Coverage (Script)
ProductionDefinition: Coverage is a written evaluation of a screenplay prepared by a reader for a production company, agency, or studio. It includes a logline, synopsis, comments on craft elements (structure, character, dialogue, concept), and a recommendation: PASS, CONSIDER, or RECOMMEND. Coverage is the gate most scripts must pass through.
Understanding Coverage (Script)
Most scripts submitted to studios and agencies are not read by decision-makers first. They go to readers — trained analysts who write coverage. The coverage becomes the script's proxy in meetings. A "recommend" from a trusted reader gets the script to the next level. A "pass" often ends its journey at that company. Coverage typically includes: a one-line logline, a one-page synopsis, a page of comments analyzing the script's strengths and weaknesses, and individual grades for concept, story, character, and dialogue. Writers rarely see their coverage, but understanding how it works changes how you write. The first ten pages must be immaculate because the reader decides their lean in that window.
Example in a Screenplay
COVERAGE: "The Last Honest Man" Logline: A disgraced accountant discovers his firm is laundering money for a cartel and must choose between cooperation and conscience. Comments: Strong concept with clear commercial hooks. Protagonist is well-drawn with a compelling moral dilemma. Act II sags between pages 55-70 — the antagonist disappears for too long. Dialogue is sharp but the wife character needs her own arc beyond supporting the protagonist. Rating: CONSIDER (with revisions)
Common Mistakes
Not understanding that coverage exists and that a reader — not the producer — is your first audience. Writing a script where the concept is strong but the first ten pages are slow, which earns an early PASS. Assuming a CONSIDER means rejection — CONSIDER often leads to meetings. Writing query letters that sound like coverage instead of letting the script speak for itself.
Related Terms
Spec Script
A spec script (short for speculative screenplay) is a script written on speculation — without a deve...
BusinessLogline
A logline is a one to two sentence summary of a screenplay that conveys the protagonist, their goal,...
BusinessTreatment
A treatment is a prose document, typically 5 to 25 pages, that tells the story of a screenplay in pr...
ProductionPolish
A polish is a light revision pass on a screenplay that refines dialogue, tightens action lines, fixe...
ProductionPage-One Rewrite
A page-one rewrite is a comprehensive overhaul of a screenplay that rethinks the story from scratch ...
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