Bible
A comprehensive document detailing a TV series concept, characters, world, and story arcs.
Definition
A series bible is the foundational document for a television series, containing everything a writer needs to understand the show's world. It typically includes premise, tone, character breakdowns with backstories, episode ideas, season arcs, and rules of the world. For ongoing series, bibles evolve to include established canon and continuity guidelines.
Bibles serve as both pitch documents for selling shows and reference guides for writing staffs maintaining consistency across episodes.
Why It Matters
A strong bible is essential for selling series concepts to networks and streamers. It demonstrates the creator's vision and the show's long-term potential.
For production, bibles maintain consistency as multiple writers contribute to a series, ensuring characters and world-building remain coherent.
Examples in Practice
The original "Star Trek" bible establishing rules for the Enterprise, character dynamics, and storytelling parameters.
A streaming series bible detailing five planned seasons of character development and mythology.
A procedural's bible outlining case-of-the-week structures alongside seasonal character arcs.