If you ever have the chance to pitch your movie or TV show, there’s a good chance the executive across the table (or Zoom) will ask you some version of the question “Why now?”

This question isn’t about your characters, the story, or any of the other elements of your project that you would have spent countless hours thinking of answers for, so if you didn’t know it was coming, you might be caught unprepared.

Never fear! In this post I’ll walk you through what this question means, and how you can prepare yourself to answer it.

What does “Why now?” mean?

When the exec asks “Why now?” they aren’t asking you why you’re pitching the project now. (If they were, it would be a pretty easy answer: “Because this is when you agreed to meet with me.”) Instead they are asking about how your fictional project will fit into the broader context of the real world.

Another way of phrasing the question would be “Why would audiences respond to this project if it were made today?”

Why are you being asked this question?

Your first reaction might be to answer, “Because it’s awesome! The story is exciting, the characters are compelling, and you were laughing at all my jokes. Audiences will love it too!” But the executives are actually asking a deeper question. If you’ve reached the point you’re pitching the project, it’s taken as a given that you have a good story and compelling characters. That’s the bare minimum.

The “Why now?” question comes from a fear that despite there being a good story and compelling characters, the project won’t resonate with audiences. The executive is asking you to assure them that if they invest millions of dollars into this thing audiences won’t ignore it.

This might feel like an unfair burden since the script is only one part of making the project, and you’re a screenwriter, not a marketer, but the truth is you are a marketer, and if the execs aren’t convinced at this point, you’ll never get to the other parts of making the project.

The “Why now?” question is often dreaded by writers, but it can be an opportunity for you to get a better understanding of what your script is saying and how it will be received.

How do you answer the question?

The exact answer will of course depend on your story, but here are a few pointers on how to think about it.

The most obvious approach is to think about something that has recently happened or is continuing to happen in the world that reflects your story. This can be a specific event that captured the public’s imagination or an ongoing social trend. This approach means you’re trying to capture the zeitgeist, which is “the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.”

Of course this is only relevant if your story actually fits the zeitgeist. If it doesn’t, it can be really awkward to try and force your story into it. There’s also a risk here of chasing a fad that might fade away, leaving your script adrift. But if your story does fit within some part of the zeitgeist it’s really easy to draw comparisons and make it clear to the executive.

If your story doesn’t touch on some larger trend in society, don’t despair. Instead of going big, you can go internal. Emotions, both positive and negative, are evergreen. Grief, falling in love, heroism, heartbreak, social anxiety, the joy of hanging out with friends, loneliness, shame, pride, and a million other things will never fade away. If your story touches on these emotional, social, and psychological ideas, it’s going to be relevant to a larger audience.

Think about how your story will make audiences feel, and how those feelings will drive them to watch and talk about the story with their friends and family. If those feelings tie into a larger feeling pervading society, that’s even better.

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