How long should a 30 minute television script be?

by heanster

Question by BohmaJ: How long should a 30 minute television script be?

I am writing a script for a television pilot and I'm having a hard time getting a concept of its length. I looked at scripts from shows like Seinfeld and Friends, but those scripts range anywhere from 13 pages to 25 (when copied and pasted into Final Draft).

Does anyone have any experience with this topic that can give me a better idea about how long a script should be?




Best answer:

Answer by Chris
yes, it is supposed to be at least 20 pages, each page is a minute of screen time. So, if you have a 20 page script, you will have a 20 minute show. You also have to consider commercial breaks, because when you include commercial breaks with the script, it will be 30 minutes.

So, it would be 20-22 pages long.

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