Pre-Production: Treatments/Episode Synopses
‘Young & Famous’ is a 6-part sitcom series, with Episode 1 – “Son of a Biscuit” – being the pilot.
Treatments for episodes 2 through to 6 show the progress of the story that has been introduced within the first episodes.
The characters will develop throughout the story, and new characters will be introduced within the rest of the episodes.
The overall plot of the series is carried throughout, with different sub-plots within the other episodes.
Nisserin has written Episode 2, Becca has written Episodes 3 & 4 and I have written Episodes 5 & 6. We all worked together on the concepts for each episode, highlighting any problems we thought there were with each plot and this allowed us to develop the ideas further into Episode synopses that we have put into the Pre-Production Book, that are listed below.
Episode 2: ‘Finding Arnold’
Despite Annie and Dean’s failed first attempt to become young and famous, they don’t give up hope. After seeing reality TV star Kacey Kingsley wearing a designer knitted scarf, Annie decides to knit the world’s longest scarf and get into the Guinness World Records, adamant that this is the best way to gain the attention of her children and grandchildren. Meanwhile, Dean’s relaxing morning is interrupted when Betty comes barging in to announce that her robotic cat Arnold is missing. She begs Dean to help her find him and mentions the Farling Bay Gazette offering a special reward upon his safe return. The wheels in Dean’s head start turning and he takes missing Arnold as an opportunity to become the ‘Hero of Farling Bay’. Whilst Dean is out searching, Annie invites neighbours Jackie and her son Jacob round to help her with her knitting challenge. The tension between the two women is noticeable yet Annie seems oblivious to Jackie’s jealous glares, as Annie and Jacob sit together, chatting and laughing like best friends. Dean’s quest to find Arnold so far has left him defeated as no one in the village has responded to his posters asking for them to join his search party. Dean sees his son and local pub owner Brian from across the street and has another bright idea. With some convincing Brian agrees to help Dean in his search for Arnold, rounding up the locals to form the Arnold Search Party (the A.S.P). Dean strives to find him as quickly as he can so he makes it into tomorrow’s paper, however the reward is less than he bargained for. Annie’s luck is also running out as adjudicators from Guinness World Records arrive to view her finished scarf, but she realises she’s made a big mistake.
Treatments for episodes 2 through to 6 show the progress of the story that has been introduced within the first episodes.
The characters will develop throughout the story, and new characters will be introduced within the rest of the episodes.
The overall plot of the series is carried throughout, with different sub-plots within the other episodes.
Nisserin has written Episode 2, Becca has written Episodes 3 & 4 and I have written Episodes 5 & 6. We all worked together on the concepts for each episode, highlighting any problems we thought there were with each plot and this allowed us to develop the ideas further into Episode synopses that we have put into the Pre-Production Book, that are listed below.
Episode 2: ‘Finding Arnold’
Despite Annie and Dean’s failed first attempt to become young and famous, they don’t give up hope. After seeing reality TV star Kacey Kingsley wearing a designer knitted scarf, Annie decides to knit the world’s longest scarf and get into the Guinness World Records, adamant that this is the best way to gain the attention of her children and grandchildren. Meanwhile, Dean’s relaxing morning is interrupted when Betty comes barging in to announce that her robotic cat Arnold is missing. She begs Dean to help her find him and mentions the Farling Bay Gazette offering a special reward upon his safe return. The wheels in Dean’s head start turning and he takes missing Arnold as an opportunity to become the ‘Hero of Farling Bay’. Whilst Dean is out searching, Annie invites neighbours Jackie and her son Jacob round to help her with her knitting challenge. The tension between the two women is noticeable yet Annie seems oblivious to Jackie’s jealous glares, as Annie and Jacob sit together, chatting and laughing like best friends. Dean’s quest to find Arnold so far has left him defeated as no one in the village has responded to his posters asking for them to join his search party. Dean sees his son and local pub owner Brian from across the street and has another bright idea. With some convincing Brian agrees to help Dean in his search for Arnold, rounding up the locals to form the Arnold Search Party (the A.S.P). Dean strives to find him as quickly as he can so he makes it into tomorrow’s paper, however the reward is less than he bargained for. Annie’s luck is also running out as adjudicators from Guinness World Records arrive to view her finished scarf, but she realises she’s made a big mistake.
