Stage 32 8-Part Screenwriting Lab: Learn How to Write a Female Driven TV Pilot (September 2026)

Private, interactive lab on Zoom with Emmy-Winning TV Development Executive Colleen Labella

Get personalized one-on-one Zoom consultations plus expert feedback on your pilot script

10 spots available - ONLY 1 spot remains!

Payment plans available at checkout or email edu@stage32.com for more info!

If you have a female-driven TV story you’ve been wanting to write, this eight-week lab is designed to help you take YOUR idea from concept to completed pilot. In this lab, you’ll learn how to build your series from the ground up—from developing your premise, characters, and world to writing your one-pager, building your beat sheet, crafting an opening that pulls us in, and drafting your pilot act by act. You’ll also learn how to develop a lookbook and pitch deck so you can package and present YOUR series professionally.

There’s also a reason to be writing these stories now. In 2026, television continues to make room for complicated, unpredictable women, with series like His & Hers, Lucky, The Testaments, and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed exploring female ambition, power, survival, identity, and obsession in very different ways. Audiences aren’t just looking for another “strong female character”—they want women with contradictions, flaws, desires, and stories that feel specific and unexpected. This is your opportunity to develop the female-driven story only YOU can tell.

Your guide through the process is Colleen Labella, Vice President of Development and Production for Leslye Headland’s Shoot to Midnight, the production company behind the Emmy Award-winning Russian Doll. Colleen has read hundreds of scripts and worked with major players including FX, Hulu, Freeform, and Lucasfilm, produced Single Drunk Female, and served as a development executive on Star Wars: The Acolyte. You’ll learn directly from someone who knows what makes a television project stand out because she has spent her career developing and evaluating scripts.

Over eight weeks, you’ll move from your initial idea to a completed first draft, with one-on-one consultations with Colleen built into the process. You’ll study acclaimed female-driven pilots, apply what you learn directly to YOUR pages, and get guidance as you develop your story, structure, characters, and voice. You’ll walk away knowing how to build a stronger television engine, structure a compelling pilot, develop characters audiences will want to follow, and make your voice stand out—plus a completed first draft and the foundational materials to keep developing YOUR series.

This interactive Stage 32 lab is held live on Zoom and goes substantially more in depth than a Stage 32 webinar. As soon as you enroll, you’ll connect with Colleen by email and complete a questionnaire about YOUR goals and project. You’ll have access to her throughout the lab for questions about your craft and career, receive recordings of every session within 48 hours, and connect with fellow writers in a dedicated class lounge. You have the idea. Now give yourself eight weeks to turn it into the pilot only YOU can write.

PLUS! You will receive exclusive handouts of successful female-driven scripts including:

• Russian Dolls
• Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

TESTIMONIALS FROM COLLEEN'S PREVIOUS STAGE 32 EDUCATION:

"Being made aware of the shift in patterns of how women are being presented, learning about the popular themes and knowing I fit in, learning about the negative traps, seeing the five-act structure broken down gave me a clearer perspective to assess my development, learning what hooks her and different ways it can be done and what it includes (great)." -- Laurie W.

"Colleen Labella was fantastic! I cannot wait until she has pitch sessions available again!" - Maeve T. 

"Colleen was a fantastic instructor. The information she provided was practical, helpful, and encouraging." - David B.