Length

• Allow about 55 pages for a one-hour teleplay and about 40 pages for a teleplay that’s intended to last for 30 minutes (in most cases with teleplays you’ll be writing to the 60-minute format, however). Begin the teleplay with a “teaser” to draw in the viewers, but ensure it’s no more than three pages long before you begin the real story. Make the final scenes climactic and close with a short scene to wrap things up, known as a “tag,” which offers a final, satisfying scene after the climax of the drama.
  
  

Titles and Scenes

• Only put the title of the teleplay on the cover page of the teleplay; there’s no need to include the name of the show or the episode number, nor your name. Number every page, beginning with the first page of the teleplay, and be sure to position the number in the top right hand corner of the page. Begin every new scene further down the same page as the last scene; there's no need to switch to a fresh page, and be aware that a teleplay doesn’t contain different “acts” in the way a sitcom script does. Mark changes between scenes with “FADE TO” (always written in capitals) and the end of the teleplay should be indicated by using both “FADE OUT” and “THE END.”
  
  

Directions

• Write a “slugline” at the start of each scene to indicate where the scene is taking place, whether indoors or outdoors and when during the day the scene is set; sluglines should always be written in capital letters. Use both upper- and lower-case for action directions during a scene, although you should always use all capitals for all camera instructions and effects in the scene, as well as character introductions.
  
  

Characters

• Type the character names in capitals during a scene, but the dialogue should be in both upper- and lower-case and single-spaced on the page; the name should be centered on the page, with the dialogue also centered beneath it. Use parentheses to put the personal direction within the dialogue (it's known as “adverbial” direction or “line actions”), or add it on a separate line within the speech so it stands out. Use standard upper- and lower-case for these directions; there’s no need to put them in capitals.