Episode 3: ‘Dress for Success’
Where there’s a will there’s a way, and Annie has a way. Whilst scrolling through her Instagram she spots an exciting post from neighbour, Claire. She’s going on the new TV show ‘Dress for Success’ with designer, Robert Antonio, to find her wedding dress. Annie gets an idea, hoping this will impress Marie, and convinces Claire to let her come along, to which she obliviously says yes. Jackie also insists on coming along with Jacob, to bond with him, meaning a small occasion has turned into a big one, which can only result in trouble. With Annie leaving Dean for the day, he’s more than excited to spend time enjoying his own company. It’s just his luck, that when he goes to relax, the doorbell rings with Betty behind it. After a lot of begging, Dean reluctantly agrees to go over and fix her leaky tap, pleasing Betty a little bit too much. Upon their arrival, Annie is told to just sit, act normal and not to make a big scene. This doesn’t sit well with her, so when Claire and Robert Antonio are out of sight, she lets loose, making her screen time worth while. Once Dean has done his job, Betty states that something else has broken, and he naturally becomes suspicious after the fifth broken item. Unbeknownst to Dean, the culprit is under the same roof, sometimes in the same room, it just takes him a while to figure it out. Creating unnecessary chaos, Annie makes some enemies in the wedding dress & TV industry, including Robert Antonio himself. This doesn’t bode well as Marie comes to visit Antonio, a designer friend, but instead of impressing her, Annie does the complete opposite. The aftermath of the event leaves everyone feeling angry, embarrassed and exhausted, with the headline in the morning’s newspaper, shocking Annie, but for all the wrong reasons.
Episode 4: ‘Waterpebbles’
Another day, another attempt to become famous. Dean decides to write his auto-biography, in an attempt to win a writing competition run by the local bookstore, ‘Waterpebbles’, and get it published. But, like any normal competition, he has a rival - his neighbour, David. Meanwhile, Annie gets invited to Jacob’s party that week, in an attempt to look young and ‘get down with the kids’. Wanting to look her best and keep up her reputation, Annie searches for the next best outfit. Dean & David battle it out, creating and hanging up posters, around the village, neither wanting to back down. On a trip around town, Annie bumps into Jackie and tells her of her future plans, fuelling Jackie’s jealousy. Like usual, Annie is oblivious to her feelings and carries on searching, leaving Jackie sad, annoyed and resentful. Things are looking good for Dean, his book is practically writing itself, and the neighbours, especially Betty, are excited to see the outcome. However, the tension heats up, when Dean notices one of David’s posters in Brian’s pub and the locals wearing ‘Vote David’ badges. He confronts his son, but things turn for the worst once he realises that David is top of the voting poll, that David himself set up with help from Brian. At the party, Annie tries to keep her youthfulness alive, but is distracted when Jacob announces the DJ has cancelled. Annie gets overly ambitious and convinces Jacob to let her be the DJ instead, but unsurprisingly the ‘party’ becomes more of a ‘disco’ leaving guests confused and perplexed. Agitated and hurt, Dean feels the need to prove everyone wrong and become Farling Bay’s first author. However, an angry mob of children and parents, set their sights on Dean, when the unexpected result is announced.
