Sunday Dinners (Webisode Series)

[guyrjames]

The Sunday dinner table was where you really learned about your family – their history, their hopes and worries, stories, jokes and personalities. The meal was pretty special, too – something that had been cooking all morning, food that was delicious, comforting and made with love.

For the Rose family, Sunday dinners have always been a staple and tradition that family matriarch, Gail Rose, has insisted on continuing even though her three children are all grown up with lives of their own and her 37-year marriage is in shambles.

Sunday Dinners is a dramedy webisode series that follows the private lives of the Rose family. Each webisode occurs on one of the family’s Sunday dinners and sheds a light on what it truly means to be a family and the drama and laughs that must be endured to keep them all together. At the helm are Felix Rose, a British American businessman, and family matriarch, Gail Rose, a homemaker and devoted mother of three: Piper, an attorney and newlywed, Ash, who works for his father, and Birdie, a career college student. With a deep-seeded family secret coming out of the woodwork by the name of Clay Archer, Felix’s illegitimate son, Sunday dinners are about to get more interesting.

STARRING…


Born August 26, 1960, Gail Rose (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a career homemaker. Dropping out of college at the age of 21, Gail focused all of her attention on raising her children and doting on the love of her life, Felix Rose. Warm, nurturing and meddlesome, Gail makes up for her lack of a social life by immersing herself in her children’s lives.


Born March 25, 1959, Felix Rose (Hugh Laurie) grew up in London, England. A knack for business and a sharp personality, Felix longed for the American dream. Meeting Gail while attending The Stern School in New York City, he quickly fell head over heals. Their relationship moved quickly and they were married just six months after dating and expecting their first child six months later. After moving his family to Los Angeles, CA Felix has made a decent living for himself in advertising. Stern, but fair and a hidden sense of humor, Felix loves his family and is truly afraid that his past indiscretions will tear his family apart.


Born December 4, 1982, Piper (Eliza Dushku) is the eldest of the Rose children. Stubborn, methodical and a born leader is how she was top of her class at Yale Law School. Out of love for her family, she took a job at the leading law firm in L.A. to be close to home. Recently married, Piper couldn’t be happier, but with her and her new husband’s long hours, she worries the honeymoon stage is quickly fading.


Born June 17, 1985, Ash (Dave Franco) is your typical middle child. A born pleaser, Ash has made it his life’s work to get noticed. When your older sister is “super-attorney” and your baby sister is “super-free spirited” it is easy to get lost in the shuffle. Majoring in business, Ash was quick to take a job at his father’s ad agency in hopes that he can make a name for himself. With his new half-brother coming out of the woodwork, Ash worries his status as the “Golden Boy” will be short-lived.


Born February 14, 1991, Birdie (Shelley Hennig) definitely lives up to her birthday. She loves life and lives every moment of it. Reckless and passionate, Birdie has made a career out of going to college. Never settling on a major and constantly in trouble whether it’s partying too much or almost flunking out of school, Birdie makes it a point to live up to her “black sheep” namesake. Birdie truly has a heart of gold, but can’t seem to get her life together.


Born May 27, 1986, Clay (Garrett Hedlund) grew up with a single mother in New York City. Growing up, Clay looked forward to two days: Christmas and his birthday when Uncle Felix would come to visit. With a lack of a male figure in his life, he was starved for attention. The visits stopped after he turned 13 and Clay learned to rely on himself. An aspiring musician, Clay forwent college and decided to dedicate his life to making it big. When his mother became ill, he put his dreams on hold to support her and on her deathbed, it was revealed that Uncle Felix, was in fact his father. Thinking he could see what the deadbeat dad that abandoned him had to offer, Clay made his way to L.A. New playground meant he could restart his dream of making it in the music industry and also meet the family that was more important than him.


Born July 11, 1981, Teddy Hayes (Jesse Williams) was born to a wealthy family. The son of a State Senator and a judge, Teddy’s expectations were set extremely high. Compassionate, thoughtful and selfless, medical school seemed to be the logical choice and Teddy became a pediatric surgeon. Meeting Piper during his ER rotation, they dated for 3 years before Teddy got the nerve to ask her to marry him. Now that they are married, he feels that his life is content, but with dark secrets from the Rose’s past coming to light, Teddy worries that he might be dragged in the crossfire.

