Applications for the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator open April 1 as the program celebrates its first major success story: the sale of an alum’s project to a production company.
As part of Moonshot Initiative’s push to increase the representation of women and gender-expansive folks in writers’ rooms and on screen, six to eight selected fellows will have the opportunity to pitch their TV pilots to studios, production companies and representation including Netflix, Level Forward, Atlantic Pictures and Yes, Norman. The nonprofit will announce many more participating companies soon; past companies have included HBO, Warner Bros., Showtime, Hulu, Starz, Amazon Studios, Neon, Broadway Video and many more.
Already, one fellow has sold a project to a production company she met through Moonshot.
“Because of a connection made by the program, I was able to pitch to a production company — and sold an audio series,” said 2021 fellow Kate Torgovnick May. “When it came time to staff my mini writers’ room, I turned to the Moonshot Accelerator alumni group and was able to hire another alum into the room. It’s a lab that made me grow and develop as a leader, and that plugged me into a community I’ll continue to draw from throughout my career.”
That’s how the alum she hired, Alex Friedman, ended up with her first paid writing gig — “not to mention the 10 pitches I got to do for my own pilot with huge companies and streamers” as part of the Pilot Accelerator, she said.
Before pitching, fellows will receive three weeks of intensive training, during which they’ll learn directly from industry insiders, including a development executive, showrunner, agent, manager, speech coach and entertainment lawyer. The program will culminate with a week of pitching to studios, production companies, representatives and financiers that are looking for new material and/or new writers.
“Moonshot Initiative is clearly doing something right — they’re curating the best of the best and creating real momentum around these filmmakers, not just spotlighting talent but actively helping take them to the next level,” said Elissa Federoff, Chief Distribution Officer at NEON. “I was honestly blown away by the quality of the work. The projects felt relevant and hip, with a strong point of view and a real understanding of the audience. You could feel how fully thought-through each story was — not just creatively, but from the standpoint of what the marketplace actually wants, while still feeling completely authentic.”
The selected fellows will be vetted by Moonshot’s panel of industry judges — showrunners, series creators and high-level TV writers.
“Everyone involved benefits from this program: Studios and production companies are looking for untapped talent, and our fellows get an incredible opportunity to hone their pitches and meet people who can catapult their careers to the next level,” Moonshot Initiative co-founder and co-executive director Tracy Sayre said. “Ultimately, it’s viewers who benefit the most from more diverse storytelling on screen.”
Past participants have seen great success; in addition to the fellow who sold a show, many fellows have been staffed, gotten representation, become mentees to executive producers, and been hired in support staff positions. One 2023 fellow is now developing a feature with a producer she met during Pitch Week.
“We’re providing our Moonshot Pilot Accelerator fellows with direct access to decision-makers in the industry,” Moonshot co-founder and co-executive director Katrina Medoff said. “Our fellows are talented writers with strong, completed pilot scripts but no way to get pitch meetings. If we want to increase gender equity in television, we need to create real ways for these writers to break in.”
This year’s program also brings the support of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MoME), whose grant guarantees that at least one emerging TV writer selected to the highly competitive program is a New York City resident.
Applications are open April 1 through May 27, and applicants can submit their pilot scripts through Scrybe. For more information, visit Moonshot’s website.
Moonshot Initiative was founded by Sayre and Medoff in 2017 to promote gender equity behind the camera and on screen. The nonprofit organization is best known for its signature film challenge that has produced 41 short films with over 1,000 women and gender-expansive professional filmmakers. Moonshot Initiative also hosts networking events and offers virtual education opportunities.