For an emerging television writer, management is usually the best first target rather than trying to jump straight to a major agency. A credible manager can make a submission “solicited,” help package a project, and get it in front of producers without the usual unsolicited-material problem.
Here’s a practical list, roughly in order of usefulness to an emerging writer:
Zero Gravity Management — first-wave target. This is probably the cleanest combination of real Hollywood credibility and an actual open door. They represent screenwriters and directors in film and television and explicitly accept email queries. Their official instructions say to put the logline in the body, send no attachments, and expect a response only if they are interested.
Why query them: They are established enough that an introduction from them means something, but unlike the giant agencies, an unrepresented writer can legitimately approach them directly.
Energy Entertainment / Brooklyn Weaver — first-wave target. Energy describes itself as a literary management and production company that discovers new writing voices, packages projects with established producers, directors, and talent, and works with agency partners and buyers. Its official site provides a query route for unrepresented writers, although it does not accept unsolicited scripts themselves.
Why it stands out: This is closer to what many emerging writers actually need than simply getting an agent. A strong manager can recognize a project and know which producers, companies, or buyers may respond to it.
Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment — strong target. This is a serious literary-management company with television writers on its roster. Current industry listings indicate that submissions are accepted by email rather than by phone or drop-off.
Best fit: Particularly worth considering for writers working in character-driven television and comedy rather than companies focused overwhelmingly on horror, action, or genre features.
Bellevue Productions — high-quality target, but do not blindly send a script. Bellevue describes itself as focused on discovering and breaking new writers and writer-directors in film and television. Its clients have worked for Fox, Hulu, Netflix, Sony, and numerous network series. Its management roster includes John Zaozirny, Jeff Portnoy, Kate Sharp, Zack Zucker, and Maddy Weese.
The company publishes a general inquiry route, but its public contact page does not currently state that unsolicited screenplays should be sent. Query first and wait for permission.
Fit: Bellevue has a strong reputation. Although much of its feature work leans commercial and genre-oriented, its television clients have credits on comedy and character-driven series as well.
Night Drive Management — accessible boutique target. Current submission tracking indicates that it accepts email queries from unrepresented writers and directors. A smaller management company can sometimes offer a better chance of getting material in front of an actual decision-maker.
The tradeoff is that the company name itself may open fewer doors than a larger management firm, although an individual manager’s relationships can matter more than the logo.
Buchwald — good agency target once there is some heat. Buchwald has dedicated Literary/IP, television, film, and comedy operations and is a legitimate full-service agency. It is also part of the WGA agency ecosystem.
Do not send a screenplay unsolicited. A manager calling Buchwald and recommending a writer is dramatically stronger than a cold email to a general inbox.
Kaplan Stahler Agency — excellent television agency, but primarily a referral target. The agency represents television writers, producers, and directors and has a deep television-literary bench. Its current policy states that it does not accept unsolicited submissions.
A manager, producer, attorney, fellowship connection, or established writer can provide the kind of referral that changes the equation.
Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston (RBEL) — excellent second-stage target. RBEL represents screenwriters and television writers and is WGA affiliated, but its current policy is referral-only.
This is precisely the kind of agency where a credible manager or producer recommending a writer can matter substantially.
Gersh — highly recognizable, but not a cold-query target. Gersh’s official policy expressly rejects unsolicited material or ideas, including material sent electronically or through social media.
It becomes relevant after a writer has a referral, manager, producer attachment, or other professional connection.
Brillstein Entertainment Partners — strong stretch management target. Brillstein is an established representation and production company with substantial television relationships. It is better treated as a warm-introduction target than as a company to approach blindly.
Donaldson Callif Perez — a serious entertainment-law option for an emerging creator. The firm represents independent producers and production companies in film and television development, financing, production, distribution, and intellectual property matters. Its attorneys also represent writers and prominent production companies.
Hire entertainment counsel because legal representation is genuinely needed—not because paying a lawyer is expected to purchase an introduction.
Heavyweight entertainment-law firms: Hansen Jacobson; Jackoway Austen; Morris Yorn; Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; and Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman.
These are firms whose names are immediately recognizable within the entertainment industry. They regularly represent major writers, actors, producers, directors, and production companies.
They are not realistically a simple paid forwarding service for an unknown writer’s screenplay. Their value is legal counsel, negotiation, dealmaking, and established professional relationships.
Manager → producer/showrunner introduction = normal business.
Agent → producer/studio introduction = normal business.
Entertainment attorney → introduction when there is already a credible professional relationship = normal business.
Unknown writer pays a famous lawyer simply to forward a screenplay = generally not how the system works.
Do not shotgun a script to 100 companies at once. That risks burning through potential targets before the pitch has been tested and refined.
A better approach is an initial campaign of roughly 10–15 carefully selected managers, beginning with companies that openly accept queries and then moving toward more selective firms through referrals.
Send only what each company’s submission rules permit. A query should sell the writer, the premise, the tone, and the series engine rather than recount the entire pilot.
Before querying, an emerging television writer should ideally have:
The second writing sample matters. If a manager likes the first pilot, one of the next questions may be, “What else has this writer written?” A second finished script demonstrates that the first project was not a one-off.
For most emerging writers, the shortest realistic path into serious development conversations is:
writer → credible literary manager → agency and producer relationships → legitimate submission to established producers, studios, or networks.
That route does not guarantee a sale, but it is a real professional pathway and avoids many of the legal and procedural problems surrounding unsolicited submissions.
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