What is a 'freelance writer'?

What is a 'freelance writer'?

A freelance writer is a writer who is not on the staff of a show, but is an outsider who has done one episode that is produced, or may not be produced. There was a time that freelance writers were abandoned, and because freelance opportunities were abandoned, staffs were small and show runners would bring in outside writers whose talent they liked, to do one or two episodes. That does not exist any more. Right now, anybody who is not on the staff and is writing for show, has been probably been invited to do that as an audition for staff.