# Limited Series Episode — Series Format

> An episode within a self-contained limited series (typically 6-10 episodes total). More like film chapters than series episodes.

## Format basics

- Length: 50-75 min typical (longer possible)
- Total series: 6-10 episodes usually
- Self-contained story arc
- Each episode is a chapter
- Production-grade often near film
- Awards-friendly category

## Limited series vs ongoing series

| Aspect | Limited | Ongoing |
|--------|---------|---------|
| Length | 6-10 episodes | 8-22 per season |
| Total | One season | Multiple seasons |
| Story | Self-contained | Continuing |
| Cast | Often star-studded | Variable |
| Budget | High per-episode | Variable |
| Awards | Limited series category | Drama / comedy series |

## Examples

- Chernobyl
- The Queen's Gambit
- Mare of Easttown
- The Underground Railroad
- The Night Of
- Big Little Lies (originally limited)
- Sharp Objects
- Olive Kitteridge

## Structure

Each episode ≈ chapter of a novel:

```
COLD OPEN (5-7 min)
- Hook for episode
- Connect to series arc

ACT 1 (10-20 min)
- Episode-specific beat
- Series arc advances
- Character development

ACT 2 (25-40 min)
- Main events of episode
- Climax of episode-level story

ACT 3 (45-65 min)
- Episode resolution (partial)
- Series arc moves forward
- Hook for next episode

TAG (65-75 min)
- Often quiet
- Character beat
- Final image
```

## Per-episode role within series

### Episode 1: Pilot
- Establish world, characters, central mystery/question
- Hook for entire series

### Episode 2-3: Setup
- Deepen characters
- Expand world
- First major reveal

### Episode 4 (mid-series): Pivot
- Major reversal or revelation
- Stakes change

### Episode 5-6: Confrontation
- Things get worse
- Subplots reach crisis

### Episode 7 (penultimate): Setup for finale
- Position for climax
- Major questions converging

### Episode 8 (finale): Resolution
- Climax
- Resolution
- Final image

## Sample limited series episode

```
TITLE: "Karavan" — Limited Series, Episode 4 of 8
"The Mountain"

LOGLINE: ELDAR returns to the village where he was born to find a
witness their father had been protecting — and discovers the witness
is the brother they never knew about.

COLD OPEN (0-7 min):
- Present-day Eldar arriving in remote Caucasus village
- He is here based on a name in his father's papers
- The village is hostile to outsiders
- An OLD MAN watches him from a window

ACT 1 (7-20 min):
- Eldar asks for a man named "Murat"
- Villagers refuse to acknowledge the name
- Tension
- He waits at the village's only inn
- That night: the OLD MAN appears

ACT 2 (20-45 min):
- The old man is the village headman
- Reluctantly, he tells Eldar a story:
  - Eldar's father (Arif) had a brother
  - Different mother
  - Born outside marriage
  - Hidden from family
  - Raised in this village
  - His name is Murat
- Eldar is stunned
- He has a brother he never knew
- The headman: Murat is in the mountains
- Is in hiding because he was witness to a crime that connects to
the present-day investigation
- Eldar must climb to find him

ACT 3 (45-60 min):
- Eldar climbs into the mountains alone
- Finds a small herder's hut
- MURAT (50, Eldar's half-brother) emerges with a rifle
- Standoff
- Eldar identifies himself
- Long silence
- Murat lowers the rifle
- Murat: "I knew you would come. Eventually."
- Beginning of difficult conversation
- About their father
- About what Murat witnessed thirty years ago
- About the name of the man who killed their father

TAG (60-75 min):
- Eldar and Murat sit by a fire that night
- Two brothers separated by life, time, and a father's secret
- Eldar will return to the city tomorrow
- He asks Murat to come
- Murat: "Tomorrow. Maybe."

FINAL IMAGE: Eldar and Murat in firelight, two faces showing the
same father in them.

(Score: piano + strings, emotional, Hildur Guðnadóttir-style.)

(Hook for episode 5: Will Murat actually come down? What is the name
he gave?)
```

## Key principles

### Each episode = chapter of larger story
Self-contained but advancing.

### High production value
Limited series often near-film budgets.

### Character depth
Time to develop beyond ongoing series usually allows.

### Resolution by series end
Audience expects closure.

### Cliffhangers per episode
Hook to next chapter.

## When to write limited series

- Self-contained story too big for film, too small for ongoing series
- Streaming hit potential
- Award aspiration
- Star vehicle
- Adaptation of book / true story (often)
- High concept needing multiple episodes

## Common limited series mistakes

- Padding (could have been film)
- Overreaching (could have been series)
- Pacing inconsistent
- Episode-level structure weak
- Resolution unsatisfying
- Subplots abandoned
- Tone inconsistent across episodes
