Studio21 script comp opens for entries!

The seventh edition of the Studio21 Drama Series Script Competition (#studio21scriptcomp – formerly the C21 Drama Series Script Competition) has opened for entries and Screen Yorkshire is working with partners to help find writing talent in Yorkshire!

We’re looking for a pilot script for an international drama that will appeal to audiences and co-producers worldwide. The competition connects emerging writers with the global content business, offering the winner a £10,000 development option and a unique opportunity to connect with the global drama business through C21Media’s Content London in December.

The winning project will be developed by Studio21, supported by an advisory board made up of the most creative showrunners and executives in the business. They include Chris Albrecht, who built HBO with shows like Sex & the City and The Sopranos, to Netflix’s 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 co-producer, 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 co-producers and commissioners worldwide.

From the pool of submissions, made between June 16 and October 1 this year, a shortlist of 21 scripts will be selected. From these, six finalists will be chosen to present their script to the global drama business at Content London 2021, or through the Content London digital initiative, whichever the world allows!

This audience includes key commissioners from digital platforms including Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, plus broadcasters from ABC, the BBC and Channel 4 to YLE, and ZDF, attending Content London.

Shortlisted entries will be announced on October 22, 2021, and the six finalists will be announced on October 29, 2021. 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! We are looking for original drama series with global appeal. Be part of the story.

Closing date for entries: 1 October 2021

To find out more and to enter visit: studio21.com/script

And to check out the submission guidelines and FAQs visit: studio21.com/terms-and-conditions

*There is and entry fee of £40 per submission to enter the Competition, to cover the cost of paying for independent readers to evaluate the submissions.

To say I’ve had an epic, exciting journey since my script, Parasomnia, won the Studio21 script competition in 2018 is something of an understatement! The Studio 21 team spent a lot of time helping me to hone my ideas and the script itself, to the point where it attracted serious attention. Parasomnia is now in development with one of the UK’s most respected production companies and a top US industry executive. The Studio21 team has been brilliant throughout. I can’t thank them enough.

Jan Smith, Creator, Parasomnia