Dream State

A successful guy lives a double reality without really knowing it. In waking life, Dante Thorne is an internet celebrity — the center of attention and the decision maker. In the dream state, he’s at the whim of whatever his consciousness conjures up for him – often providing guidance and solutions that don’t work out for anyone.

Primary target: Adults 18 to 34

Concept:

Dante Thorne – bestselling author and social media influencer by day, is a victim of anything and everything the universe and his imagination can throw at him by night. While the characters he works, plays, lives and interacts with remain consistent week after week in the waking world, when they appear in his dreams, there’s always a twist on the normal social dynamic as the ensemble assumes different roles.

The humor is observational and situational — both in and out of the dream state – driven by strong, albeit flawed characters with a generally quirky but benevolent worldview. Humor in both paradigms will be edgy, mostly PG-13 rated and relevent to current social pressures. The result is often cringe-worthy. Placements of national brand products will be thrown in gratuitously throughout as part of the running influencer gag.

There is no consistent storyline to conform to from week to week. Instead, the main characters build their signature hooks into the audience over time — the nature of which can be flipped completely for comedic effect while Dante sleeps. Nothing is off the table and the plots may be drawn from virtually any thing or any idea a person might have in a day — or in a dream. Episodes take their cues from pop culture, classic movies, typical dream tropes, television shows, history, world figures, etc.

The settings, premise, roles of the main characters, problems and resolutions change completely from one night to the next. Each side of his dual reality gets equal treatment in any given episode. Sometimes it leads off with a dream he has to process in the waking world. Other times, the dream comes at the end and is the result of that day’s input. Both states can alternate as well – peppering a little of this and a little of that throughout an episode. This gives the entire cast limitless opportunities to create new characters while retaining their trademark essence intact.

The characters are eccentric and subtle — with equal parts genius and cluelessness. They are slight exaggerations of people you’d meet in a day — not overly loud or stupidly obnoxious. The goal is to entertain the audience without insulting their intelligence. The ensemble cast is noble and irredeemable, honorable and despicable – but always worthy of the viewer’s loyalty.

Lead Characters:

Dante – Ambiguously mixed race. Dark hair. Handsome. 40-ish and 5’ 10” with a better than average build and a personal sense of style not everyone agrees with. If not for his fame, he probably wouldn’t have as much game.

“North” — Best friend, videographer and amateur motivational speaker with an affinity for acronyms and big, world-changing ideas. Speaks with a british accent – though he was born in Indiana. Tall and pale with white vertical hair, his real name is Keddington, but everyone calls him North as in Great White North. He enjoys wearing colors that highlight his chakra or ethnic obsession of the day. New age type with a deep, Patrick Warburton-type voice.

Lily — Ex-wife/producer, late thirties. Cinnamon hair and stylish wardrobe. Natural beauty, sparkling blue eyes and a sense of humor completely compatible with Dante and North. Their professional goals coincide, so they’ve stayed in business together despite their divorce. Their relationship reflects the ups and downs of the 20 years they’ve known each other. Though married to Nick Barron, a senior CNN reporter, Lily has recently rekindled her interest in Dante and makes overt moves in hopes of reciprocation – which he doesn’t offer. Ever. The plan for Dante and Lily is to maintain an easy and enjoyable tension between them — with the hope that maybe one day they’ll find each other again. Dante is obsessed with her but will never let on. In fact, he goes out of his way to torture her...because of Nick – whom he openly despises and calls “Captain Little Hook” for his well-documented...shortcomings.

Supporting Characters:

Eloise — Mistress of the office, mature woman of southern, possible Cajun descent. She has a unique, homespun perspective that often gets overlooked in favor of the more attractive chaos taking place in the moment.

Gino — Art director/ tech person. Early 20’s, handsome, ripped latino with close-cropped hair and a finely formed beard and moustache. Has an excellent sense of himself.

Jannis — Know it all. Copywriter. Idea girl. Attractive, late 20’s, shoulder length dark hair and tattoos. Flirts with Gino unselfconsciously.

Astrid – Lily’s and Nick’s love child. Cute and mellow. Nine years old. Talks like an adult and uncorks some real philosophical zingers from time to time. Brown hair in a ponytail. Glasses with an eye patch for her amblyopia. Jannis is certain she’s an alien hybrid and can’t leave those suspicions alone or keep them to herself.

Here’s a sample of what an episode might consist of:

Pilot Episode 1 — “Baby, please don’t go.”

Setting: Elevator dings and doors open to reveal Lily and her daughter, Astrid. Dante's office is large, modern and looks like a scaled down version of Google or Facebook. Dante Thorne’s branding and trademarked sayings are plastered everywhere. Dante walks over.

Dante: "Astrid! You’re getting so big."

Astrid: "You saw me nine days ago."

Dante: "Wow. Nine days, huh? What are you feeding this kid?"

Lily: (Under her breath) "Organic quinoa and Jerusalem artichokes with cayenne pepper and MCT oil — this week."

