….
It was an empty room just beside the conference room on LIE Studios' third floor, converted into what Darren was now calling 'the reading room'.
Regal stood before his three new hires of the Script Evaluation Team of Lie Studio–
Elara Vance as Team Leader
–while Kieran Thorne, and Jace Merritt taking the role of Team Managers.
Regal shifted his focus onto his [Insight] skill.
===
[Name:] Elara Vance
[Traits:] Perceptive, Methodical, Stoic
[Editor:] A+
[Unique Skill:] Structural Resonance (A passive instinctive 'feel' when a story's pacing is off or a beat is missing, allowing to pinpoint the exact page a script loses its way.)
===
Yep, that is exactly why she is the team leader. Regal nodded as he already knew other two also have talent in [Editor:] with B+, and B respectively.
Currently, the three of them are sitting somewhat nervously as Regal walks them through their actual responsibilities.
"Your job isn't to find the next masterpiece." Regal said, leaning against a desk. "It's to filter out everything that wastes my time."
Elara, the newly appointed lead, spoke first. "So we are looking for reasons to reject scripts?"
"That's one way to put it, but I prefer you think of it as looking for reasons a script deserves attention." Regal corrected. "Most submissions will be amateur work - formatting errors, basic logic gaps, no grasp of structure. Those get rejected within a week."
He pulled up the Tier System on the monitor:
….
TIER ONE: Automatic Pass
| Plagiarism, poor formatting, or incomprehensible logic.
Action: Form rejection; no notes.
TIER TWO: Competent but Unremarkable
| Technically sound but derivative; weak characters.
Action: Brief rejection with specific feedback.
TIER THREE: Shows Promise
| Strong voice or unique perspective with execution issues.
Action: Detailed notes; request for resubmission.
TIER FOUR: The Regal Standard
| Exceptional concept and commercial potential.
Action: Full report for Regal's immediate review.
….
Jace looked at the Tier One description. "Some of these are going to be pretty rough. It's easy to get frustrated reading these all day."
Regal's expression turned dead serious. He looked each of them in the eye.
"One rule you never break–
"No matter how bad a script is, never disrespect the writer. Do not judge them based on their appearance or their background. Treat them with the respect a human being deserves. We reject the work, not the person."
The room went quiet. The weight of his professionalism settled over them.
"Writing is hard." Regal continued. "Most people haven't put in the work yet, but they still had the guts to put their heart on paper. Keep your critiques professional and your conduct honorable."
Right then, Samantha entered carrying twenty scripts. "These are already screened for basic professionalism, not handwritten notes or spam. You are starting fresh."
Kieran picked up the first script, flipping through it. "When do you want the first evaluations?"
"Two weeks." Regal replied. "Read thoroughly, discuss with each other, and write clear notes. Elara will oversee the final consensus before anything reaches my desk."
….
As the readers began their work, Darren approached Regal in the hallway.
"You really think this will work? One percent reaching Tier Four?"
"It's better than random chance." Regal replied. "And word gets around. If writers know they get a fair shake here, the talent will start coming to us first."
Samantha checked her tablet. "Speaking of talent. NBC wants a meeting tomorrow. Whitebridge Studios is also circling now that they know we are involved with the Friends writers."
Regal nodded.
Undauntedly, without much hesitation he decided to invest in the show.
However, despite having already owned Netflix, he can't produce the whole show by himself.
This is still 2014, and the episode release of TV still matters, unlike in future they can directly release them on OTT platforms.
And he had no choice but to look for TV Channels that were prepared to give the slot.
"Set it up. Let's decide once we confirm who is actually serious…"
….
Later that evening, Regal met Marta and David at a coffee shop in Burbank.
"So." Marta said, settling into her chair. "We heard you are meeting with networks."
"NBC tomorrow, Whitebridge Studios on Thursday." Regal confirmed. "Any preferences?"
David exchanged a glance with Marta. "NBC has historically had better comedies. But Whitebridge Studios has deeper pockets."
"NBC also has Thursday night." Marta added. "That's the strongest comedy block on television. If Friends gets that slot..."
"It's also the most competitive." David countered. "If we don't perform immediately, we are dead."
Regal listened to them debate, noting how they worked - pushing each other, finding stronger arguments through disagreement.
"What matters most to you?" he asked. "Money, creative control, or the best chance at success?"
"All three." Marta said immediately. Then, more carefully: "But if we had to choose... creative control. We have been through development hell before. Notes that contradict each other, executives who don't understand the show. We need someone who trusts us."
"Then that's what we negotiate for." Regal said. "NBC gets first position because they know how to handle comedy, but we go in with clear terms. You run the show, they support it, not the other way around."
