60 minute drama pilot.

A free-spirited woman facing middle-age in middle-America and the eclectic people in her orbit have their lives torn apart by gentrification and a soul crushing redefining of the American Dream.

SYNOPSIS:

Overview/World

Just Like That… follows three women as they enter a new stage in life. Friends made us laugh and cry as those millennials navigated adult life. The New Bohemians takes both to create a one-hour, serialized drama centered around TABITHA VINCENT and four, diverse inhabitants of a Soho like area. Each is at a different age ranging from their 20s to 40s, separated by the proverbial 6 degrees. Facing unthought of challenges, at stake for each is a future they define or succumb to, while coming into conflict with friends, neighbors and their own shattered worldview. Fear of, or accommodating change drives each to latch onto a cause they feel will fill a void in their lives, dragging others up -or down- with them.

It examines the themes of life choices and what does the future now hold well into the 21st Century.

Vision/Tone/Case

Real world issues:

Millennials do not have the same opportunities as past generations. The current economy, cost of a college degree, the Great Crash of ‘08 and COVID have altered American culture. Facing a lower standard of living, they question what the American Dream now means.

Gentrification affects revitalized areas brought back from decades of decay, only to become victims of their success. Longtime residents feel alienated/driven out. These are the engines of change driving the internal/external conflicts each character faces.

This is not a drama where it’s us v. them. The characters are victims absent a clear external antagonist; a Kafka-like story set in the 21st Century where they are victims of circumstances and end up fighting themselves, or their worldviews, which themselves shift during the seasons.

It’s not about winning/losing, but what you learn by fighting. What’s worth fighting for towards the goal to mean something in this world. Change is inevitable. How each deals with it is not. This keeps the audience coming back wondering what choices —good, bad, indifferent— each makes.

Comps

Nomadland (2020) This is Us (NBC) Gentefied (Netflix) Tiny Furniture (2010)

Characters

Tabitha- Early 40s. The story’s omnipotent narrator. Big sister type. No children. Never married. Facing middle age, saving a local landmark from demolition gives renewed purpose.

Edward (Eddie)-Late 30s. Intelligent. Measured and reserved, but socially awkward. Business consultant. Seeks a greater connection with young Samantha to bring out his inhibitions.

Simone- Late 20s. Single mom. Vivacious but no attention seeker. Focused on her son and her financially troubled art gallery. Friends with Tabitha, but may lose it for her family's future.

Samantha (Sam)- Early 20s. Devout drummer for a local garage band. Works while attending community college. Seeks a life on her own, but stymied by the times and friend’s misconceptions.

Jacob (Jake)- 30ish. Friendly but an introvert at heart. A talented artist in oil and watercolor. Wants to help Simone but is a functioning alcoholic. Roommates with Edward.

Season 1: Pilot- Tabitha sets the tone: various, free-spirited people, all feeling unfulfilled, searching for meaning; the friendship and/or sexual tension. Simone hides the fact her gallery’s in trouble. Jacob notices she’s drawn towards prosperous local attorney Andrew, which she tries hiding. Edward enjoys Sam for the feelings she brings out, and doesn’t want to lose it. Sam and friends lament the lack of opportunities for people their age. They see Eddie’s contact with an online music company to get a start. Sam's reluctant, but her on/off again BF knows she may have to move back with her parents if their music careers go nowhere. The PT job at a retro boutique isn’t cutting it.

Season: We see the intertwined crisis each character faces (and open to adding new ones):

Edward cannot see how Tabitha’s drawn to him. He focuses on Sam, who bows to pressure and asks for help. But it ends up helping her, not the band. They and Eddie feel used, but he fears losing her friendship. Some of her other friends are not so forgiving. All the while, his “responsible capitalism” views do not bode well with some of the denizens of the area.

Sam gets an invite to LA. But once the thrill wears off, she realizes she’s only there as an eye candy drummer for an established band and feels used. Hiding her fear, she doesn’t want to go back home as a failure. Eddie goes to her, drawing each other closer. Hides his occasional cocaine use from her.

Simone raises her son alone while owning/managing a gallery. Art is her passion. She’s torn between using Jacob to save her gallery and growing relationship with Andrew. This leads to a choice between the person she needs (Andrew) and the one she wants (Jacob). Her past with Jacob adds to the dilemma while fighting to save her gallery from higher rent and declining interest.

Jake’s well aware of her struggle. Wants to be more to her than a friend but might do more harm than good when she needs stability. Falling off/on the wagon and a tryst with a local socialite doesn’t help. Tension between parts of the artist community add to his problems and growing frustration. He considers selling his loft/studio and leaving, more so after an offer from a high-class gallery in NYC.

Tabitha drifts along until she finds a cause in saving the building where she works from demolition. Unable to get it labeled as historical, she rallies support, but the community’s divided: the new development will add jobs/venues while others see it as another attempt to drive out older residents/clientele. One of the developers, an art enthusiast, wants Simone as a new tenant in the project. Her losing battle to save the building and inability to win Eddie over to her side result in an uncomfortable reassessment of her life.

Season Ending Cliffhangers: After celebrating her first studio recording, Eddie and Sam end up back at her hotel room where they may take a leap of faith. Tabitha discovers Simone’s offer. Challenging her friendship, Simone states her son’s future comes first. Jake decides to leave and give Simone most of the money from selling his loft but an angry plea from her gives him pause. Seeing her world falling apart, Tabitha leaves the audience with a thought: Dreams never sleep in the same bed twice. So, find another dream. Or find another bed.

Future Seasons: Back stories on each character. Knowing there’s no going back, Tabitha faces a new normal. Struggles to reconcile with Simone, her own sense of betrayal hard to overcome. She wavers between trying to win Eddie over and filling an ever growing void in her life, or letting him go, resigned to her fate and that of the area. In the new development, Simone faces a fresh start at the expense of old guard ire. Sam tours with the band discovering the highs/lows of life on the road and failing, long distant relationship with Eddie. Feeling used, Eddie loses interest in music. Draws closer to Tabitha. They find more in common than differences. Contentment eludes Jake after he moves to NYC, more so after meeting an old lover who drove him away in the first place.

Feel free to visit the ScriptHop packet (tagline, comps, character details) at https://packet.scripthop.com/d...

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