Lucy Thurber is a TV/Film Writer and OBIE Award-winning Playwright. She has written films and/or TV episodes for networks and streaming services including HBO, Amazon, AMC, Hulu and Starz. She is the author of fifteen plays, many of which have been produced and developed by theaters such as MCC, The Atlantic, Labyrinth, Berkeley Rep, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, among many others. Lucy has been commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, CATF, Williamstown Theatre Festival and A.C.T. She is the recipient of Manhattan Theatre Club’s Playwriting Fellowship, the first Gary Bonasorte Memorial Prize for Playwriting, the Helen Merrill Award, a LILLY Award and an OBIE Award for The Hill Town Plays. Lucy was formerly the head of Graduate Playwriting at The New School. She has taught TV/Film writing classes for NYU/Tisch and Columbia University.
Click Here to enroll in Write A Pilot.
WRITE A PILOT with Lucy Thurber SUMMER 2025
WRITE A PILOT is an introductory class on the art and fundamentals of writing for contemporary television. Over the course of six weeks we will cover skills on how to develop an idea for television, how to pitch a TV series, and how to execute the three major tasks of the TV writer: composing a beat sheet, creating an outline and writing the first draft of a pilot episode. By the conclusion of our six week intensive, each student will be well on their way to writing an original pilot script.
Students will learn both half-hour and full-hour TV formats, and gain a basic understanding of modern genres. We will watch several pilot episodes and analyze/breakdown why and how they work in group class sessions. We will engage with examples of beat sheets and outlines, and dive into the why’s and how’s of TV act structure. We will answer the question: what makes a successful A, B and C story line? In one-on-one sessions, students will meet with Lucy to discuss and receive feedback on their pitches, outlines and in-progress pilot drafts.
Classes begin the third week of July and conclude the third week of August. Six-week Breakdown: Weeks 1 & 2: Class meets virtually for three-hour group sessions once a week Week 3: Student engage in one-hour individual sessions with Lucy Weeks 4 & 5: Class meets virtually for three-hour group session once a week Week 6: Student engage in one-hour individual sessions with Lucy
A total of 10 students will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. The writers will be broken into two sections (Group A & Group B), meeting once a week respectively to guarantee each writer receives the time and space needed to develop their script. There will be two options for sessions offered:
Group A meets Sundays 1-4pm EST: beginning Sunday, July 13, until Sunday, August 17 Group B meets Mondays, 7-10pm EST: beginning Monday, July 14, until Monday, August 18 *One-on-one sessions (Weeks 3 and 6) will be scheduled during and outside of regular class times, based on student availability.
Note: there is some flexibility depending on student schedules. i.e. if you are Group B but need to jump into Group A’s zoom session one week due to a conflict, that is completely fine.
The fee for this six-week intensive course is $144 per class, $864 in total. This includes four group classes and two one-on-one sessions. Half the fee ($432) is due by the start of classes. The second payment of $432 is due at the beginning of Week 4.
To enroll, please fill out this Google form by 11:00am EST on Saturday, July 12.
*Information on flexible payment plan options is available on the Google form. For any questions, please contact: worshamthurberllc@gmail.com