Astrid saunters off. Dante says nothing.

Lily: "Sweetie, do you mind if she hangs out here...a few days? Nick is on assignment and Racquel is having that...thing done."

Dante: "Again? (Smiles). Well, be sure to bring them by when they’re done. (Catches himself) Bring HER by when...SHE’S, uh, done."

Lily: (Eye roll) "So, we good?"

Dante: (Pulls a sour face) "I dunno. Such a small space for a growing child. Besides, we’ve got a lot going with the Van De Kamp quality baked bean thing."

Lily: "Those are some high quality beans."

Dante: "Very high quality baked beans -- appropriate for any festive setting. And perfect for a night at home alone."

Lily: "Come on, Dant. It’s a few days."

Dante: "Baked beans eaten in solitary, stultifying silence. That’s sad."

Lily: "She won’t be any trouble. Besides, she’s kind of like your own, I mean...daughter...in a way... "

Dante: "...In a way her mommy snuck off and made her with Nick Barron behind my married back nine years ago. Ten years ago? Is it ten already?"

Lily: "In May. Just do this, Dante."

They walk into his office. It’s spacious and full of glass with monkeys of all sorts providing the bulk of the office decor.

Dante: "I have an ex-almost daughter — making me an ex-almost father. "

Lily: (She nudges up to him) "And I’m going to make sure she sends you an ex-almost Father’s Day card on ex-almost Father’s Day."

Dante: "Also in May. "

North walks in, sits on the couch and proceeds to dump the sand from his shoes out onto the coffee table.

Dante: "What is this?"

North: "Ah. That feels better. "

Dante: "I’m pleased you’re pleased."

North: "The stress is going to KILL you, Dante. It’s in your face in every shot. Stress stress stress! I can’t use any of our video. I can’t light around your ugly stress lines. But don’t worry. I’ve got you covered."

Dante: (Aghast) "It’s like the set of Dune in here."

North pulls out his comb, combs his hair with it, then rakes the sand into precise circular patterns. He produces a smooth pebble from his pocket and places it carefully in the sand. He points at it with satisfaction.

North: "Zen garden. The place needed it. YOU needed it. Oh, hold on... "

North pulls out a Kalimba (an African hand piano with metal tabs he plucks to make music.) It has the same sound as the opening theme music of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

Dante: "Here we go."

North begins to play.

Dante: "From the planet Arrakis to The Neighborhood of Make-Believe. That's some range."

North: "Oh, Fred Rogers raised me. I’m classically trained on this Kalimba, you know. All because of him. "

Lily: "We know."

Dante: "EVERYBODY KNOWS."

Eloise appears with Astrid. She’s got her hand on Astrid’s shoulder.

Eloise: "I’m running this little lady to Whole Foods."

Lily: "The water. Dammit. I knew we’d forgotten something."

Dante: "The water? You don’t need to go to Whole Foods for water. We have taps full of it."

Astrid: "Taps full of mental erosion and slow, lingering death."

Lily: "Uh...yeah. Getting a drink of water is a lengthy process in our home."

Astrid: "They don’t tell you that drinking fluoridated water calcifies your pineal gland. "

North: "That’s true. They don’t. You need a plump and functioning pineal gland if you’re going to get messages from other dimensions. And don’t get me started on the arsenic and lithium. It’s poison, Dante. We’re drinking poison! "

Astrid: It takes 6.3 gallons of water to flush one 20-ounce energy drink out of your kidneys. The average person needs 23 days to drink that much water."

Lily: "The old, Mom, can I have a glass of water? at bedtime starts with our Kangen machine for alkalization, which is then poured into a copper vessel for mineralization— then into our Mayu carafe for structuring the water before adding fresh-squeezed lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, zinc, copper and Celtic Sea Salt. And Borax... "

Dante: "Borax? The detergent with the team of 20 mules? That Borax?"

Lily: "By the time I get that all done, she is OUT. (Yawns) God, I hate TikTok."

Dante: (He points to Eloise and Astrid and waves them off) "Go. Bezos can use the money."

North: "You need to drink more water, Dante. Your poor parched cells are screeching for it. Shhhh. Do you hear that? Screeching. "

*****

SCENE TWO:

The bedroom is dark. Dante is in bed. A female form is seen next to him in shadow. A water bottle sits empty on the nightstand. A special effect indicates he’s now dreaming.

He’s in a crowded shopping mall. Lily is seated on a bench. He walks up and stands before her.

Dante: "They really DO have everything at this mall."

Lily smiles and scoots over. Dante sits. Lily starts getting handsy with him. It’s what he’s been dreaming of for years.

Lily: "Penny for your thoughts, Dante. (Giggle) If they’re any good, there’s an extra penny in it for you."

Dante: (Pulls a face) "I need to find a restroom. I’ve been drinking so much alkalized, structured water. "

Lily: "I’ll walk you to it."

They leave, arm in arm. He’s blissful. There’s a long line in front of the restroom. Dante works his way to the head of it.

