A first-time TV series creator shares how he sold his show to Amazon and offers advice for how to break through in Hollywood
- David Weil, the creator of Amazon's "Hunters," sold the series to Amazon after another network passed on it when new leadership came in. It's the first TV show he's created.
- Weil wrote an 80-page series bible and a spec script five years ago for "Hunters" and wanted to be able to answer any question a potential buyer had about the series, he said.
- He said aspiring creators should always be writing. Now that "Hunters" is complete, he has a decade's worth of other material to sell.
- Writers should also flex their muscles in various genres to not get pigeonholed in a specific area, he said.
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David Weil, the creator of Amazon's new series "Hunters," fully conceived of the series five years ago with a spec script and an 80-page series bible. It's the first TV series he's created.
In television, a spec script is a script written without a buyer already attached with the intention of selling it and a series bible details the characters, ideas, and episodes of the show.
Weil told Business Insider that he wanted to have an answer for anything that would be asked about the series. In Weil's case, he detailed the entire first season and some ideas for future seasons (Amazon has yet to renew the series for a second season, but Weil said he has five seasons worth of ideas). He also knew how he wanted the show to end, he said.
"Any fear that a buyer would have I wanted to be able to address," Weil said. "I think for a show like this that was really important."
Weil's Al Pacino-starring series, about a group of Nazi-killing vigilantes in the 1970s US, didn't find the right network immediately. Weil said that one network was attached, but new leadership came in who "didn't really understand the show and was afraid of the show."
But when Jennifer Salke became the head of Amazon Studios in 2018, she immediately bought the series after Weil's agent sent her his script.
"She saw something really special in this piece, so Jordan [Peele] and I were so thrilled to call Amazon home," Weil said. "They've supported the vision. It was a long ride with ups and downs, but ultimately a wonderful result."
Jordan Peele, the Oscar-winning director "Get Out" and an executive producer on the series, was already attached to the project. Weil had met him because they shared an agent and they hit it off with conversations over their love of horror and genre filmmaking. Weil sent Peele his "Hunters" script in 2017 and Peele has been a "champion" ever since.
"He's pushed me to be bold and brave and just have confidence," Weil said. "He told me that people fearing the show was a good thing, so I leaned into that fear and that boldness."
He added: "People are afraid to make content about incredibly sensitive or difficult subject matter. I think the boldest storytellers are the ones who take that chance and risk ... The challenge will get a better result and make for a better show."
Weil's advice for aspiring TV creators
Weil said that the series bible was essential in selling "Hunters" because buyers look for a show that "can continue and is a business asset with legs that has a vision toward the future."
Weil added that the bible included his letter of personal intent that detailed why it was the right time to tell this story and why he should be the person to tell it.
He said aspiring creators should continue writing all the time, even if they haven't had anything made. He said that "Hunters" is the first thing he's written that has his name on it in "10-plus years."
"What has been wonderful in those 10 years is that I just kept writing and now I have a stockpile of material," Weil said. "Now that 'Hunters' is on, I can show that I have a pilot here and a screenplay there. I have a wealth of material, which is important for buyers and agents to see."
He added: "There's this horrible mantra in Hollywood that 'everyone has one good script in them.' But the mark of an employable writer or someone that an agent wants to represent is that they can continue to deliver."
Weil already has his next project set: an untitled sci-fi series for Apple that he is developing with "Dark Phoenix" director Simon Kinberg.
"I'd also suggest that people write in different genres and flex different muscles," Weil continued. "Show that you're not pigeonholed as one kind of creator or writer."
Read the full interview with "Hunters" creator David Weil:
- The creator of 'Hunters' caught the attention of Amazon and Jordan Peele with an 80-page series bible and enough ideas for 5 seasons