First Place Award

To be considered for the Chicago Comedy TV Pilot Competition, an entry had to be a Chicago product – that is, the filmmaker who owned the copyright must have been a Chicago area resident at the time the pilot was made. Or alternatively, the pilot must have been created by a Chicago-area-based production company that owned the copyright. Pilots were required to be comedy, scripted, and based on original ideas. Also, they had to feature a situation and characters that could continue beyond the pilot – i.e., they had to be a sitcom, rather than a sketch comedy format.

The jury consisted of people in the television industry in Hollywood – from leading studios and talent agencies (see the About the Competition page). It was not a live jury, but rather, the pilots were sent to the jury members on DVD for their judging. The winning pilot received a cash prize from a Chicago sponsoring company; the sponsors during the years of the event were: Alberto-Culver Company, Optimus, and Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. 

The winners of the competition were:

Past Award Winners:
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2016:
You're So Talented by Our Names Are Sam.
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2015:
Young Couple by Brianna Baker, Brandon Ogborn and Mike Malarkey
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2014:
Delivery Dudes, by Joe Avella
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2013:
Merkin Penal, by Mitch Rouse and David Pasquesi
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2012:
Funemployed, by Michael Lippert
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2011:
Single Long, by Jack Mayer and Sarra Jahedi
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2010:
Vista Del Monte, by Adrian DiGiovanni
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2009:
Lowering the Bar, by Kenneth Yoder
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2008:
4 and a Half Terrorists, by Olive Films
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2007:
Cop Show, by David Pasquesi and Tracy Letts

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