Brainwashed
Writer | Producer
It may be odd to call out a series I helped develop that didn’t end up being picked up, but it is still one of my proudest achievements. To literally take a single-sentence concept from someone, then research, concept and bring it to life was exhilarating in itself. And I see no shame in making it as far as NBC paying to write a pilot episode and making it to be one of their finalists for the upcoming season.
The idea was literally to take the real life of a cult-fighting lawyer from the 70s and build a tv narrative. I had a few headlines from his life, but the rest was based on my research of his life and his connections.
I had already written a book and a couple of scripts when this project became a focus. I dove into the main character, and building out the cast of supporting characters - some based on real people and others foibles to accelerate the story. I’ve always been one to notice the details and backstory in films and TV, and this delved into my passion for those details and what they can reveal later. Do not give away everything at once! (Note for movie trailer producers around the world…)
In bringing on a seasoned showrunner, we modernized the concept into a father-son legal show. Although that was a welcomed challenge, one of the most notable goals in that metamorphosis was modernizing the idea of brainwashing. As a word, it’s so often connected to the cults of decades ago. But I would’ve loved to have delved into how broad-reaching it has become in today’s society.
Although writing has not become a core aspect in my career these last years, it is a passion and one that I am ready to strike up again.