A Look at Some of TV’s Most Successful PODs

It’s every TV writer/producer’s dream to get a POD deal at a studio. To be paid handsomely and respected for the work that you create is something that everyone strives for.  A POD (production overall deal is basically a first look deal except anything that the producer develops while under this agreement must stay within the studio and cannot be taken elsewhere even if the studio passes. In return, the studio will pay an annual fee to the producer and cover all of his/her overhead costs. Both TV and film studios make overall deals with production companies and writers. In the TV world, these production companies are known as PODs which are responsible for some of today’s most successful series. This system allows for studios to pay for exclusivity to the content from talented creators. For example, if someone like Shonda Rhimes creates a hit like GREY’S ANATOMY for ABC Studios, they’d want to make sure that they have access to her next projects so that they can have more hit shows like SCANDAL and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. After the success of BREAKING BAD, Sony Pictures (the studio that financed the show) made sure that the creator Vince Gilligan wasn’t going to take his next projects elsewhere. So they signed an undisclosed 8 figure POD deal with him and his company High Bridge.  Here is a list of a few other notable PODs for each of the major TV studios.