2019 ORIGINAL WORKS
THE GREAT GIVE UP
Drama, 60 Minute
As their lives implode around them, five Detroiters must radically redefine success as the “American Dream” of their parents’ generation passes them by.
The stories that entwine in The Great Give Up are both timely and consequential. Today’s 20- and 30-somethings must contend with the fact that -for an entire swath of Americans- the career metrics, the life milestones, and the traditional markers of success have been rendered obsolete. But along with the realities of crushing debt, dysfunctional dating, and professional immobility, come radiant opportunities to build new communities, forge chosen families, and create new paths.
The struggle is never realer than in Detroit, Michigan, where we meet an ensemble cast of characters who are forced to opt out of the notion that things would turn out as planned as they fumble, mismanage, and straight-up pratfall past life’s big milestones.
53 MILES WEST OF VENUS
Comedy, 30 minute
When their estranged great aunt Evelyn passes away, fraternal twins Leah and Ian Gilman are offered the opportunity to purchase her rundown wellness resort on the outskirts of Tucson.
After convincing two investors with their own motivations to buy in on the proposition -- Ian’s former boss, injured ex-NBA star Kwame St. Simon, and Leah’s former college roommate, trend-hungry tech millionaire Josephine Durk -- the foursome move to Chiron Valley Resort and Spa.
Meanwhile Zeb, the hotel’s mercurial manager, Debra, the understanding but physically inflexible yoga instructor, and Simone, the straight-shooting, one-armed Reiki Master, work to preserve the “charm” of the place and the spirit of all that Evelyn left behind.