Most actors start in television with small episodic roles, co-stars and then guest stars, and most of that work comes through an agent or manager. So the path is: get representation, live where TV is made, get to know the casting associates, learn how fast television moves, and climb from there.
Kym here. I have more than 80 film and TV credits, including a series regular lead I booked straight off a self tape, and this is how television casting actually works.
Volume. An episodic show casts five to 20 guest roles every episode, and shoots a new episode every eight to 10 days.
Series lengths vary. Network series usually run 23 or 24 episodes a season.
Cable traditionally ran 13, streaming is usually four to 13, and mini series run two to ten.
TV movies count too. Lifetime and Hallmark films are still considered television, because they are made for television.
Soaps are their own world. Five episodes a week means a day per episode, one or two takes at most, and substantially lower pay per episode.
Where it shoots. In the United States, Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta lead and the rest are well behind.
In Canada, Vancouver and Toronto each carry around 39 per cent of production, and in Australia, Sydney is the market.
Industry people describe a city by how many crews deep it is. Atlanta was around 14 projects deep and Los Angeles maybe 80 when I made the class.
You can self tape from anywhere, but you cannot network from anywhere. The full countdown is in how to move to LA as an actor.
It starts with a producer hiring a casting director. Then a breakdown is written: the project, the key creatives, and for each character an age or look, a description and the number of lines, so agents know how big the part is before they submit.
When the breakdown reaches your rep's office, their system shows every client who fits.
Some agents submit only the three who are right. Others throw everything at the wall, and casting notices.
The follow up call is what turns a submission into an audition, and plenty of reps never make one. That is why an unusual share of the roles you ask to be submitted for become auditions.
Callbacks are less common than they were, so first auditions are now often three or four scenes. For TV there may be a network test, with executives watching.
But I booked a series regular straight from a self tape.
For most of it, yes. Most TV work comes through your rep.
Start with how to get an acting agent.
If a friend is reading for a role you are right for and you can get the sides, it is not unheard of to tape it yourself. Do it through your agent or manager, because going direct can ruffle feathers.
Help your rep help you. Reps have 50 or 100 clients and cannot remember whose casting relationships are whose:
Just a reminder that this casting director has brought me in four times. They really like me.
Not straight away. Plenty of TV shows still audition non-union actors.
Becoming SAG eligible is the best way to go, because you are qualified to join but can still take union and non-union work. More on that in SAG eligible.
Co-star is day player size: under 50 words, sometimes under five. Recurring means more than one episode without a series regular contract.
The full breakdown of role sizes is in co-star vs guest star.
In a big market, the casting associates in each office are your most important contact for co-stars and guest stars. Get to know them.
Small roles can grow. I once had a two line role on a long running series bumped to a top of show guest star, because I engaged with the crew between setups instead of sitting on my phone.
Read the room first, though, because that does not suit every set.
Think about timing too. Two lines in season one is a different decision from two lines in the final season, because early on a bigger role may come later.
On your resume, a "Series" heading lets TV and web series sit together. In your pitch blurb, lead with your television credits, because more people recognise TV titles.
Pace. TV is generally faster than many features.
An American procedural is a standalone episode each week, with the problem raised and solved inside it, and it moves very fast. A serial builds each episode on the ones before, and a limited series of four to 10 episodes has more breathing room.
When a single camera comedy director says "faster", they mean pick up your cues, not speak faster. Sitcom is a style of its own, so if you book one, work with a sitcom specialist.
You usually will not get a full script for a TV series unless it is a pilot, and pilots often share their screenplays.
Before you shoot, look up the director, producer, DP and lead actors. Learn their faces, find what you have in common, and watch their previous work.
Not your follower count. Networks and studios do not care how many followers you have.
I booked a show where twelve people made up the main cast. Some had under 5,000 followers and some had hundreds of thousands.
They were all leads, and it made no difference.
What networks do run is a check. Once they want to approve you, legal or public relations looks at your socials for anything racist, drug heavy or dirty, and kids networks also look for overly sexual behaviour.
Clean up old posts before you need to.
Imposter syndrome hits on your first ten or so jobs, then comes back at every new level: co-star to guest star, guest star to recurring, recurring to series regular. That is normal.
The full class, How The Film Industry Works, walks through how an audition is born, the union tiers and who does what on set. Relocating To A Major Market covers where the TV work is.
Both sit in our learn the business hub, alongside how to become an actor. You can watch them with a 7-day free trial.
For most TV work, yes. Most television auditions come through an agent or manager, because breakdowns go to reps.
If you can get sides for a role you suit, you can tape yourself, but do it in conjunction with your rep.
Yes. Plenty of TV shows still audition non-union actors.
Becoming SAG eligible is a smart middle step, because you are qualified to join the union but can still take both union and non-union work.
Recurring means you played the same character in more than one episode without a series regular contract. A co-star is a smaller, day player size role, usually under 50 words.
Somewhere television is made in volume. In the United States that means Los Angeles, New York or Atlanta.
In Canada, Vancouver and Toronto, and in Australia, Sydney.
Networks and studios do not care about your follower count. They do check your socials before approving you, for anything racist, drug heavy or overly sexual, so a clean profile matters more than a big one.