The Sitcom Mission
Contest · 2027Prestige 56/100
Twenty pounds, open to anyone including produced writers, and your sitcom performed by professional actors.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 round closed at 11:59pm on Sunday 3 May 2026 and the competition returns in early 2027, with no date yet published. The recent pattern is consistent: across 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 the deadline has fallen on the last Sunday of April or the first Sunday of May at 11:59pm, with finalists in June and showcases in June and July. The fee rose from 20 to the current level between 2024 and 2025 and has held since. One caveat on calling it annual: the organisers' own previous-years list skips 2019, 2021 and 2022, and the 2020 finalists were never staged in a theatre because of the pandemic, so it has run annually since 2023 but has missed years before.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 10 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- TV Pilot
- Page limit
- 20 pages
- Eligibility
- Open worldwide
- Required materials
- A 15-minute sitcom script of no more than 20 pages, legibly typed and formatted as a TV script · Uploaded to the Sitcom Mission website · Read blind, so personal details are separated from the script
The competition is open to anyone, and unusually it says so in exactly those words. Professional and produced writers are explicitly eligible. Scripts must be written primarily in English, be the entrant's original work, and run to no more than 20 pages formatted as a TV script for a 15-minute sitcom. The script must be self-contained but show series potential, with the organisers looking for sitcoms that could stretch to a minimum of six episodes. Sketches are not accepted, and a 30-minute script cannot be entered even as its first half. Co-written scripts and writing teams are allowed. There is no limit on the number of entries, each at its own fee. All scripts are read blind of any personal details. Winners agree to take part in post-competition publicity.
Prizes
No cash prize, and the rules define the prize itself as presentation at the industry showcase, which must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred or transferred. What you get instead is development and a room: rehearsed readings by professional actors, a public showcase, and for four scripts a smaller industry showcase in front of comedy commissioners from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Comedy Central and Sky, plus producers, agents and directors. Showcases are staged in London and travel is an unpublished cost. RIGHTS ARE CLEAN AND EXPLICIT: entrants retain copyright in their entries, with no option, first refusal, exclusivity or assignment anywhere in the rules, and personal details are never published or shared without permission.
Judging
Read blind by a team of readers, with judges named retrospectively rather than in advance. Previous judges include Lucy Lumsden of Yellow Door Productions, Tilusha Ghelani of Sky, Morwenna Gordon of Expectation, Tanya Qureshi of the BBC, Shane Allen of Boffola, Saskia Schuster of Fulwell 73 and the writer Andy Hamilton. A longlist of up to six scripts receives producer notes and at least a week to rewrite, repeating until the producers are satisfied with the standard, then a public showcase precedes selection of four scripts for the industry showcase. Governed by the law of England and Wales.
The PreList verdict
Twenty pounds, open to absolutely anyone including produced writers, and if you make the longlist your sitcom is performed by professional actors in front of an audience. Four scripts then go to an industry showcase watched by comedy commissioners from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Comedy Central and Sky. For the money, there is nothing else in Britain that puts a comedy script in front of that room. Running since 2010, with around 10,000 scripts entered.
The rights position is one of the cleanest we have seen: entrants retain copyright, and there is no option, first refusal, exclusivity or assignment anywhere in the rules. The organisers also commit never to publish or share your personal details. Scripts are read blind.
Two corrections to how this is usually described. There is no cash prize at all, and the rules are explicit that the prize is the industry showcase itself. And the celebrated feedback is not included with every entry: it goes to a longlist of up to six writers a year, who then get producer notes and at least a week to rewrite, repeating until the producers are happy. That is genuinely generous development for the six, and nothing for everyone else at the base fee. Note too that paid Bronze, Silver and Gold packages carrying pre-entry feedback are still advertised on two of their pages but absent from the entry page, so whether they ran this cycle is unclear. It returns in early 2027.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 21 Sept 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is feedback included?
Only for the longlist. Up to six writers a year receive producer notes and at least a week to rewrite, a process that repeats until the producers are satisfied. Everyone else gets nothing at the base entry fee. Paid packages offering pre-entry feedback are still advertised on two pages but do not appear on the entry page.
Is there prize money?
No. The rules define the prize as presentation at the industry showcase, which must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred or transferred. The value is the rehearsed reading, the public showcase and the room of commissioners, not cash.
Can produced writers enter?
Yes, explicitly. The rules state the competition is open to anyone and that professional and produced writers are eligible. Co-written scripts and writing teams are allowed, and there is no limit on entries.
Do they take any rights?
No. Entrants retain copyright in their entries, and there is no option, first refusal, exclusivity or assignment clause anywhere in the rules. Personal details are never published or provided to anyone without permission, and scripts are read blind.
Is your script right for The Sitcom Mission?
Find out free, before you spend anything. Upload your screenplay and The PreList checks whether its format can enter this contest, whether you meet the country rules and any regional limits, and scores the script. Pro adds a written read on how well it fits.
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