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A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or an episode of an anthology series.[1] In internal industry usage, however, all television scripts (including episodes of ongoing drama or comedy series) are teleplays, although a "teleplay by" credit may be classified into a "written by" credit depending on the circumstances of its creation.[2]
The term first surfaced during the 1950s, as television was gaining cultural significance, to distinguish teleplays from stage plays written for theater and screenplays written for films. All three have different formats, conventions, and constraints.