How to Start a Pilot Season

Again, it's that time of year when the entertainment industry is shed apart as hundreds of pilots are trying to make their way. So how does the regular aspiring actor get considered for a pilot audition? In order to answer this and much more, we'll discuss on Facebook with Eddy Kariti who has principal talent on TV.

As an actor, if you’ve already been through Pilot Season, you already feel tired, exhausted, and full of self-doubt. At the same time while you’re simultaneously trying to convince network executives, producers and casting directors that you’re a self-confident, artistic genius who should star in their show.


One of the busiest times of year for Eddy Kariti and for any actor is the pilot season, a test run of a television series. Every year, from late January to mid-April, more than 100 sample episodes for new television shows turn into dramas and sitcoms. Pilot season in Los Angeles is a crazy time for actors. You spend so many hours running around town, practicing lines like a crazy person while stuck in traffic, making sure you aren’t lost and prepared to each audition. What Kariti suggests is that you relax and be yourself. In each pilot the characters are blueprints, waiting for the right actor to come in and show them who the character is. The only way to do that is to be relaxed, original, and authentic, without worrying what they might want. Surely they don’t want to see yet another actor reading the role exactly the same as every other actor. They also want to see your unique thing that only you can bring to a role.

Also, according to Eddy Kariti it is very important that you discover your type as soon as possible. The casting directors do not have the time to study you. They all have some casting problems they need to solve and cannot afford to make a mistake. It is an actor’s job to make the process easier for them.

In order to have a successful season, you need to do your part and invest some time in it. You need to attend an acting class that challenges you, be able to recite, and have a backbone of steel. For Eddy, taking a plunge into pilot season means giving it all you’ve got, so, it is good to have some type of support structure such as a mentor, or a group of like-minded actors to cheer and soothe one another on. Pilot season is only for the strongest ones.