The reality series On the Lot revolves around competing directors creating short films each week. The directors and their films are voted on by the viewing audience. The top vote-getters are highlighted and given an encore showing on the program. The bottom vote-getters are eliminated from the competition.

Semi-finals - "Out of time"

In the second episode, the 36 remaining semi-finalists were asked to divide themselves into groups of three and write, shoot, and edit a short film within 24 hours based on the theme "out of time" and each director was judged individually on his or her section of the film.

Final 18

In this week, contestants were challenged to return to their hometowns and shoot a one-minute comedic short film. This week's films are listed by their placing in the voting, then by surname of the director.

Top 3

Continuing contestants

Bottom 3

Final 15

The contestants are reduced from 15 to 12 over three weeks. Each week, five of the fifteen finalists are chosen to show new films, with one of them being cut from the competition the following week.

Week two

The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher said her favorite film was Broken Pipe Dreams, Garry Marshall said his favorite film was Dough: The Musical, and guest judge Michael Bay said his favorite film was Laughing Out Loud: A Comic Journey. The other ten finalists were surveyed and the majority liked Laughing Out Loud: A Comic Journey the most, and their least favorite was The First Time I Met The Finkelsteins.

Week three

The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher said her favorite film was Polished. Garry Marshall and David Frankel both chose Beeline as their favorite film.

Week four

The directors and films shown this week were: Judges Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall and Wes Craven all chose Sunshine Girl as their favorite film.

Final 12

Week five

The directors and films shown this week were: Judges Carrie Fisher and Mark Waters chose Die Hardly Working as their favorite film, and Garry Marshall chose Under The Gun as his favorite film.

Week six

The theme this week was horror. The directors and films shown this week were: Judge Carrie Fisher chose Midnight Snack as her favorite film, Garry Marshall chose Eternal Waters as his favorite film, and guest judge Eli Roth chose The Malibu Myth as his favorite film.

Final 10

Week seven

The theme this week was either in the old west or in the future. The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher chose Worldly Possession as her favorite film, Garry Marshall said Hilary was the most improved filmmaker with her film The Legend of Donkey-Tail Willie, and guest judge Luke Greenfield chose Time Upon A Once as his favorite film (he called it "Twice Upon A Time").

Week eight

The theme this week was action. The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher chose Zero2Sixty as her favorite film. Garry Marshall and guest judge Antoine Fuqua chose Sweet as their favorite film.

Final 6

Week nine

The theme this week was love. The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher chose Girl Trouble as her favorite film. Guest judge Brad Silberling chose Old Home Boyz as his favorite film. Garry Marshall chose Unplugged and Keep Off Grass as his favorite films.

Week ten

The theme this week was driving. The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher and guest judge Gary Ross chose Driving Under The Influence as their favorite film, and substitute judge Penny Marshall chose Backseat Driving Test as her favorite film.

Week eleven

The films in this episode were based on the logline submitted by the winner of the America's Choice Logline Challenge, Kim Saucier from Levant, Maine. The logline was "Man wakes up, rolls out of bed one morning to find himself in a dress, and he's got no memory at all of how he got into the frock." The directors and films shown this week were: Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall and guest judge F. Gary Gray all chose Army Guy as their favorite film.