OK, so I have a basic idea for a TV show, an hour long drama, and was wondering how the heck you write a treatment for it. I've looked around here and searched around the net for examples and didn't find anything that would help me. I understand pretty much how to write the show, because of the fact that I spent the past couple of days reading The Lunchroom series. My only problem is that I have no clue how to make the outline work on paper. Are there any good websites that show a basic treatment for a TV show or does anyone have any advice on how to write it?

Treatments are for movies.  You need quite a bit more for a series, as this thread discusses:

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-screenwrite/m-1140779034/s-0/

Quoted from weirdninjfan1 ...I have a basic idea for a TV show...

Unless you have a good handle on the characters and the arcs that should span one -- or several -- seasons, I might advise against adding this particular project to your kind of long WIP list.

I just have Boarding right now. The treatment for that is done and I plan on writing it in a few weeks. I plan on doing this after the I'm done with Boarding. I do have a basic idea on how the series will run and how the characters will form over time. Thanks for the link. I'll guess that I'll have to look around.

Also quick question about individual episodes. Can you write outlines for what happens in each episode or dose that have to be done in the bible too?

I don't know of any reason to do a treatment for tv unless you plan on trying to sell it.  It's a pain and the only reason to do a real treatment is to use it as marketing tool.  The treatment you write usually becomes the basis of the Bible of a show but only after it's sold.  Otherwise you're just stuck with pages.  

There are usually a couple of versions of a treatment for a tv show.  There's one that's five pages max and an abbreviation of the one that's more indepth.  The longest treatment I've ever seen was 112 pages and it mapped seven seasons of episodes.  It is all about getting someone to read it and if you can convince someone to read the short treatment then they might want a meeting and the more complete treatment.

There aren’t too many formal rules for a treatment.  It’s usually single-spaced.  It can have dialogue exchanges in it.  It can have sketches in it.  It’s kind of the wild, wild West. The big rule is that you have to make it an enjoyable read.  Being meticulous is a plus but being dull and writing an encyclopedia entry is not a good thing.   If you’re writing a comedy your treatment better be funny.  If you’re writing a spy thriller then your treatment has to move and be exciting.  A treatment is basically a marketing tool and it has to be spectacular if you want someone to read a big block of single-spaced text.

A basic outline of a treatment is something is like this:

On the first few pages you across the story, what it is (sitcom, hour-long, etc.) and what technical elements are in play (animation, cgi) or what makes it different from all the other shows on tv (the narrator sings!)

Episodes
If you want to do tv you better have anywhere from 22-45 episode synopses handy.  It can be two lines or a paragraph but not more than half a page.

Characters
Who are the characters and how do they change through the run of the show?  

Once you’re done writing all that you then have to shrink everything down to under five pages and try to convince someone to read it. A tv treatment is not something that is especially fun to write and I wish you luck.

Quoted from Tierney I don't know of any reason to do a treatment for tv unless you plan on trying to sell it.  It's a pain and the only reason to do a real treatment is to use it as marketing tool.  The treatment you write usually becomes the basis of the Bible of a show but only after it's sold.  Otherwise you're just stuck with pages.   There are usually a couple of versions of a treatment for a tv show.  There's one that's five pages max and an abbreviation of the one that's more indepth.  The longest treatment I've ever seen was 112 pages and it mapped seven seasons of episodes.  It is all about getting someone to read it and if you can convince someone to read the short treatment then they might want a meeting and the more complete treatment. There aren’t too many formal rules for a treatment.  It’s usually single-spaced.  It can have dialogue exchanges in it.  It can have sketches in it.  It’s kind of the wild, wild West. The big rule is that you have to make it an enjoyable read.  Being meticulous is a plus but being dull and writing an encyclopedia entry is not a good thing.   If you’re writing a comedy your treatment better be funny.  If you’re writing a spy thriller then your treatment has to move and be exciting.  A treatment is basically a marketing tool and it has to be spectacular if you want someone to read a big block of single-spaced text. A basic outline of a treatment is something is like this: On the first few pages you across the story, what it is (sitcom, hour-long, etc.) and what technical elements are in play (animation, cgi) or what makes it different from all the other shows on tv (the narrator sings!) Episodes If you want to do tv you better have anywhere from 22-45 episode synopses handy.  It can be two lines or a paragraph but not more than half a page. Characters Who are the characters and how do they change through the run of the show?   Once you’re done writing all that you then have to shrink everything down to under five pages and try to convince someone to read it. A tv treatment is not something that is especially fun to write and I wish you luck.

Thanks Tierney,

This was just what I was looking for. Yeah, I plan on doing about a five season lay out with it. It's going to be hard, I know that but I want something to do over the summer when there's nothing to do.

Hope the information helps.

I also wanted to add that a show Bible is done after the fact.  The episode is written, filmed and then all the things that happen in it that might be important to the series are compiled.  George’s favorite color is blue.  James smothered Dolly with a pillow. Whatever.  It’s a reference book.  

If you’re writing a series outline then you’re writing a treatment not a Bible.  It gets incestuous at times in that before the camera rolls your treatment is the show Bible but once something is on film the treatment isn’t what the show is anymore.  It might serve as the basis of the show but the Bible is all about what actually made it to the screen.

Thanks again everyone. I found the bible that was supposed to be used for Freaks and Greeks online and saved a copy on my computer. I'm probably gonna read that a few times and then use the same format to help me write my bible.