FÍS TV Summit 2025
Lights, camera, pitch!
This year, my dark comedy TV Series ‘Surviving 22’ was one of Six projects selected for the annual FÍS TV Summit Pitching Competition in Galway thanks to Ardan and The National Talent Academies. Producer Rachael O’Kane and myself were chosen to pitch our show as finalists live on stage during the closing event of the Summit (no pressure!)
Each year Ardan and the NTA put together a brilliant programme for the Summit, featuring leading voices from Ireland, the UK and beyond, discussing all things TV, the industry, challenges and opportunities. Last year I had a ticket to attend the Summit but had to cancel last minute, so this year I was delighted to attend as a participant.
To help us prepare to pitch, all of us pitching had several group workshops at first via Zoom with Screenwriter Michael Zam, and then in person workshops with Michael and fellow participants in person in Galway also. This was an intense but priceless experience.
As a writer I’m fortunate to have a team on board with me for S22, but even then we are so close to the project and script that sometimes it’s hard to read a new draft of the script from a fresh perspective. Getting the chance to pitch, re-write and re-pitch the story to not just Michael but the other participants provided invaluable feedback and story notes, which resulted in our pitch on the day being altered (in the best way) and we have even implemented that feedback into our script since.
We had a tech rehearsal on the stage the night before the pitch, to get familiar with the mic and positioning. We then did a full run through of all the pitches with the tech on stage, which was great as it just helped to get a feel for the space beforehand.
The actual pitch day arrived, and as a result of the above I think we all felt prepared and ready to go, although we had a long wait as we were the closing event, the pitching didn’t start until about 4.45pm!
Tonally, Surviving 22 is a comedy but dealing with serious issues. Presenting a project like this on stage in a public space was really going to be a test run for how an audience might receive it, and I was a bit nervous about how that might go - thankfully people laughed. Which might seem like a simple thing to say - but as a writer of a comedy show, if it’s not funny you have fallen at the first hurdle! So from the get go that was a relief as the audience were reactive and giving the exact energy we were hoping for.
We then dialled back the comedy and went into the personal reasons for making a show like this dealing with serious topics and themes, and then tied in the comedy at the end again, and it really worked. We had a brilliant response from the audience. So many people came up to us afterwards engaging in the topics, subject matter, characters and some even shared their own personal stories with us. There was a networking event on in the bar afterwards, when I was ordering a drink, two people had their backs to me and were discussing my show in depth talking about the plot and the characters.
I think the ultimate goal for any writer is to write something that connects with people, so that was a special moment, and will stay with me.
A huge thank you to Ardan, The National Talent Academy, Kenny & Eibh for looking after us so well, screenwriter Michael Zam for the brilliant story notes, passion and time, and last but not least, the other finalists. It was a joy to listen to your projects, learn from you and watch everybodys pitches.
I’m excited to see everyone’s projects come to life on screen.