Erika Kennair: The Comedy Pitch

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Swimming in the TV executive pool, Erika is one of those execs that’s in a league of her own. She’s smart, sassy, and passionate. Oh, and funny. She is indeed funny.

The conversation below took place while she was working at ABC in the comedy department, but she’s currently President of Production at Extracurricular, working with Malala Yousafzai in an overall deal with Apple TV+.

I’m not gonna lie. I’m a bit jealous that she gets to work with such an incredible human being. I mean… who wouldn’t be?

RS: I wanted to start with a story that ran in many circles around town years ago. It sort of became an urban legend. It involved a network, a comedy executive and a writer. (No, they don’t go into a bar or try to screw in a lightbulb.)

So, a writer is pitching to an executive and he stops mid-way through. The executive says, “why did you stop?” And he says, “is everything ok? Am I doing ok?” and she says, “yeah, you’re doing great” and he replies, “well, you might want to tell that to your face.”

RS/EK: Whoaaaaa.

RS: Right? But for me, it’s a very telling story, whether it’s true or not, because it goes to show you that the temperature in any given room is crucial. The writer probably did not sell that project –

EK: Well, it depends on how big the executives guilt complex was…

RS: In a comedy pitch, executives are expected to laugh, but they’re hearing hundreds and hundreds of pitches for several months at a time and more times than not, most are not funny. To be honest, most probably don’t hit the mark on many levels. Having said that, all creatives walking into those rooms deserve some warmth and not a stone cold blank look being fired back at them.

(But I digress)

Moving On… How much content should go into the official pitch? I love writers to know their characters and their world, but at what point is it too much?

EK: I think that the standard rule – what do they say? 20 minutes? I think that’s fair. I think as far as the content itself, you know the points you’re hitting, right? You’re hitting your characters, you’re hitting your pilot, you’re hitting your world and those dynamics, I think it’s about getting the dynamics of the characters out, where the conflicts gonna come from because especially in comedy we’re looking for where those character conflicts are coming from. I think limit yourself to maybe two to three examples of each person’s personality, that’s where a lot of the overflow comes from.

RS: Where is that fine line between I need to know more about the characters or wow, I know their whole life story now?

EK: I think it’s about making me feel like I know you know them. Faith that I know you know where these characters are going. Like, I was not in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine pitch, but one of things that always gets back to you was that Die Hard inspired him to be a cop. And so he’s looking for that Yippee Ki Yay and that tells you a lot – that little nugget about that character is super fun because you know that every situation he’s going into is informed by that Yippee Ki Yay.

On how much to pitch when it comes to your Character(s):

It’s about making me feel like I know you know them.

The fact that also his dad was never there and he was looking out for his mom, you get that it’s not just about the fun, there is a real desire to protect. So, those two tidbits about the character together, inform a lot about who you’re getting and tells you where stories are going to come from because you get that he’s looking to have fun, but that he’s always going to look out for the best interest of people and he’s always going to save people.

RS: How many pitches do you buy on average?

EK: Between 50-60.

RS: And of those 50 to 60, how many of those go to pilot?

EK: 10. 10-12.

RS: Is it hard to listen to your gut?

EK: No. (Laughs). I’m really blessed because my group is really supportive and collaborative. We have very different tastes… but we all respect each other and having different perspectives is really helpful.

RS: Yes, because comedy is very subjective…

EK: Yeah… Yeah it is, because I’ve been in work environments when it is hard to trust your gut because your gut could get you fired, but at ABC, bottom to top there’s not that fear based.

RS: In regard to the best pitch you’ve heard, what do you think the writer provided that others did not… besides the funny, what do you think the rare ingredient was that set them a part?

EK: A pitch that really blew me away, bought it in the room with no question, which is not usually something that happens. This pitch was as moving as it was hysterical. The characters were all super fleshed out… at the end of it I was like she should teach a class on pitching because she just nailed the pitch.

RS: What was it about it that she nailed? I want specifics!