Dante: "I’m sorry, but I really have to go. D’ya mind? "

The girl in front of the line, played by Astrid, is hopping up and down like she, too, really has to go. She backs away and lets him in -- with a look of panic on her face. Dante opens the door only to find that instead of a restroom, it’s a small tan workspace cubicle the size of a porta-potty with a seat and computer monitor. Jannis is intently typing.

Jannis: (Reacts to the open door) "Do you mind? "

He checks every door down the line. They’re all occupied with people at their work stations. He scurries over to the information desk.

Dante: "Excuse me, I’m looking for the men’s room."

Eloise is playing the part of the information lady in the dream.

Eloise: "Oh, you gotta go bad. One sees that. (She points) Go down to the central concourse, hang a left, a right and take the first flight of stairs. Don’t take the second flight of stairs. You take THAT staircase and you’ll never make it in time, sugar."

Dante runs through the mall, pauses for a moment at the two staircases. He’s in agony and clearly confused. A cascading fountain of water rages between the two staircases and everywhere he looks he sees spraying water, bubbling water and pools of standing water. There’s a video monitor with images of Niagra Falls where a woman is handing out big bottles of water. At the top of the stairs, Dante sees rows of women’s restrooms — but no men’s restroom. Now he’s frantic. Two missionary types (played by North and Gino) in shirts and ties stop him and ask if he’s found Jesus.

Dante: "If he has a functioning restroom, I’m in. Tell him I’m in!"

The missionaries guide Dante down a flight of stairs into a darkened chamber lined with weathered green tile and filled to the waist with water. They’re all dressed in white baptizing each other. They stop in robotic unison, turn and cheerfully wave him in. He stands waist high in water thinking, “I wonder if God would be mad if I, you know...Just a little...”

Missionary (North): (Nudges him) "Go ahead and go. In God’s kingdom, there are many mansions with many restrooms.

Missionary (Gino): "Nice ones."

Dante is now sopping wet as he finds himself in a new setting. It’s a mansion with many bathrooms. One doesn’t have a lock on the door. One doesn’t have a door at all. The others are all occupied or in a state of disrepair. When he finally finds one available, he spins on his heel and backs out -- holding his nose because of the stench. And then, at last he finds a vast hall with a golden toilet in the center illuminated from above.

SFX: Angelic choir.

He smiles and hastens toward it.

*****

SCENE THREE:

Dante wakes up with a start. It takes a moment to register what’s happened. He looks down at the sheets then over at his date.

Dante: "Oh, NO."

*****

SCENE FOUR:

Dante, North and Lily are talking by the office water cooler.

North: "Moistened the old mattress, huh?"

Dante: "Flooded the Fieldcrest. Not proud of it."

Lily: (Laughs) "What did you say to her?"

Dante: "What could I say? I blamed her for it."

Lily: "What did SHE say?"

Dante: "What could she say? She apologized."

North: "Wow. That’s a woman you keep."

Dante: (Pulls a face) "I don’t know. I’m not sure we’re compatible."

Lily perks up.

Lily: "Not compatible?"

Dante: "She’s always apologizing for things she didn’t do."

Lily: "Like what?"

Dante: "Will you just LOOK at this traffic. I’m sorry. Can you believe the nerve of that guy cutting in front of us? I’m sorry. You wet the bed. I’m so sorry. Sorry sorry sorry! It’s driving me insane. "

North: "Well, you know what THEY say..."

There's an extended silence as North casually sips his water. Dante and Lily look at each other and react to the long pause.

Dante: "Out with it. Who are THEY and what do they say?"

North: THEY. The people who say things."

Dante: "Like what?"

North: "Like if you're ever dreaming and need to find a toilet, pray you don’t."

Dante: (Shrugs) "I wish THEY had said that to me sooner."

Lily: (Smiles) "I’m sorry."

North: "So sorry."

Jannis: (Walks by, is distracted by Gino and bumps Dante.) "Oops. Sorry."

Gino: "Very, very sorry."

Dante: (Flashes a look) "Will you quit with the apologies already? I feel like God on the first day He opened the gates."

A water delivery guy shows up with a 5-gallon jug on his shoulder.

Water guy: "I see your water usage is up. Would you like me to leave a few extras?"

Dante: "Nah. I’m swearing off water. Too unpredictable. "

Water guy: "I’m sorry."

*****

SCENE FIVE:

Dante is making a TikTok video.

Dante: "Back in my day, which was yesterday, I believed water was nothing more than a zesty cocktail of hydrogen and oxygen that fell from the sky into seas, lakes, ponds and rivers. Oh, how times have changed."

He holds up a Dante Thorne official water bottle.

"And speaking of time, it may be time to pair my alkalized, mineralized, structured, zinc, copper, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, Celtic salt and Borax-infused water with some quality baked beans from Del Monte. (Holds up Van De Kamp can) Van De KAMP! I meant Van De Kamp!"

(Dante looks into the camera.)

Dante: "I'm so sorry."

End.