Learn directly from the dealmakers negotiating vertical series agreements every day

Get a downloadable Vertical Packaging & Platform Landscape Map showing who’s buying, who’s producing, and how deals are structured

PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 webinar is now available to watch on-demand and no longer live.

Vertical series aren’t a trend. They’re a seismic shift. Platforms are investing heavily, production volume is exploding, and deals are moving faster than most writers can process. If you’re a creator looking to break in or already being approached, this space can open real doors to paid work and scalable IP. But the vertical market doesn’t play by traditional film and TV rules, and understanding how it actually works is now essential if you want to protect your rights, your leverage, and your long-term career.

The problem is that most creatives enter the vertical space assuming it operates like indie film or scripted television. It doesn’t. Writers are being rushed into compressed deal timelines, aggressive contracts, and “standard” terms that quietly strip IP, sequel rights, and future upside. Many don’t realize how different the economics, power dynamics, and packaging models are until it’s too late. The opportunity is real - but so is the risk if you don’t know what to look for or how to push back strategically.

That’s where your instructors come in. Jackie Ward brings deep expertise in production, financing, distribution, and emerging platforms, with a reputation for translating creative vision into smart, future-proof legal frameworks. She’s worked across scripted, unscripted, and digital content, advising creators and companies at the intersection of business and storytelling. Joining her is Stuart Arbury, a seasoned packaging and sales executive at Ramo Law, with years of experience placing projects with top buyers, producers, and platforms—including recent sales to Amazon Prime. Together, they offer a rare dual perspective: legal protection and real-world market execution.

In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, you’ll cut through the hype and learn how the vertical market truly functions - how projects are packaged and sold, where the money actually flows, what deal terms matter most, and how writers quietly lose (or retain) IP. You’ll learn to spot red flags, understand leverage, and position yourself as a creator who’s not just talented, but informed. You’ll also receive a downloadable Packaging & Platform Landscape Map so you know who’s buying, who’s producing, and how deals are structured. You’ll walk away able to navigate vertical opportunities strategically, protect your ownership, and make decisions that serve both your creative goals and your future.

PLUS! You will receive this handout to help you:

• Packaging & Platform Landscape Map (who’s buying, who’s producing, how deals are structured)

Praise for Jackie and Stuart’s Webinar:

“The webinar provided a valuable overview of deal structures and positioning in the vertical market. I’d love to dive even deeper into how platforms evaluate projects, how scalable production companies operate, and where long-term opportunities and infrastructure gaps exist in this space.”
– Attendee

“This was extremely helpful. I’d absolutely attend another session like this—especially to help new writers better prepare for the vertical drama space.”
– Attendee

“Great topic and really informative! The timing was perfect too—I’m in Australia, so it was 8am here, which made it easy to join.”
– Attendee

“I really appreciated that the hosts shared real, concrete, and useful information about where to submit your work. That kind of clarity is incredibly valuable.”
– Attendee

“The RAMO team was excellent. As an emerging writer, I learned so much, even though this is a completely new space for me.”
– Attendee

The Vertical Market Reality (Not the Hype)

• Defining vertical series  and why platforms are betting big on them
• The differences from traditional film & TV (economics, volume, speed, risk)
• Who controls the power in vertical deals — and why writers often underestimate it
• Why “easy entry” often comes with hidden tradeoffs

How Vertical Series Are Packaged & Sold

• How packaging works in the vertical space (and why it matters to you as a writer)
• The role of production companies, studios, aggregators, and platforms
• How projects move from script → package → platform in practice

The Money: Where It Comes From & Where It Goes

• How vertical series are financed and budgeted
• What “budget” really means in vertical deals
• How writers are typically paid (and where they’re not)
• Why back-end is often illusory — and when it isn’t

The Deal Mechanics Writers Need to Understand

• The most common deal structures in the vertical market
• Work-for-hire vs. license vs. assignment — and why this distinction is everything
• Exclusivity: when it helps you, when it traps you
• Term & territory: how long and how far your rights are actually being locked up
• Sequel, remake, and derivative rights — the clauses everyone misses

The IP Traps (And How to Avoid Them)

• The quiet ways writers lose ownership in vertical deals
• Platform control clauses that go way beyond distribution
• “Standard” language that is anything but standard
• How companies future-proof their upside at your expense
• What to push back on and what to trade strategically

The Contract Red Flags Every Writer Should Recognize

• IP grabs disguised as development deals
• Perpetual options and rolling exclusivity
• “All media now known or hereafter devised” — why it matters here
• Platform approval over future projects
• Hidden non-competes and career limitations
  

How to Position Yourself as a Smart, Valuable Writer in This Space

• How to approach production companies and platforms without burning leverage
• What buyers respond to vs. what they ignore
• How to signal sophistication without sounding difficult
• Why being “easy” is not the same as being valuable
• How to build repeat business without giving away the farm

Packaging Strategy from a Sales Perspective

• How sales teams look at vertical projects
• Why some projects get fast-tracked and others stall
• The relationship between concept, volume, and monetization
• How writers can think like the market without losing their voice
  

Real-World Scenarios & How We’d Handle Them

• “They say this is take-it-or-leave-it — is it?”
• “They want everything but are paying very little — what now?”
• “They’re promising future seasons — what should that actually look like in the contract?”
• How we think about these deals from the packaging and legal side

How to Think Long-Term in a Short-Term Market

• Using vertical series as a career accelerator, not a dead end
• How to retain optionality as the market evolves
• When to take the deal and when to walk away
• Building a reputation as a smart, strategic creator

Q&A with Jackie and Stuart

• Writers and creators exploring vertical series opportunities and wanting to protect their IP

• Screenwriters being approached by platforms, production companies, or aggregators for vertical content

• Creators who’ve been told “this is standard” and want to understand what those deal terms really mean

• Writers transitioning from traditional film or television into the vertical space

• Producers and development executives packaging or acquiring vertical series

• Creators looking to build leverage, retain ownership, and avoid common contract traps

• Writers who want to understand the business side of verticals—not just the creative

Praise for Jackie and Stuart’s Webinar:

“The webinar provided a valuable overview of deal structures and positioning in the vertical market. I’d love to dive even deeper into how platforms evaluate projects, how scalable production companies operate, and where long-term opportunities and infrastructure gaps exist in this space.”
– Attendee

“This was extremely helpful. I’d absolutely attend another session like this—especially to help new writers better prepare for the vertical drama space.”
– Attendee

“Great topic and really informative! The timing was perfect too—I’m in Australia, so it was 8am here, which made it easy to join.”
– Attendee

“I really appreciated that the hosts shared real, concrete, and useful information about where to submit your work. That kind of clarity is incredibly valuable.”
– Attendee

“The RAMO team was excellent. As an emerging writer, I learned so much, even though this is a completely new space for me.”
– Attendee