EK: Everything. It was the perfect amount of time and thought distribution to each character to each situation. When she pitched out the characters (this was a big thing), when she pitched out the characters, a lot of what she did was talk about their arc (because I think a lot of the time people tell you who the person is, but not where they’re going) and she gave a really nice sense of here’s who this person is now and here’s who they’ll be by the end of the series. It was kind of Wizard of Oz, is how I would describe the pitch because (for example) here’s Dorothy, she described her really well and you saw where she was going… and then you picked up the Tin Man, and you saw how the Tin Man affected her and how she and he would grow.

Have a sense of who your main character is now and who they’ll be by the end of the series.

We saw how the next person … and so it was like every time she talked about a new character it was how that character was going to inform the main character. So, it was like she was collecting these people along the way and it was just really lovely because you got where they were going, and where she was going and how they were all gonna affect each other.

RS: Do you like when they infuse dialogue within the character descriptions?

EK: Yeah. If you can give a quote that is, “Oh, that’s super funny, I’ve never heard that before.” If you can say this happened and this is how she would react and you see how different it is, it’s a nice, quick shorthand.

RS: Do you have any pet-peeves?

EK: Sure. When studios, agents, producers, when they stare at us, when we’re hearing the pitch and when their stare becomes more powerful than the pitch.

From a writer perspective, a big pet-peeve is the desperate, “I’ll make it anything you need it to be” – like if I have a question, it’s “well, whatever you want the answer to be” it’s then no, you don’t have an opinion then. You want to know that they have a strong POV.

On Pet-Peeves:

A big pet-peeve is the desperate, “I’ll make it anything you need it to be… it’s then no, you don’t have an opinion then. You want to know they have a strong POV.

Worth Repeating: Have a strong POV

The weirdest pitch I ever heard was, a guy came into my office, literally like old school Tom Cruise style, bounced on my sofa, like was, “ba, ba, ba, ba ba…” sort of talked a little about what the show was (I guess) and then left.

RS: Ok. Last Question. What’s a saying or word as an executive that you’ve heard being overused or you’ve overused yourself?

EK: Outline-itis. “Maybe it’s a case of outline-itis. Maybe once you get to script I’ll get it. This could be a case of outline-itis, but I don’t think your main character has a through line.” The other one I never get is like, “bananas on bananas.” Or “chocolate on chocolate” ’cause both scenarios are delicious and I don’t see how they’re a problem. But like when you’re overusing something, they’re like, “oh, it might be bananas on bananas, but…. delicious.” Maybe it should be, “this is liverwurst on liverwurst.”

So… here are the takeaways:

– Don’t get sidelined with too much small talk: Be charming and cordial, but then dive right in. You have about 20 minutes to knock their socks off.

– Character conflicts = comedy gold: Be specific in where those conflicts come from. Know what you’re pitching and be secure in that vision. Don’t ever say, “I’ll make it whatever you want it to be!” Executives can smell desperation a mile away.

– And lastly, make sure the pitch is equal parts touching as it is funny: Look for that emotional connection.

And there you have it. Wise words from the extraordinary Erika Kennair.

For more on Erika, her most recent interview with Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2022/10/20/innovative-encouragement-with-executive-erika-kennair/?sh=4903937f7b83

And on comedy pitching, you might also enjoy: https://rebecca-stay.com/tv-executive-wendy-steinhoff-comedy-development-in-a-nutshell

Bio:

Erika is President of Production at Extracurricular, working with Malala Yousafzai in an overall deal with Apple. She most recently was Senior Vice President, Development, at Berlanti Productions, overseeing the procurement and development of new scripted and unscripted series for both network and cable/streaming. She produced Golden Globe Critics Choice, PGA, DGA and SAG nominated, “The Flight Attendant” for HBO Max (Which she was nominated for a PGA Award for), “You” for Netflix and “The Powerpuff Girls” for CW. She recently oversaw “Helter Skelter” for Epix, “Prodigal Son” for FOX and “Batwoman” for CW. Next up she has “The Girls on the Bus” for Netflix, “Spoonbenders” for Showtime, “For Your Own Good” and “Dead Boy Detective Agency” for HBO Max, as well as many yet to be announced projects.