David looked relieved. "That's... exactly what we needed to hear."
"I am not interested in developing something that gets mangled in production." Regal explained. "Either we make the show properly, or we don't make it at all."
Marta smiled. "We did hear that you were straight forward…"
"And from where exactly?"
"Zephyr Siegel." David replied.
Regal blinked, clearly surprised to hear his girlfriend's father's name. "You know Zephyr?"
"Not personally, but one of our friend works under him. And my friend apparently heard him say some good things about you, which was why we were so persistent with you."
She paused. "And he was right."
The conversation shifted to casting. They had been thinking about it for months, sketching out ideal types for each role.
They also talked for another hour - about storylines for season one, the coffee shop set design, the apartment layouts.
By the end, Regal understood why they had been so persistent.
Friends isn't the usual type of sitcom pitch. It was a fully realized world they had been living in for months.
….
The next morning, Regal arrived at NBC's Burbank offices with Marta, David, and Samantha.
Warren Littlefield, NBC's President of Entertainment, greeted them personally - a good sign.
"Mr. Seraphsail." Littlefield said, shaking hands–
"I will admit, when I heard you were developing a sitcom, I was skeptical. Then I read the pilot."
They settled into the conference room. Three other executives joined - head of comedy development, head of scheduling, and someone from business affairs.
"Let's be direct." Littlefield continued. "We want Friends. Thursday night, nine-thirty slot, following our established lineup. Full season commitment, not just a pilot order."
Marta and David tried to hide their excitement. A full season order was rare, especially for unproven creators.
"What's the catch?" Regal asked calmly.
"There isn't one. We believe in the material, and in your judgment." Littlefield made sure to press the later one.
He added. "Except for…"
Regal kept his expression neutral. "Except for?"
The head of comedy development pulled out her copy of the pilot script, covered in annotations.
"The Ross-Rachel dynamic needs to be clearer from episode one. We need to feel that tension immediately, not build to it."
"That's intentional." Marta said. "It's a slow burn–"
"Television doesn't have the luxury of slow burns." the executive cut in. "If viewers can't see where it's headed, they won't stick around for episode two."
Regal noticed Marta's jaw tightened but didn't intervene yet.
"What else?" he asked, keeping his voice even.
"Monica comes across as too controlling." another executive added. "She needs to be more likable."
"Chandler's sarcasm reads mean instead of funny."
"And we're worried Phoebe might be too weird." the head of comedy development said. "There's a risk she alienates mainstream audiences."
With each note, Regal saw Marta and David's enthusiasm draining. These weren't suggestions - they were demands that would fundamentally alter the characters.
Regal said. "Can we have the room for a moment?"
Littlefield looked surprised but nodded. "Of course."
The NBC executives stepped out.
"They are going to ruin it." David said immediately, voice tight. "Those notes would turn it into every other generic sitcom."
"They don't understand the characters." Marta added. "Monica's controlling because she is insecure. That's the point. Smoothing that out just strips away the depth."
Regal let them vent, then spoke quietly.
"Then we walk."
Both of them stared at him.
"We walk away." Regal repeated. "We thank them for their time, say the notes don't align with our vision, and we leave. Whitebridge Studios meets us tomorrow. If they give us the same notes, we walk from them too."
"But this is NBC." David protested. "And they are talking about a Thursday night slot. That's kind of the dream."
"It's the dream slot for their version of Friends." Regal said. "Not yours. And I didn't invest in your version to watch it become something else."
"Either we make your show, or we don't make anything."
Samantha, who had been silent until now, added: "There are other networks. Vista Crown's International, CBS, even cable. I am sure someone will understand what this is."
The NBC executives returned.
"So." Littlefield said, settling back in. "What do you think?"
Regal stood. "Thank you for your time and interest. Unfortunately, your notes would require fundamental changes to the show's concept. We are going to pass."
The room went silent.
"Pass?" The comedy development head looked shocked. "We just offered you a full season commitment."
"For a different show than the one we are making." Regal replied calmly. "We appreciate the offer, but it's not the right fit."
Littlefield recovered quickly. "These are just notes. Everything's negotiable—"
"The characters aren't." Marta said, finding her voice. "They are who they are. If that's not what you want, then this isn't our show anymore."
David nodded. "We've been through this before. We're not doing it again."
Littlefield studied them, then Regal. "Are you really walking away from NBC's Thursday night?"
"We are walking away from creative interference." Regal confirmed. "If you're willing to make the show as written, we can continue talking. If not, we're done here."
The silence stretched.
Finally, Littlefield smiled - genuine this time. "Sit down."
They sat.
"Those notes were a test." Littlefield nodded.
Right, I believe you… Regal nodded clearly, not buying it.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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