Where there’s a will there’s a way, and Annie has a way. Whilst scrolling through her Instagram she spots an exciting post from neighbour, Claire. She’s going on the new TV show ‘Dress for Success’ with designer, Robert Antonio, to find her wedding dress. Annie gets an idea, hoping this will impress Marie, and convinces Claire to let her come along, to which she obliviously says yes. Jackie also insists on coming along with Jacob, to bond with him, meaning a small occasion has turned into a big one, which can only result in trouble. With Annie leaving Dean for the day, he’s more than excited to spend time enjoying his own company. It’s just his luck, that when he goes to relax, the doorbell rings with Betty behind it. After a lot of begging, Dean reluctantly agrees to go over and fix her leaky tap, pleasing Betty a little bit too much. Upon their arrival, Annie is told to just sit, act normal and not to make a big scene. This doesn’t sit well with her, so when Claire and Robert Antonio are out of sight, she lets loose, making her screen time worth while. Once Dean has done his job, Betty states that something else has broken, and he naturally becomes suspicious after the fifth broken item. Unbeknownst to Dean, the culprit is under the same roof, sometimes in the same room, it just takes him a while to figure it out. Creating unnecessary chaos, Annie makes some enemies in the wedding dress & TV industry, including Robert Antonio himself. This doesn’t bode well as Marie comes to visit Antonio, a designer friend, but instead of impressing her, Annie does the complete opposite. The aftermath of the event leaves everyone feeling angry, embarrassed and exhausted, with the headline in the morning’s newspaper, shocking Annie, but for all the wrong reasons.
Episode 4: ‘Waterpebbles’
Another day, another attempt to become famous. Dean decides to write his auto-biography, in an attempt to win a writing competition run by the local bookstore, ‘Waterpebbles’, and get it published. But, like any normal competition, he has a rival - his neighbour, David. Meanwhile, Annie gets invited to Jacob’s party that week, in an attempt to look young and ‘get down with the kids’. Wanting to look her best and keep up her reputation, Annie searches for the next best outfit. Dean & David battle it out, creating and hanging up posters, around the village, neither wanting to back down. On a trip around town, Annie bumps into Jackie and tells her of her future plans, fuelling Jackie’s jealousy. Like usual, Annie is oblivious to her feelings and carries on searching, leaving Jackie sad, annoyed and resentful. Things are looking good for Dean, his book is practically writing itself, and the neighbours, especially Betty, are excited to see the outcome. However, the tension heats up, when Dean notices one of David’s posters in Brian’s pub and the locals wearing ‘Vote David’ badges. He confronts his son, but things turn for the worst once he realises that David is top of the voting poll, that David himself set up with help from Brian. At the party, Annie tries to keep her youthfulness alive, but is distracted when Jacob announces the DJ has cancelled. Annie gets overly ambitious and convinces Jacob to let her be the DJ instead, but unsurprisingly the ‘party’ becomes more of a ‘disco’ leaving guests confused and perplexed. Agitated and hurt, Dean feels the need to prove everyone wrong and become Farling Bay’s first author. However, an angry mob of children and parents, set their sights on Dean, when the unexpected result is announced.
Episode 5: ‘The Tootorial’
Another day, another attempt to become famous. Annie and Dean get together in an attempt to become the next sensations on YouTube. After seeing their granddaughter Violet posting a makeup tutorial video on YouTube, Annie & Dean decide that creating something similar will make their family see that they have changed and their family should want to see them. After careful research, they turn to Betty to seek help in setting up their channel after finding she has her own, dedicated to her cat Arnold. After several attempts at hitting views, Annie decides she needs to take action and finds out where famous tutorial blogger Joella shops. They encounter problems when Annie tries to find Joella in the local drugstore, buying makeup, and ends up getting a restraining order as she keeps following her around the shopping centre. Her aim was to get advice on how to make the perfect tutorial to become famous, but it didn’t turn out that straight forward. When Annie returns defeated, Dean has the idea that they need to add ‘the personal touch’ to their videos and brings out the photo albums. As Annie begins her tutorial on how to make the perfect photo album, she gets distracted and her and Dean begin to reminisce at the photos of their children. It reaches a very emotional point and Dean accidentally breaks the silence by letting one rip, due to a dodgy prawn meal he created in a tutorial earlier in the episode. This is what finally makes them go viral on Youtube and they call it ‘The Tootorial’. To top it all off, Annie sees that Violet has shared the video on her Instagram and her daughter Marie has liked it raising their hopes for seeing their family again.