EPISODE GUIDE
Sequence One:


1x01: October 30, 2016
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – It’s Sunday dinner at the Rose household as usual. Except for the fact that Felix’s illegitimate son is coming and no one understands why Gail invited him. Sit down and pour a drink. You’re gonna need it.
1x01
1x02: November 6, 2016
Attempted Murder or Honest Mistake – That is the question on everyone’s mind as Felix returns home from a near-fatal allergic reaction to Gail’s cooking. Gail and Felix continue to deal with his infidelity. Birdie’s fling-of-the-week gets roped into dinner and Clay and Teddy’s connection is revealed.
1x03: November 13, 2016
Every Rose Has Its Thorn – While Clay and Gail seem to be getting closer and closer, Clay’s frustration with how Felix is treating him comes to a head. Teddy worries that his past will ruin his future with Piper. Gail meddles in Ash’s personal life when she tries to play matchmaker.
1x04: November 20, 2016
Devil in a Blue Dress – And her name is Victoria Archer (guest star Michelle Pfeiffer), Clay’s Aunt and his mother’s twin sister. After inviting herself to dinner, Victoria’s wicked ways plague the Rose family. Gail makes a decision regarding her marriage to Felix.
1x05: November 27, 2016
Keep Calm and Eat Turkey – Thanksgiving three days late…just another one of the Rose’s odd family traditions. Holiday season brings out the worst in people. Gail and Clay start early to prepare the feast. Jealous, each of the siblings tries to rain on their parade with disastrous results.
1x06: December 4, 2016
1x07: December 11, 2016
1x08: December 18, 2016
1x09: December 25, 2016
1x10: January 1, 2017

Author's Note
This is an idea I have had for a while.  I've always wanted to try out a webisode series and I'm a huge fan of familial dramedies.  Pilot is definitely in the works, but wanted to get some feedback/comments on the pitch.  If it isn't clear, each episode tells the story of a different Sunday dinner with recurring storylines throughout the sequence.  

[The Doctor]

I have to say this is very interesting.
Im loving that your cast works perfectly and that the idea of a Sunday Dinner revealing all your secrets, sounds about right when it comes to families . I cant wait to see what happens next!!!

[Jamison]

This is a pretty intriguing concept. Every episode following one family in such an intimate setting could be pretty funny, intense and emotional depending on how screwed up the family is. haha The only thing I can think about is the Gallagher's from Shameless. I don't know if you're familiar with that show, but they're pretty damn dysfunctional, and while your characters here don't sound half as messed up as they do, I think it could still be entertaining. Can't say much else right now, but keep working on the pilot. Looking forward to reading it.

[Brady Brown]

I really do like this concept. It's interesting, unique, and it would be neat to see how you handle the information that's happened throughout the week into each episode. I will say, though, that the descriptions for the three children read a little stereotypical (smart old child, yearning to be noticed middle child, and wild young child), but I'm reserving my full judgement until I read a pilot. Good luck with this! I eagerly await

[guyrjames]

First 8 pages of pilot episode is posted. Thanks for the feedback so far. Was able to get through most of the pilot tonight. Have a busy week and weekend of work, so I wanted to get what I had out to give you an idea of the characters, and tone, etc. Feedback is always appreciated.

[Brady Brown]

Read the first eight pages that you posted, Guy! I enjoyed it. Like I said, it's got a great premise and the already bomb drop of Felix having a illegitimate child was really intriguing. I look forward to the rest!

[Jamison]

The episode so far was pretty well written and nicely formatted. I think the family actually feels like a family, which is good to see so early on. The character that seems to be coming off the page the most for me is Gail. Looking forward to reading the rest. Good luck!

[guyrjames]

Added episode descriptions for the first 5 episodes, though I have the entire Sequence One planned out, but don't want to spoil the direction too much. Thanks to all who've read so far. I'm planning on getting the rest of the pilot done over the next couple days (if work permits). I appreciate all the feedback. In regards to the children being a little "mary sue", it was somewhat intentional as I hope the writing and their past and lives told through the episodes will deviate from any "mary sue"-ishness.

