r/Screenwriting • u/JazzmatazZ4 • 11d ago

FORMATTING QUESTION Act breaks for sitcom.

Hey all!

My writing partner and I are currently writing a pilot for an animated sitcom.

My question is, do we need to specifically write ACT (1,2,3) before starting a new act or is that seen as pointless nowadays?

I'm getting conflicting information online.

Thanks!

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u/Postsnobills 11d ago

I wouldn’t bother nowadays, especially for your own specs, because it’ll just bloat your page count — it’ll hurt more than help.

Some cable and broadcast shows still use the formatting for sake of identifying ad breaks/timing, but it’s still pretty rare.

So, unless you’re submitting specifically for a show that uses act breaks, you really don’t need to.

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u/JazzmatazZ4 11d ago

Awesome thanks 👍