What a cold open is

A cold open is an opening scene that starts the story before any titles or setup, dropping the audience into a problem already in motion. In TV it is the scene that plays before the main titles; in a feature it is a first scene that withholds context and makes the reader catch up.

A cold open trades explanation for a question the audience needs answered, and it ends the moment that question lands.

Cold open example: how it works, beat by beat

Last Call spends no time on how Mara came to run the diner. The first action line, Mara "wipes a counter that is already clean," tells you this is someone waiting for something without a word of backstory.

  1. The entrance poses a question. Jonas holds a paper bag "like it might bite." We don't know what is inside, only that he is afraid of it.
  2. The reveal raises the stakes. Cash spills out, and "That's not coffee money" turns small talk into a problem.
  3. The twist reframes everything. "Your dad's been dead six years." / "Then who gave me this?" The real question arrives in the last two lines of dialogue.
  4. Outside pressure ends it. Headlights stop at the window, and SMASH CUT TO: throws us into the kitchen mid-escape. The open stops at peak tension, not after it.

Notice what is missing: no town name, no explanation of who Jonas's father was. The script trusts the reader to lean forward.

Format notes

A feature screenplay doesn't label its cold open; the first scene heading simply starts mid-action. TV scripts usually mark it, with COLD OPEN at the top and END OF COLD OPEN where the titles would run. How to write a TV pilot shows where it sits in the act structure.

COLD OPEN

INT. BUS DEPOT - NIGHT

A ticket machine prints ticket after ticket. Nobody is standing at it.

RUTH (40s), the night guard, sets down her thermos.

RUTH
Not again.

END OF COLD OPEN

Hard transitions such as SMASH CUT TO: sit right-aligned on their own line; save them for cuts that are the shock itself, as here. In Scenaloom a transition is a typed element that aligns itself (see formatting), and the screenplay format guide covers every other element.

Common cold open mistakes

  • Opening on the weather. A storm or a skyline is atmosphere, not a problem. Last Call has rain, but the scene starts when the door chimes.
  • Explaining too early. If a character recaps the backstory on page one, the open has turned into exposition.
  • Running past the hook. End on the question; the answer belongs to the next scene.

Try it: write your own cold open

  1. Pick the moment your story's problem becomes impossible to ignore, and start one beat before it.
  2. Give one character an object or line that raises a question, as Jonas's bag does. Write no backstory.
  3. Cut at the highest point of tension, inside a page. Open Last Call as your own project in the screenplay editor and rewrite it with something else in the bag.

Questions

What is a cold open in TV?

A cold open in TV is the scene or scenes that play before the opening titles, written to hook viewers before the episode proper begins. It often runs one to three pages, can be self-contained or set up the main story, and ends at the title card or first break. Scripts usually label it COLD OPEN or TEASER.

How do you write a cold open?

Start inside a problem rather than before it. Choose the moment the trouble arrives, bring in only the characters needed to feel it, give them one concrete object or line that raises a question, and cut away at peak tension. Save the backstory for later scenes: the open works because the audience is catching up.

How long should a cold open be?

Most cold opens run from half a page to about three pages, which is roughly thirty seconds to three minutes of screen time. Last Call lands its hook in under a page. If yours runs longer, check whether the early lines are explanation the scene doesn't need.