Alternative Directors Program
A development program supporting directors from underrepresented backgrounds in transitioning into episodic television directing through mentorship and on-set experience.
Overview
The Alternative Directors Program is an NBC Universal initiative designed to identify directors from underrepresented backgrounds who are working in non-scripted, documentary, or commercial production and help them transition into episodic scripted television directing. The program addresses a specific structural gap: directors with strong visual and logistical skills developed in documentary, reality television, or commercial production often find it difficult to move into scripted television because they lack the episodic credits that scripted production companies require.
The program provides the bridge between these worlds, giving participants the episodic on-set experience and industry introductions needed to begin building a scripted television directing career.
What It Offers
Selected participants receive:
- A paid fellowship stipend for the duration of the program
- Shadow directing placements on NBC Universal scripted television productions, where fellows observe and participate in directing alongside the episode's credited director
- Mentorship from working episodic directors, showrunners, and NBC Universal creative executives
- Feedback on directing approach, set communication, and the specific craft demands of episodic production
- Industry introductions to agents, managers, and showrunners who hire episodic directors
- A professional credential that provides a pathway into episodic directing agents and representation
Eligibility
The program is designed for directors with professional experience in non-scripted formats -- documentary, reality, commercial, branded content, or short-form digital -- who identify as members of underrepresented communities. Applicants should have a body of professional directing work that demonstrates their technical and creative capabilities, even if that work is not in scripted episodic formats.
NBC Universal announces application windows through its diversity and inclusion channels. Specific eligibility criteria and the application materials required vary by cycle.
The Scripted Television Transition
Moving from documentary or non-scripted production into scripted episodic television is one of the most rewarding but structurally difficult career transitions in the directing world. The technical skill overlap is substantial, but scripted television involves working with actors, managing writers' room relationships, interpreting character-driven scripts, and navigating a production hierarchy that differs significantly from documentary. Programs like the Alternative Directors Program reduce the friction of this transition by providing supervised practical experience before a director needs to perform independently.
Who Should Apply
Directors with professional non-scripted experience who identify as members of underrepresented communities and who want to develop a scripted television directing career, particularly those who have the technical foundation but lack the episodic credits that typically gate access to scripted production.
See Also
For understanding television directing as a career path alongside film directing, see Film Festival Strategy: Getting Your Film Seen. For planning a production schedule for episodic work, use the Production Schedule Calculator.
