“Premise” and “concept” are interchangeable terms in the industry. And concept is king. Because an executive will have an easier time recommending their boss read a script with a great concept as opposed to a great character or a great world. To break it down to a formula: killer concept + actor bait roles + professional grade execution = sale. (Or at least way better odds of a sale.) So step 1 for me is always figuring out the right concept. As far as TV goes, the big question I ask myself is: does my concept self-generate storylines? I learned the hard way that a pilot script HAS to both set up the show and act as an example of what future episodes will be like. A few years back I wrote a modern day version of the Camelot myth where the knights were the villains and Guinevere was the hero. The script was fun enough to get me a lot of meetings, but it never sold. Because no one (myself included) could say what episode 2 or 5 or 50 would look like based on the pilot. So for the next project I took out after that, I went for something where there was a REALLY clear story engine powering the show. It was an adaptation of a book about a guy who spends his afterlife being bounced into the bodies of bad guys and having to right their wrongs, like “Quantum Leap” meets “Dexter.” That premise always provided a clear answer as to what episode 2 or 5 or 50 would be like. And while it never got made, that one did find a buyer. And was much easier to pitch. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk Answer from haynesholiday on reddit.com