A family attorney agrees to an open marriage with his wife who just realized that she’s queer.

SYNOPSIS:

THE IDEA

I’m a huge fan of Ben Barnes and I’ve noted that he has mentioned several times in interviews that he wants to play in a new Rom Com, which made me want to write a Romantic Comedy series with him in the leading man role.

The show is called Happily Married. It’s a positive representation of an open marriage story, inspired by my own experiences, affections for the LGBTQ+ community, and an episode that I like from The Sexual Wellness Sessions podcast about Non-monogamy. Some of the scenes are written with my friend Mike Mastracci, a family attorney.

CONCEPT

Happily Married has the external tone of SEX EDUCATION and internal depth of AFTER LIFE. It’s a warm and entertaining take on open marriage that’s meant to encourage honest and constructive discussions about the somewhat taboo subject. And as much as it could be a sound and viable option for married couples, we are going to look at how and why it may work for some but not for others.

The story explores individual vs. social values, balancing sensitive and comedic portrayals of marital relations, family issues, romance, friendships, and gender fluidity.

It has everything you would expect from a feel-good Rom Com, like falling-in-love scenes, cute and funny scenes, touching moments, moderately sexy scenes, and some break-ups.

MAIN CHARACTERS

John Gable – Lead character. Early 40’s. Tall and handsome, with dark hair and very dark eyes (like Ben Barnes). An attorney who cares a lot about married couples and orphans. He grew up an orphan himself. Active listener. Diplomatic. Bi-curious. Challenge: Overcome his deeply rooted hang-ups so he can become his full authentic self.

Donna Gable – John’s wife. Early 40’s. A lovely brunette with striking blue eyes. Veterinarian. Feisty, logical, a bit short tempered. Talks to animals like they understand her and vice versa. Non-Binary. Challenge: Learn to be gracious and more considerate.

Billie (Wilhelmina) Gable – John and Donna’s wise and funny 9-year-old daughter. Talks and acts like an adult. Challenge: Develop her connection with other children.

Grace Keller – Early 30’s. A mysterious girl from John’s past. Charity worker. Conservative but open minded. Lives with her cat. Challenge: Recognize that she needs to give more to herself.

BEGINNING:

John and Donna go through the normalcy of their happily married life and daily routines with their daughter, Billie. While working on a divorce case trying to help Matt Brine, a famous rock star who desperately wants to save his marriage, John comes across a staggering surprise: Matt’s sister-in-law, Grace Keller, is someone he has met 20 years ago when she was 12 and he was a summer camp counselor. (Grace had a crush on him, which he didn’t know about.) He felt an instant attraction to her now as a grown up. Meanwhile at the grocery, Donna runs into Nick (formerly Nicole Angeline), their trans man neighbor and her secret crush, who invites her to a drag show. Billie, their socially aloof daughter, tries to mingle with other children at a birthday party, and John meets up with Grace.

CONTINUATION:

Plot A: Donna admits about her attraction to Nick and John feels jealous at first. Donna thinks that Nick likes her the same way but soon finds out that he is already romantically involved with someone, which made her feel silly. However, she comes to terms with her need for a romantic relationship that's different from what she experiences with John. She tells him she feels sexually attracted to 'masculine lesbians' and suggests that they open their marriage. John was not sure how to respond to this initially, but he can tell how much it means to her. He trusts Donna and has been recently inspired by the open marriage that his client Matt is able to manage with his wife, so he agrees to the arrangement. At the back of his mind, he also considers developing a relationship with Grace, as he is admittedly drawn to her. Eventually, he would also tell Donna about Grace. Donna confides to her best friend Leah about the complex feelings it triggered, and Donna asks to meet Grace. In Season 2, Donna will be dealing with her distressed parents after they heard a rumor about John, and she will also be pressed to come out to them about her sexuality. In Season 3, she will have a male lover (who is very different from John) and a steady girlfriend who is going to challenge John.

Plot B: John decides with Donna that there is no point in bringing up their romantic relationships to Billie, unless she asks. As Donna goes out to date people, John spends more time with Grace and learns about her affluent background. She introduces him to her mother, a woman who has endured a bad marriage throughout her life and yet maintained a cheerful disposition. There comes a point when John would become uncertain of Donna’s love for him, which will make him act up. John begins to evaluate his personal relationships with a psychoanalyst to make sure he understands what he has gotten himself into. Grace also helps John acknowledge that he is bi-curious and encourages him to see other people. In Season 2, John befriends Mindy, a polyamorous woman that Grace doesn’t particularly approve of. Through Mindy, John will learn about the challenges of “Kitchen Table” Polyamory and will encounter Hercules, a male sex worker who will teach him much wisdom. In Season 3, John hires a paralegal who is struggling with his own marital issues. They will help a gay couple adopt an orphaned toddler and John will share his own experience as an orphan. He is also going to choose to break up with Mindy.

Plot C: Billie bonds with her school mate Peter, and they would get into conversations about their interests and peers. She will notice about her parents' other relationships, but she doesn't worry about them since they seem to have agreed on it. In Season 2, she will be a year older and would be talking with Peter about their parents and other close relatives. She mentions to him that she is aware that her parents are dating other people and that she's glad they still get along while doing that. It seems to help them stay together. In Season 3, she and Peter will be eleven and would be talking about their crushes.

ENDING:

After resolving their core issues throughout the seasons, the series ends with John and Donna in a happy open marriage limited to John’s girlfriend (Grace), Donna’s male lover (Chris), and Donna’s girlfriend (Liz). Billie did not concern herself with their sex lives and is just happy that her parents did not split up.

HAPPILY MARRIED