Announcing The 2015 Pilot Launch Winners!

We are excited to announce the winners and finalists of the 2015 ScreenCraft Pilot Launch TV Script Contest! Culled from over 1,500 submissions, Halcyon Falls by Jeff Bower has been named the Drama winner, Socio-Pam by Rowan Wheeler has been named the Comedy winner, and Celebration by Lindsay Golder has been named the Web Series winner.

In Halcyon Falls, a town struggles in the wake of a recent school shooting that threatens to tear the community apart even after the killer is stopped. It masterfully threads the needle between working gripping, topical issues and creating an organic storyline. The ensemble built in the pilot takes the reader on a journey of devastation, suspense, and hope, and the writing is appropriately intense and dramatic. 

Socio-Pam centers on a sociopathic woman who finds the perfect community in a sociopath fan club masquerading as a`support group. It's an uproariously funny project that features a unique and engaging cast of absurd social misfits. The jokes leap off the page and, coupled with the writer's strong comedic style, provide a hilarious and engaging narrative experience from start to finish. It doesn't pull any punches as it freshly showcases everyone's greatest--and most ridiculous--inner demons. 

Celebration tells the story of acerbic Minnesotans Arden and Tippy, best friends whose chaotic personal lives begin to bleed into their party planning business. Consistently funny and enjoyable, the lighthearted coming-of-age story subtly addresses social and relationship issues without being overtly critical or prescriptive. It blends unabashedly coarse, riotous dialogue with a healthy dose of heart and offers an appealingly modern female perspective on relationships and sexuality. 

The following pilots, listed in no particular order, were selected as the competition finalists:

DRAMA

Dead Drop by Nancy Duff

Evolution by Cara Winter

Testers by Julie Anne Wight

The Relief by Ross Denyer

The Shack by Martin Jay Weiss

Chosen by Sabrina C. Nouadir

Coldwater by Craig Berger

Sugar Land by R.B. Ripley

Toast by Anastazja Davis

COMEDY

Delivered by Scott C. Reynolds

Cupid's Arrow by Daniel Lawlor

Such A Drag by Jeremy Padow

Damaged Goods by Mishki Vaccaro

Champions by Rowan Wheeler

Evie by Tim Schildberger

Sketch by Dylan Visvikis

Snap Out Of It by Todd Zing

Tanked by Eric Leong and Bradford Hodgson

WEB SERIES

The Real Steal by Robert Axelrod (created by Natalia Ochoa, Andrew Webster)

All Those Women by Tina Cesa Ward

Strip by Tina Cesa Ward 

Born Stars by Andrew Ryan

Fat Ninja by Justin Giddings & Ryan Welsh

The Grass Is Always Greener by Meredith Post

Class A by Simon Schneider, Oliver Deacon and Charley Packham

Hang In There! by David Lawrance

Ice by Estella Gabriel

In addition to the ScreenCraft team, the judges included: Georgia Ranes, Executive Assistant to VP of Production at HBO; Ari Lubet, Manager at 3 Arts, the company behind such shows as ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, SILICON VALLEY, PARKS AND RECREATION, 30 ROCK, THE MINDY PROJECT, LOUIE, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, SAINT GEORGE and more; Ryan Mickels, Development Executive at Universal Cable Productions; and Taylor Benzie, manager at Kaplan/Perrone.

Grand prize winners Bower, Wheelan and Golder will receive cash prizes, consultations with the ScreenCraft team, and personal introductions via phone to top managers, agents and producers who specialize in drama and comedy TV development and production.

Congratulations to these winning writers and finalists, and thank you to our judges and to everyone who submitted projects; we read a number of remarkable screenplays. View the quarter-finalists and semifinalists here.