of precedence is key, in order to align with the culture of reducing risk. I think this is why women aren’t given the opportunities sometimes … all forms of risk are to be avoided because of the high stakes. Women are seen as risky, since more men have the track records. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.
And the elephant in the room is that the industry is built on relationships. How men relate to women, on all levels and facets of the business, figures into the cold, hard figures of who’s producing what. There are lifetimes of embedded thought-patterns and centuries of etiquette and behaviors, all fueled by base fears and desires, that must be combated in order to change these figures. But we’re getting there, project by project, person by person.
When people want to deny racism they say the business is about money. when they want to defend racism, then say it’s built on relationships.
You may be anonymous but you’re no genius.
EXCELLENT observation. I’m a black, female writer. Let’s begin there. Your post identified the repetitive cycle that is and forever will be hiring in Hollywood until minds are renewed and acceptance becomes a practice not just a theory. Thank you, Anonymous Genius. I would work with you anyday.
What’s absured is how men write women – not realistic. Women prefer to write about women, because we like to watch other women onscreen and on television. Not more men doing the same stupid things.
The ABC pick ups are all male writers in one hour except for Shonda. Betsy Beers pilot written by Jenna Bans.
The ABC loglines are hilariously terrible. “Beautiful female detective”– of course that is written by a team of guys. Networks believe women can’t write men. But men can write women. Do we only need cop shows? Or people with “special powers” in the mix?
CBS is all male writers except one female written script they have been developing to death for years in one hour.
“Of the few female-written shows that were picked up, I bet most have female leads.”
If this changes in the next few years, we’ll hear complaints that most women-written shows have male leads, and this is because of the absurd belief that audiences don’t like female protagonists. For my money, I’ll be happy if women have the chance to work on quality shows. But if the shows aren’t quality, they won’t get picked up. Glad to see that “Ryan” and “Harley” (below) agree.
Backlash, is that the belief? Isn’t Mad Men largely written by women?
Mad Men is written by Matt. Haven’t you seen how he takes credit on every single script. It’s repulsive.
Or maybe simply they have a female lead because that’s the primary point of view they want to portray.
Enough of this affirmative action diversity moaning and groaning…Women did not write great pilots…
and that is that…you have all women in comedy development…Trilling,favlvey,etc….That is what is wrong with our country…You are trying to legislate instead of accomplish…forced diversity is like forced busing…whoever does the best project wins….
Yeah, women suck like that. I mean, pretty much every great writer up until the 20th century was male. All the world’s most famous scientists and philosophers are male. What’s wrong with those women, anyway?
That’s just the way the world works. The smart, talented, motivated people succeed, and the lazy, dumb, unoriginal people fail. People like Kevin, Paris Hilton, and George W. Bush. These people aren’t famous because of their connections. No, they EARNED their success. I’m sure you yourself are an example of that, aren’t you, Stanley? What are you, like, mayor of your town? Published author? Multiplatinum selling musician?
Just as its clear that every show that makes its way onto TV does so because it’s high-quality, insightful, funny, compelling, or loved by millions. “Ghost Whisperer” is on TV because it DESERVES to be there. People have no tolerance for crappy television.
Did you have to bring in George W. Bush? Come ON! Now someone is going to say that it is his fault…..
It appears that the people who are commenting that these women written scripts were rejected because they weren’t that good, NOT because women can’t write. There are several 100’s, 1000’s of good writers out there, male and female. As a business, they have to pickup what is going to increase ad revenue. Have you seen the stories lately? CBS New laying off people and the such? It is not just on comment that pilots are rejected. They are rejected on Plot and plausibilty. If they need to fill a family slot, they are not going to pick up a show that is sexually charged, because – their advertisers will not like it, why, because the advertisees will complain to the advertisers and threaten boycotts, and then the advertiser, will pull their ads from the station, and go somewhere else, because it’s always better to appease your customer, rather than a TV station. One brings money in, and one takes money out. So there may have been several great pilots written by women, but were not right for the time slot/advertiser.
It’s not a consipiracy, its business – what makes money will be used, not what is artistic, or intelligent, or anything else. I would be fearful too if I were these executives. Some of their careers are hanging on by threads due to the impact of Cable TV and the Internet.
I guess this is the question I would ask you,
If you asked Johnny and Alice to give you an red delicious apple, and Alice comes back with a washington apple, and Johnny has a red delicious apple – which one would you take if you could only take one?
It’s about the $$$
Why not put the blame where it belongs? Square in the hands of the biggest showrunners in town. If D. Kelley, Steve Levitan, and all the others wrote show for female leads the nets would buy them.
its sad that women aren’t as funny as men when it comes to writing. perhaps for us less educated on the subject, can you name some successful shows in the past created / written by women?
“It’s sad that women aren’t as funny as men.” You’re an imbecile and a sexist. You should tell your mother to get her money back and mark yourself return to sender.