[Jack Malone]

I'm in love with this whole entire pitch. For one, we need more webisode series on theVPN. Two, the entire idea is so unique, and three, part of what makes drama interesting is conflicting perspectives, and from reading what you've written so far of the pilot, you have these different characters clashing in conversation about the illegitimate child, the cheating, and it just is very reminiscent of a dysfunctional, yet strangely beautiful family. So, I'm already drawn into the characters, the launching pad for the story, and as for your writing: it's great. The only comment for improvement is to avoid writing things like "he scoffs" or "they sigh" as the only lines of action. A lot of the time you can include that as a parenthetical if you really want to keep it in, so "(scoffing) seriously?" is better than a line of action that just reads "Ash scoffs." And that's seriously the only 'negative' critique I can give. 

I really want to see more projects reach the 'air' so to speak, and this is an interesting one that I think would be a nice addition to the lineup. It's also refreshing to see pitches include an example of your writing style, and to see the writing match the format so incredibly well. Anyway, those are my thoughts  

[Brian Melanson]

I have to agree with Jack, and basically everyone else, this seems like a great concept that can go pretty far. Family Dramas are always fun because they have layers to them and can evolve by rebuilding relationships or destroying them. I can't wait to see what you do for this pitch, and I will be giving what you have written a read soon and post my thoughts about it.

[Brian Melanson]

ALRIGHT! One Pilot (Or part of a pilot) down, one more to go.

I just finished reading the first 8 pages of the script, and all I can say is --

I was blown away. Your formatting is amazing, the characters are greatly different, but still share similarities, seeing as how they are a family after all. I personally loved all the kids, they just seem to be gossiping about their half brother that they didn't know about, and all of a sudden they are forced to have Sunday Dinner (roll credits) with him. I loved Gail and how she basically needed a glass of wine to just get through everything. One thing that did irk me a bit, was actually all the drinking. BUT, I do have that feel that this family does need it to get through this and it could be a fun running gag for the show. But that's just me, but if you make it work for the plot, which you already did, I am here for it.

Like I already said, your formatting was perfect, it felt like a real script and you have years of training behind you. This isn't about your story or script, which was amazing by the way, but Comic Sans. Not my favorite font, but that does not turn me off from the script. I know it's probably stupid to even thing that should be on my radar, but whenever I see it, I don't like it. BUT OVERALL, this is something I want to see on theVPN, I think it has the potential to be something different and has that fun idea of each season, possibly, being a new set of family? I don't know, I just see that beyond Season One, you could do new families and new Drama Stories about their Sunday Dinners (Roll Credits). But overall, great start to the pilot and I cannot wait to see how it all finishes, good luck!

[Ciarán Graham]

Just wanted to drop in and agree with literally everyone, I absolutely loved what I've read so far! Your dialogue, characters and casting were all great. Can't wait to see more!

[Jon Van Pelt]

Is there still room at the dinner table for one more ?

LOVED it!!

[Darrin McCann]

** REVIEW ** 1.01 - October 30, 2016

First off, I would love to be a fly on the wall in this house. 30-year-old illegitimate son and my ears perked up. Like most people, I come from a very dysfunctional family. We're always at each others throats but would die to defend the other if the need were to arise. So, when it comes to family-centric shows I usually relate to ones that are full of passive-aggressiveness. This is an fantastic example of that. I like the differences within the siblings. The older responsible sibling, in this case Piper, is such a cliche, but the reason it's a cliche is because it's real life. I don't think I have met an older sibling who wasn't the more responsible out of all the children. But I like how she's balanced out by Birdie and her more care-free spirit but at the same time they still feel cut from the same cloth. I liked the contrast in relationships between the characters. A good example is when Felix walks into the kitchen and the very different reactions from his children. Birdie welcomes him, Piper avoids him and Ash sympathizes for him (at least that's how it read to me with his immediate 'sure I'll help' attitude). There were a couple SPAG errors, nothing huge, nothing too distracting. I was too engulfed in the story and honestly I would love to read all the episodes that follow. A great start to what I think will be a great series. Please send me an invitation to Sunday Dinners! Thumbs up from me

[R.A. Picking]

Is the link for the episode broke? For some reason I can't get in