# Cold open > A teaser before titles — common in TV pilots and episodes — that hooks the audience before the episode’s formal act structure begins. Also known as teaser, cold open teaser ## In practice A cold open should pose a question, drop us into a crisis, or establish tone hard enough that the title card feels like a breath. If it only restates the series premise without a specific incident, it is usually a prologue wearing a teaser label, and readers feel the stall before Act One begins. In TV, the cold open is often judged before anyone forgives a slower act one. Make the incident particular: a choice, a threat, a comic engine already spinning. Generic "ordinary day until..." throat-clearing wastes the only minutes you have before the audience decides whether to stay with the show. On the script page, the cold open is simply the first scene work before ACT ONE — not a separate marketing object. Titles and show openers are post and production concerns. Write the hook as drama with real stakes, then let act structure take over once the promise of the series is felt. ## See it formatted - [How to format cold opens, act breaks, and tags in a TV script](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/episodic-act-structure): Match the target show's current template: some episodic scripts label every commercial act, while many streaming specs use feature-style flow without printed breaks. ## Common questions ### Do feature screenplays use cold opens? Sometimes as a prologue or teaser, but the term is native to television. Features more often open on scene one of the story without a separate teaser label on the page. ### Should a cold open sit before the title page? No. The title page stays first in a submission. On the script body, the cold open is simply the opening scene work before ACT ONE — write the hook as drama. ### How long should a TV cold open be? Often a few pages, shaped to the show's format and act design. If it needs a full act's worth of setup, it may be Act One in disguise rather than a true teaser. ### Must every episode have a cold open? No. Some shows open on titles or cold into Act One by house style. Use a cold open when the tease earns curiosity; skip it when it becomes empty ritual. ## Related terms - [Act break](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/act-break): The turn that ends an act — a cliffhanger or reversal in TV, a major structural shift in features — that re-aims the story’s pressure. - [Tag (TV)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/tag): A short closing scene after an episode's final act — often one last joke in a comedy, or a quiet beat or hook in a drama — labeled TAG in act-broken TV scripts. - [Pilot](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/pilot): The first episode of a series — the script that proves characters, tone, and the engine that can run for seasons. Often the draft a room or network judges hardest. - [Beat sheet](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/beat-sheet): A short outline of a story’s key moments — the beats — used to plan structure before or during drafting without writing every scene yet. --- Canonical page: