THE STORY

Logline

Three lovable but messy college roommates still cohabitate in their 30’s. Wondering what went wrong and how to get unstuck, these codependent Millennials look for answers in mostly terrible places all while clinging to each other and the past a little too much.

Show Overview

Mel, Adrienne, and Charlie haven’t quite figured out the whole ‘grown-up’ thing. On the cusp of Mel’s 30somethingth birthday, the three friends realize they’re stuck – stuck in careers, stuck in relationships, and stuck with each other. After nearly 11 years of living together, Adrienne still hasn’t finished a single manuscript (like the sci-fi novel that gets derailed whenever she does mushrooms), Charlie only has 6 dollars in his checking account (in spite of his job selling shammies to local gyms), and Mel can’t get a commitment from her boyfriend of 4 years (though she’s hopeful about their upcoming tinder-swipe-iversary). Through thick and thin, baby showers and rat infestations, these three best friends must learn to navigate a world that seems to have gone on without them. And at the end of the day, they only have each other to lean on…and booze, don’t forget booze. 

Pilot Synopsis

Adrienne Garrett is the tiniest bit high when she introduces her two roommates to the world. It’s not uncommon at her house, aka The Disco, for one or more of its inhabitants to be intoxicated  or freaking out or both. And on this searingly hot Atlanta day, Mel DePiero is that inhabitant. A lost “birthday bra” is to blame. Mel uproots her entire bedroom only to find some existential dread.

Her roommates are no help as the ever-broke and ever-scattered Charlie Link runs to the grocery store for last minute party supplies (only after Adrienne slips him some cash). Avoiding a house of chaos, a still-kinda-high Adrienne cleans the grill outside and discovers Mel’s bra draped over a sad deflated unicorn named Sally. 

The bra brings little comfort to Mel, who has gone full Girl, Interrupted. She and her two best friends aren’t doing jack with their lives – like at all. With no clear path forward, the only thing to do is what they do best: party. But a food fiasco and invitation miscommunication threaten to derail the celebratory evening completely. These three codependent best friends must find a way to rally themselves, salvage the night, and move forward. Their lives may depend on it.

THE CHARACTERS

Melanie DePiero, aka Mel, aka MellyBelle, aka Melanie Jeanine (if she’s in trouble), is the self-appointed housemother. As a Cancer (with Leo rising), she cries a lot and laughs a lot. She can rarely be alone. Her shiny exterior covers up a hidden fiery volcanic rage. One time in college, she did molly and woke up wearing a fake mustache outside of a del Taco. She still holds a grudge against Kelli McPherson who Mel knows beyond a shadow of a doubt stole her favorite Furby in the 6th grade. 

Her dream job is either CEO or trophy wife. After going into debt for a master’s degree in social work, Mel has bounced around several agencies. With each job, the burn-out comes faster and faster. She currently works as a case manager at New Beginnings where she transports clients to and from doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, and pharmacies. She is from Ohio.

Adrienne Garrett, aka Atrium, aka Adrianna Grande, is a writer and overthinker. Her speculative fiction novel about the first Black settlers on Mars has been in the works for the last 7 years, an arduous process made worse when she goes into mushroom-induced rewrites (which is often). She has waited tables at Primi, an upscale eatery, since her college days and constantly threatens to start an OnlyFans. 

Adrienne comes from a large, tight-knit family stacked with doctors and professors. They can’t understand why she doesn’t have a PhD or any apparent marketable skills. Since hooking up with Trina Marshall junior year of college, Adrienne has exclusively dated women but says she’s “80/20.” Her dream life includes smoking weed while writing her books in an Italian villa. She’s drunkenly made out with 82% of her friends.

Charlie Link, aka Charlene, aka Charles Manson, is a hopelessly sloppy romantic and quadruple Pisces. Over the last decade, he’s had 15 different entry-level jobs. Currently he sells reusable gym shammies for a company called Vision Health Products. He despises gyms, shammies, vision, and health. He’s most alive when twerking on a dance floor to Lizzo with a little (a lot) of coke in his system. 

