TV Pitch Script: “The Limit”
Full transparency: this pitch is too long. At 16 pages, it's way more detail than most rooms need or want. I'm sharing it anyway because it shows something you don't usually get to see - how much thinking goes into a project before I walk into a room.
This isn't the pitch I always deliver. Depending on the situation, I might cut this down to 10-15 minutes and hit only the essential emotional beats. But having this full version mapped out means I know every character, every relationship, every thematic thread. When executives ask questions, I'm not making it up on the fly. I've already lived inside this world.
Why this one ran long:
The Limit is based on Michael Cannell's book about the 1961 Formula One season. It's a true story with real people - Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips, Denise McCluggage, Enzo Ferrari, Stirling Moss. The personal connection runs deep. My father photographed these drivers. I knew them as a kid. When I was 17, I drove across Italy with Denise McCluggage in the passenger seat telling me to go faster.
That personal stake is the spine of my pitch, and I wanted to honor the real people by getting the details right. That meant more setup, more character work, more world-building than a fictional show might need.
What to notice as you read:
The bookend is everything. I open with my dad as a photographer in this world and close by driving across Italy with these legends when I was 17. The entire pitch is wrapped in "this is why I'm the person to tell this story."
Character contradictions drive the story. Phil Hill is fast but anxious. Von Trips is fearless but reckless. Enzo manipulates his drivers like a secondary father. Every character introduction sets up their internal conflict, not just their role in the plot.
I walk through Episode One in detail. Maybe too much detail, but it shows I can see the show, not just the concept. I know what the teaser is. I know the opening scenes. I know the closing button.
Present tense everywhere. "Phil Hill is fighting to become America's first Formula One Champion." Not "was." Characters exist right now in the telling.
The tragic ending is the hook. Von Trips dies at Monza, taking 14 spectators with him. Phil wins the championship but loses his friend. That's the emotional cost that makes the season matter.
Would I pitch this version verbatim in most rooms?
No. I'd cut it in half and focus on Phil, Trips, and Enzo. I'd spend more time on the personal connection and less on the supporting cast. I'd give them the spine, not every rib.
But having this full version means I'm prepared for any question. They want to know about Denise McCluggage's arc? I've got it. They want to know how Enzo's wife factors in? Already thought it through. They want to know what Season Two looks like? I can pivot to other legendary racing stories instantly.
Why share it?
I think there’s value for neophyte scribblers to see the work that happens before the pitch. The thinking. The character development. The understanding of theme and structure and emotional architecture.
Don't walk into a room with 16 pages of material. But enter having done 16 pages worth of thinking. That separates a pitch that holds up under scrutiny and one that falls apart when they start asking questions.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PITCH SCRIPT PDF: THE LIMIT