Wait… you’re saying that Hollywood is mysogynistic? But what about all the bikini-clad botoxed and implanted role-models that are presented to America every day?
Hmm…seems like 4 of the 9 people mentioned are women. Those darn women, keeping the female writers down.
I’ve not heard of this “absurd belief” you mention, but could it be that the people that deserved to have their material on screen this past year just happened to be male. I fail to see why everything in our society has to be a competition between races and sexes. I’m certain that the male writers didn’t put pen to paper thinking about this…but call me biased. I have a penis.
While I’m on this topic, let me also point out a trend I’ve been seeing which should go some distance in explaining the writing trend — the Alpha Male is back in fashion (and overdue). Reference: Mad Men, Human Target immediately come to mind. Check the writing rosters on those two shows. I want to read the scripts of females writing alpha male roles. I’ll judge for myself if it’s pulled off well or not. Could it be more difficult for a female writer to get the correct nuance when dealing with very masculine lead characters? That’s a good question, I think. Maybe it’ll spark healthy debate. If the current trends continue towards rugged, masculine lead roles in TV series and movies (i.e. The recent James Bond restart), I’m going to guess that the male writers will continue to have the advantage with producers.
Mad Men’s writing staff is mostly women, brainiac.
except it’s obvious to everyone but you that Weiner rewrites all their submissions
John LaTemple, if you think “alpha male” is the point of MAD MEN, it’s brilliance is wasted on you.
What’s sad is that most female characters are written unrealistically, but they’re so common that most people don’t even recognize it.
It couldn’t possibly be that their shows weren’t good enough to make the cut, could it? No, it’s got to be some misogynistic conspiracy.
Forget numbers, bias’, race and all the discrimination out there. The industry as a whole is hurting and executives are looking for the best product to be released.
And how many shows for women are they making? First movies cater to men, now TV. Maybe someone should remind them that it’s women who watch. Make your shows for women people.
Well, not being funny there ARE some fantastic female writers out there, but maybe its just a case of the pilots not being any good, in which case this isn’t really news.
I don’t care who writes them, I care what they’re about. Where are the shows about smart, independent women? From Lucy, to That Girl, to Mary Tyler Moore, to Maude. Where are the shows designed around FEMALE STARS?
Lucy was a smart, independent woman?!
Thats a really empty statistic, a better (but harder to measure) statistic is how many shows written by women were turned down? Even more important but impossibly subjective is… how many of them sucked?
I really dont think theres any bias here, just not a lot of females creating shows
Women writers are amazing! There is one male writer that I do love though… Joss Whedon. He always fills his shows with strong female characters. He’s a total feminist. But yeah… this story is quite depressing.
I think the question is how many pitches were bought compared to how many actually are advancing to the pilot phase. Was the problem at the beginning or at the end?
The influence of women in Hollywood, and throughout the world of culture for that matter, may ebb and flow, but they will not be denied in the long term. They are here. They are very, very good. And I can’t wait to see their future unfold. I’m really tired myself of seeing male dominated plotlines. One thing that we are seeing more and more of is women roles demanding women no longer in their 20s, some even in their 50s and 60s. Take heart. They are here coming, and their here to say.
This article could be a bit misleading. How many pilots were rejected that were written by men and women? A percentage of accepted pilots would give a better perspective.
i.e. if men wrote 90 pilots and had 30 accepted, yet womem only wrote 8 and had 3 accepted then the tables would be turned…
Hmm. I don’t know. Call me naive, but I have a very hard time believing that in 2010, with the amount of money at stake on every side of the business, people are really making decisions based on gender. Now, the fact that there are less women in positions of power (due to the fact that gender issues were real 20 years ago, when the current crop of TV executives was starting out in the business) may have led to a lack of empathy by male executives towards female pitches — and they are less likely to respond to those shows. And sure, you can call this an “unconcious” bias.
But if a pitch or an idea, or a show is very good, I can’t imagine female writers just being “shut down’. At least for all of the people in my generation, I don’t know anyone whose decision making is based on gender or race consideration. The idea that great scripts or great ideas “fall through the cracks” is total BS. By and large, good projects get made. This is a concept perpetuated by big ego producers and writers who refuse to realize that most of the projects circulating around town are actually sub-par.
Like the previous poster said, it is possible that this season, the women projects just weren’t as good.
You have to have representation before you pitch. Ask the agencies if they are looking for female writers, especially ones who write against stereotype. Agents are looking for people they can “sell”, not necessarily the best writers. Because of the pervasive discrimination against women in the film and television industry, it’s much harder to “sell” a woman. They don’t let women in the door and then claim they’re not any good.
OK. The agent thing is a good point. But then again, there are more and more female agents. I am a male, and I don’t get the concept that female talent is harder to sell than male talent. The only difficult thing is that poeple sell talent based on talent’s track record, so, of course, there are less women with a track record at this point than there are male.