Charlie seeks comfort above all else which often leads to having no money. He takes care of his friends emotionally in exchange for the occasional bag of groceries. Oddly enough, Fight Club is his favorite movie. He got kicked out of a restaurant in New Orleans for getting behind the bar and making cocktails during Amy Foreman’s bachelorette weekend. His dream job is stay-at-home dad and husband to one of the Hemsworths (doesn’t matter which one).

THE LOOK

The real world kinda sucks. It’s grainy, muted, and uneventful most of the time. For three people who’ve made no significant changes in their life for the last decade, their world is especially grainy and uneventful. A particular type of stuck-ness. 

Mel Adrienne Charlie is aesthetically rooted in realism as though the audience is sitting at the dining room table watching the roommates’ lives unfold. It’s lo-fi. It might even look like a  piece of theatre, where the action unfolds in real time and blocking is equally as important as camerawork to drive the story. It’s their world and we’re just living in it. 

The comedy, and therefore the drama, comes from long silences, real reactions, short outbursts, natural pacing, and all the space between words. At times it feels like The Office without a mockumentary crew. One minute there’s high energy and fast dialogue, the next there’s comfortable stillness. It’s a lot like life. 

Except —

When it isn’t. 

Mel Adrienne Charlie has a little bit of magic. These surrealist moments are usually drug or alcohol induced (cue the voiceover of an attic rat named Frederick) or a straight-to-camera monologue. A quick hit of a vape, a few bottles of pinot grigio, or an afternoon of mushrooms give the audience a glimpse into the inner workings of the roommates. Suddenly the lo-fi world becomes hi-fi with lighting transitions, color palette changes, maybe even shifting set pieces. Because even in the dullest of places, something amazing happens when people share real connection and offer up their true humanity (good, bad, or sloppy).

THE TEAM

PATRICK DONOHUE is the creator and executive producer of Mel Adrienne Charlie. As an actor his screen credits include Love, Simon, An L.A. Minute, FOX’s The Resident, TNT’s Good Behavior, and Undercover Brother 2. He’s also been seen on many of Atlanta’s stages. His writing has been published by The Writing Cooperative, P.S. I Love You, and ATLWell. His essays can be found on his weekly Substack newsletter Pat Does Words and his book 101 Ways to Quarantine currently ranks #2988 in ‘Creativity Self Help’ and #7855 in ‘Self Help & Psychology Humor’ on Amazon (hold the applause). When he’s not writering or actressing, Patrick likes fitness stuff and food stuff.

JENNIFER SILVER is the director and producer of Mel Adrienne Charlie. She is a New York-based director and producer for both the stage and screen. A graduate of FSU’s College of Motion Picture Arts, Jennifer’s work has taken her around the world, creating short-form documentaries, commercials, and numerous film projects. Before relocating to New York, she helped to launch the Atlanta Theatre Club which was named ‘Best Emerging Theater Company’ in 2019 by Atlanta Magazine. Her short films have screened at many film festivals, including Le Spark, which won a Student Emmy Award, and Rehearsal, which was named Best Short Film by the Los Angeles Film Review Independent Film Awards. In her spare time, you will likely find Jennifer somewhere in the woods or on a mountain with a pack on her back and her trusty dog Phoenix at her side.

THE PROJECT

Mel, Adrienne, and Charlie are ready to come to life and they need you! With your contribution, the creators will have resources to make the pilot episode of this half-hour comedy. By the end of 2022, they hope to walk into the offices of HBO or Netflix with a polished, honest, and uproarious episode of television in hand. Donations to this campaign will allow independent artists, designers, technicians, and craftspersons to make art and make a living doing it. 

Mel Adrienne Charlie might be the next Insecure or Shrill or The Other Two. As a donor, you have the opportunity to support creatives telling a deeply human, complicated, and rich story. It’s a story we don’t often see, one centered on women folk and queer folk and Black folk who aren’t winning but trying their best. It’s a story about a chosen family, in all their messiness, and how they get un-stuck. Your donation is casting a vote to see that type of story on tv. 

In addition to helping storytellers tell a good story, you have the opportunity to pick up some cool swag along the way! So check out those perks! 

Most of all, THANK YOU!