We've got answers.

PDF format only. If your script is in another format — Final Draft, Fountain, Highland, or anything else — please export it to PDF before submitting. Every major screenwriting application supports PDF export.

Yes. 100%. Always. Your scripts are protected under advanced security measures to ensure that what belongs to you, remains exclusively yours. For full details, please read our Privacy Policy.

It depends on your tier. Indie subscribers receive their report within 72 hours — often sooner. Pro is within 48 hours via priority queue. Studio is within 24 hours, with same-day rush available on request. Single coverage follows the Indie window.

These are committed ceilings, not estimates. See the Delivery section for the full breakdown.

Every report runs 12 sections: Topsheet, Logline (we write it), Premise & Concept, Structure, Character, Dialogue & Tone, Genre & Craft, Market Viability, Weaknesses, Revision Notes, Synopsis, and a personal Reader's Note.

TV pilots, limited series, and vertical formats also include a Series Engine section — a 6-pillar assessment of the show's long-term potential. For the full breakdown, see The Report. In Full.

Features, TV pilots (one-hour and half-hour), limited series, and vertical format series. All genres.

Each subscription tier comes with a monthly credit allowance. Indie gets 1 per month, Pro gets 5. Credits roll over and never expire — unused credits stay in your account indefinitely.

Studio subscribers have unlimited coverage with no credit system. If you just need a single read with no commitment, the $24 founding one-off option (standard $34.99 from October 1, 2026) gives you one credit without a subscription.

You can cancel your subscription any time, no questions asked. Your credits will always remain yours and eligible to use, even after cancelling or pausing your subscription. That's our promise.

Every report is reviewed and signed off by a senior reader — a working development professional who has been on both sides of the development table. The analysis is backed by a bespoke engine built specifically for coverage, but a human reads the output, writes the Reader's Note, and puts their name on every report before it reaches you.

It's our market viability assessment — a section that most coverage services don't offer. We evaluate your script against active studio and network profiles, their current slates, and recent buying patterns, then produce a buyer-fit table rating each as Strong, Possible, or Weak fit with substantiated rationale.

It's the analysis that bridges craft and commerce. Not a guess — a read of who's buying what, and how your script fits that picture right now.

You can submit as many scripts as you have credits. Whether it's 1 or 20, we can make it happen.

Founding rates are locked for life while you stay continuously subscribed. If you cancel and resubscribe within 30 days, your founding rate is restored. Your founding rate also applies if you upgrade or downgrade tiers later.

Different jobs. The Black List is a hosting-and-discovery platform: writers pay to host a script publicly, then pay per evaluation for a 1–10 score and brief reader notes. It's built to help a ready script get found. dev|cut. is built for the step before that. We offer full-length, section-by-section coverage from a bespoke script-intelligence engine plus a working development professional's actual read, so a writer knows what to fix and why.

The two can be used in tandem: dev|cut. to get a script ready, The Black List to get it seen once it is.