How does a drama series get on television?
Starting from the concept for it, a person with an idea for a TV show needs to create a proposal that would interest a production company with a qualified show runner. From that stage, the production company gets the studio on board to create a pitch that can be sent to a network or other outlet. Once it is pitched to a network, if they're interested, they commission a pilot to be written. The pilot is the key to ever going forward with the show. Once the pilot is delivered, you get a green light - or not - to production. Once the pilot is produced, executives decide whether or not this might qualify to be on the TV network schedule for the fall or something less than that. Part of this 2 year procedure is that once the pilot is picked up and gets a green light, gets a slot on the network schedule, the staff begin to actually make the show. A staff has to be assembled, and episodes for the future have to be written by the staff. This is long before anything is ever on the air for the public. This takes months of writing, and finally the TV drama debuts in possibly the fall, and only after several episodes are on do you know if the show is a success and whether it will even be able to complete its first season. If you look at the charts, you'll see how it's about 2 years from that first glimmer of a thought to knowing whether you have a show that's viable or not.
