Born Hunted

I have always loved film and television, especially as someone who grew up in the corny 2000s TV era. In middle school, I was always making television show scripts inside my head and acting them out inside my head. This story is one of them. 

The idea behind this script is a three season limited series television show that would have an ending that makes the viewers hopefully realize that the pain of the teenage years doesn’t last forever and will leave them feeling satisfied with the ending. The story is about four teenagers from the heart of downtown Chicago’s struggle to keep their middle school friend group strong as the end of senior year approaches. Alongside the unexpected thrill of superpowers and avoiding the mysterious figure who gave them the powers, flunking senior year puts the friend group through the ultimate test. (logline) To me, the kids are representations of the people I grew up around in middle and high school. They are kids who already have so much going on in their lives and now they have to worry about school and super powers. 

The ideal audience for this series is people of all ages who desperately need a break from life and its stressors. Whether it is school, social issues, work stress, e.t.c. I want the audience to be able to see themselves in the characters and enjoy both the relatable and awkward moments. For me, one of the biggest inspirations behind this was the Netflix series On My Block and the Showtime series The Chi. Both shows are pre-teen and teen focused since that's the main character's ages, but you see how the complexities of being a teenager, maintaining a friend group, and overall life struggles impact a person, especially a soon to be young adult. My love for those shows during my original time of making this script and even now has really shaped how I see and feel about the scripts. I remember the excitement the kids in the middle school cafeteria had when the latest season came out, not only because the show was interesting and entertaining but also because it felt real. That's the feeling I want my show and script to have. I want teens to feel like the jokes and dialogue are relatable.While, of course, my show is slightly different due to the inclusion of the supernatural powers each teen receives, those are an inner reflection of their own hopes and issues. An Honorable mention is the show. I’m Not Okay with this. Both the main character in that series and the one I’m writing are teenagers who already had their own set of issues and now have to deal with powers with an unknown source. The major plot difference between that show and my script is the focus of attempting to keep the friend group alive. This subplot is important because, as the show progresses, we will see how each character's codependency of the friendships affects the actions they take throughout the series.

 Each character has a bit of a trope inside them. Chase is a basic rich kid who has had everything handed to him and has no inspiration to move beyond that. Dawson is an overconfident intellectual who lives and breathes school. Gustavo is a chronic overthinker who compensates with acting out and anger, and Diamond is constantly working hard to reach her goals. She doesn't have time to think about anything else. 

In my script, each teen’s power reflects what they need to learn about themselves: Chase’s super intelligence shows that he is more than his parents' money and can achieve anything he sets his mind to. Dawson’s shapeshifting reveals the importance of embracing all parts of his identity, not just his intellect. Gustavo’s ability to grow and ignite forces him to control his emotions and act with intention. Diamond’s wolf form teaches her to let go of control and explore new ways of expressing herself..

The harder part of this project has been being able to flush out the reasons behind each character's powers and show the internal development that has come from them. I want each character’s abilities to reflect who they are, but I'm still figuring out how to establish that within the first few pages. I believe that if this project expanded into a full season, these themes would naturally come  and be noticed  as viewers become more connected to the characters. Overall, this project means a lot to me, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to bring these characters to life.Overall, this project honestly means a good deal to me and I'm so grateful I was given the chance to bring these characters out.