No scripts are in hand for next season, in any form; this is always the case
each year as we wrap production. We wait for WB to renew the show, then
provide a script order. Once we have the script order in hand, scripts get
going. If it's a freelance script, going from first meeting through 2 drafts
of the outline, 2 drafts of the script, it takes about a month, plus the time
I spend revising it; if I write it myself, it's a lot less time, because I
know the show more than any freelancer can be reasonably expected to.

jms