Episode 6: ‘Christmas Miracle’
It’s Christmas Day and Annie and Dean’s day with the family has finally come upon them. That is until they receive a phone call from Marie declaring they are no longer able to host Christmas, due to Marie’s husband, Jean Paul Dubois, being called to France for work. Heartbroken and with no plans for Christmas they take to the local village, to see if they can bag a place at the annual Christmas Dinner in the village hall. When they reach it they realise the venue is shut due to refurbishments. Panic has set in within the village and Claire is having a breakdown at the thought of not having anywhere to have the annual Christmas meal. Annie offers up their home to host the Christmas dinner in an attempt to salvage their reputation after being dropped by Marie. They go shopping to the ‘all year round‘ Cost-Gos and buy all sorts of cheap Christmas presents for the villagers that are coming to the house. The moment comes when the villagers arrive and Annie and Dean’s reasonably sized dinner table no longer looks big enough to house everyone. Although the house is bustling with festivities, Annie and Dean can’t help feeling sad this Christmas that their family isn’t sharing it with them. They are about to cut the turkey when the doorbell goes off. Dean answers the door with the Turkey chainsaw still in hand and sees Marie, Violet, Alexander, Brian and Lewis behind it. They shout ‘Merry Christmas!’ and have armfuls of presents with them. Dean stands there in shock and Annie joins him when she calls out to him but he doesn’t answer. At the sight of seeing her family Annie cries out in joy and they all share a very merry Christmas together. The episode ends on a very crowded photo where Annie and Dean look triumphant and the happiest they’ve ever been.
Another day, another attempt to become famous. Annie and Dean get together in an attempt to become the next sensations on YouTube. After seeing their granddaughter Violet posting a makeup tutorial video on YouTube, Annie & Dean decide that creating something similar will make their family see that they have changed and their family should want to see them. After careful research, they turn to Betty to seek help in setting up their channel after finding she has her own, dedicated to her cat Arnold. After several attempts at hitting views, Annie decides she needs to take action and finds out where famous tutorial blogger Joella shops. They encounter problems when Annie tries to find Joella in the local drugstore, buying makeup, and ends up getting a restraining order as she keeps following her around the shopping centre. Her aim was to get advice on how to make the perfect tutorial to become famous, but it didn’t turn out that straight forward. When Annie returns defeated, Dean has the idea that they need to add ‘the personal touch’ to their videos and brings out the photo albums. As Annie begins her tutorial on how to make the perfect photo album, she gets distracted and her and Dean begin to reminisce at the photos of their children. It reaches a very emotional point and Dean accidentally breaks the silence by letting one rip, due to a dodgy prawn meal he created in a tutorial earlier in the episode. This is what finally makes them go viral on Youtube and they call it ‘The Tootorial’. To top it all off, Annie sees that Violet has shared the video on her Instagram and her daughter Marie has liked it raising their hopes for seeing their family again.
Episode 6: ‘Christmas Miracle’
It’s Christmas Day and Annie and Dean’s day with the family has finally come upon them. That is until they receive a phone call from Marie declaring they are no longer able to host Christmas, due to Marie’s husband, Jean Paul Dubois, being called to France for work. Heartbroken and with no plans for Christmas they take to the local village, to see if they can bag a place at the annual Christmas Dinner in the village hall. When they reach it they realise the venue is shut due to refurbishments. Panic has set in within the village and Claire is having a breakdown at the thought of not having anywhere to have the annual Christmas meal. Annie offers up their home to host the Christmas dinner in an attempt to salvage their reputation after being dropped by Marie. They go shopping to the ‘all year round‘ Cost-Gos and buy all sorts of cheap Christmas presents for the villagers that are coming to the house. The moment comes when the villagers arrive and Annie and Dean’s reasonably sized dinner table no longer looks big enough to house everyone. Although the house is bustling with festivities, Annie and Dean can’t help feeling sad this Christmas that their family isn’t sharing it with them. They are about to cut the turkey when the doorbell goes off. Dean answers the door with the Turkey chainsaw still in hand and sees Marie, Violet, Alexander, Brian and Lewis behind it. They shout ‘Merry Christmas!’ and have armfuls of presents with them. Dean stands there in shock and Annie joins him when she calls out to him but he doesn’t answer. At the sight of seeing her family Annie cries out in joy and they all share a very merry Christmas together. The episode ends on a very crowded photo where Annie and Dean look triumphant and the happiest they’ve ever been.
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