Imagine a room with 50 men and 50 women. They can each choose to watch a shoot-em-up action movie, or a “chick flick.” Both movies are gender-specific and equally terrible. How many women will choose to go to the action movie? How many men will choose to go to the chick flick? My guess is, a fair number of women will choose to go to the action movie, and very few men will go to the “chick flick.” Why is that?
Women have learned how to “play with the boys,” enjoy “male” aesthetics–but men don’t know how be comfortable enjoying “female” entertainment. So a TV show aimed at a “female” audience may be harder to sell, just because male producers are less likely to see what’s appealing in it. And god forbid you happen to be a female, trying to sell a woman-oriented show that isn’t a recognizable cliche–a (stereotypical) male producer just doesn’t know how to deal with it. That show is never going to make it on the air, even though it may be well written.
If you’ve read the pilots written by men this year you will know that sexism prevails because some of the “best” MEN turned in complete CRAP and got their stuff picked up.
“If you’ve read the pilots written by men this year you will know that sexism prevails because some of the “best” MEN turned in complete CRAP and got their stuff picked up.”
Yes, but was it just crap or was it CRAP THE NETWORKS COULD SELL TO THEIR AUDIENCE?”
There’s a difference.
Puh-leeeze this website is really turning into the whiners corner. Since most of the programming decisions are being made by women in this town and most television programming is being geared to women it is hard to cry bias against women. The decisions are simply based on what these women in charge think is good and what will garner the largest audience. Nothing more nothing less. I seriously doubt anybody gives a single thought to whether or not the creator is a man or a woman as long as the concept and the writing work well.
Why weren’t more female-written pilots picked up? Here’s a crazy theory — just spitballing…
…uh… because they sucked?
Nikki, with all due respect this is rediculous. I work everyday with TV creators, directors, etc.. and I’m pretty sure that networks don’t pick up shows based on the gender of the creators/writers… they just pick what they think are the best shows that will give them the highest ratings. This year was down for women, but there are going to be fluctuations from year to year.
Are there any stats on scripts written by people of color? I imagine those numbers are equally, if not more bleak.
Typical.
The sexism in Hollywood is so entrenched that many women in decision-making positions perpetuate the status quo. Rather than pay it forward, they instead hold on desperately to the notion that there are only a coveted few positions open to female directors, writers, showrunners, cinematographers, etc.
Here are some lovely quotes by some female execs, many who seem to forget that they themselves were once considered unqualified to run a studio. Hmmm…
Producer Laura Ziskin (“Spider-Man,” “As Good as It Gets”) tells the Washington Post 11/15/02: “It’s our dirty little secret: It’s a lifestyle issue. Why aren’t there more women directors? Because we want to have husbands and children and homes. A studio executive, a producer, these are jobs you can do with children. Directing is not conducive to that.”
DreamWorks Cochairman and CEO Stacey Snider’s -“there just isn’t a very wide pool of talent (regarding female directors) to choose from.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Amy Pascal concurs, “look at my summer slate. I don’t think there’s a woman who would’ve wanted to direct ‘Hancock’ or ‘Pineapple Express.'”
What really puts female directors behind the eight ball is that the film genres studios are most eager to make — rowdy guy comedies, horror and superhero films — are rarely of interest to women. “No one would dream of hiring Nora Ephron or Sofia Coppola for the new James Bond movie, but then again, why would they be interested?” says Terry Press, the veteran studio marketer.
Many women also believe that men are better suited, in terms of temperament, for the job of ordering around a crew every day. “Men just enjoy being in charge more,” says Polly Platt, a groundbreaking figure in Hollywood as a production designer (“The Last Picture Show”) and producer (“Broadcast News”). She remembers ex-husband Peter Bogdanovich arriving on the set of “Paper Moon” in a limousine, eager to make a big entrance. “Peter adored that stuff. But most of the women I know didn’t enjoy the perks of the job, like when you walk onto the set and everyone’s waiting for you to make a decision. Having 150 people all waiting to hear your answers to every question — most women would find that terrifying.”
So, my response? SUCK IT!
Here are some facts to consider before you group over 50% of the female population in one fat lump:
1. There are many female directors who would LOVE to direct an action or superhero or horror movie. A tent-pole movie, period.
2. Not every woman wants children, in fact many are happily child-free. And if they’re not – who cares? Many male directors have children, and it doesn’t seem to stop them.
3. Some of us enjoy leading – and ‘being in charge’ of a crew of 150 is NOT terrifying, it’s exhilarating.
4. Wow, not many talented female directors, huh? How many times is that bullshit going to be repeated?
Here’s the newsflash, kids – Women are just as talented and capable as men. Period. And I think Kathryn Bigelow’s Hurt Locker pretty much demonstrates that the coveted action genre is not just confined to the realm of the male director.
So once again, get your heads out of your asses, and get with the times. It is 2010 after all. Enough is enough.
thank you, thank you, thank you! very well put and well sourced.