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Avery Ant 22 Minute Series Concept
I’m Avery Ant, itchy hipster and PO’d pismire, and I’m here to pitch my brand spanking new 22 Minute TV Series, “Avery Ant.” Like the title? I think it sums it all up very nicely... Now I didn’t bring flow charts, or a PowerPoint Presentation, or sock puppets, so you’ll just have to concentrate and stay with me.
Okay, so it's a hilarious, dark and edgy 22-minute situation comedy – and here’s the kicker, it’s a mix of animation and live action. And it stars me, Avery Ant. I play the part of, yes, Avery Ant. I'm a worker ant who lives in the city and dreams of getting ahead.
The premise is simple and bizarre. I'm a stop motion ant in a human world and there's nothing strange about it in the least. It just is. I live and work in the city and everyone around me views me like they would the average schmoe.
Much like me, my character's an opinionated ranter, kind of a hot head, sometimes a little confused and hilarious. Unlike me, the Avery character is working class and lives in a crappy apartment with a roommate. Let's call him... BRUCE.
Whether I’m getting arrested in a police procedural foul up as a suspected terrorist or looking for love in all the wrong chat lines, for the next 13 episodes we’ll follow my character arc as I do everything in my power to get ahead in this world while it continues to kick me when I’m down. So it's not a solely episodic series because as I try and climb my up to the top and get ahead things such as my surroundings will change.
And of course, I'll need to have some friends. Which, considering I'm such a loveable and delightful ranter, isn't a stretch. Along with Bruce, there'll be PINA and BUSTER. And I'll be their leader. Throw in some dark comic overtones, and there you have it -– an edgy sitcom for the 18 - 34 market with plenty of spillover on both sides. Plus it'll look cool with the combination of live action and animation. And as a final bonus, because you humans are such drones yourselves, the idea of the voice of dissent being a 15-inch tall ant is also deliciously ironic.
Avery Ant 22 Minute Series Overview
So, let's get down to the guts of it all. Format, medium, themes, stories, tone, characters, and all that crap. Okay, “Avery Ant” is an off-the-wall, edgy, comedy that's a dark satirical commentary on these precarious times: And it's told from the perspective of one man who has the guts to tell it like it is – me! Avery Ant, the PO'd pismire who's filled to the brim with "antitude."
It's also a commentary on the fact that you humans are more insect-like than you realize. This world is your own ant colony and you're all little worker ants trying to feed your inner queen. I think it's called the Napoleon complex, or castration complex... something complex. You get the point – humans are drones. But I, Avery Ant, am the voice of dissent, the voice of reason (or so I like to think), the voice of the little guy who's trying to get ahead and is tired of getting stepped on.
Okay, so what’s gonna make this show popular and unlike the others? You’re looking at him. Oh, and the witty satirical writing helps. I think people relate to a show about a regular worker ant who rails at the world but still wants a piece of it. I mean, what’s not to relate to, right? The thing about me is... well... besides me... is that I have the guts to tell it like it is. Viewers see the truth and nothing but the ridiculous truth in my series. I’m like the anti-Larry David, only, way better looking.
Like I said earlier, this isn’t a solely episodic series. As my character tries and climbs his way up the anthill of life to get to the top, things around him change. Even when things don’t work out they change. So does that mean that my character might find true love or wind up living in a phone booth?
Well, it means anything can happen...
The show’s filled with all kinds of sight gags – like my modified VW Bug with the propped up phone books and manual controls so I can drive around town. And how I also require a booster chair in restaurants, and just how things look from my POV. But it’s important that you remember that nobody treats me any different then they would anyone else. I'm part of the scenery – good looking – but other than that, just like everyone else. Capiche? Good. Next up is the show's location...
Now... location, location, location... I say that because there are three specific ones. Those are: the crappy inner city apartment I share with Bruce, "Dipsos" the bar I hang out in with Bruce, Pina and Buster, and my job (I’m a foreman at a construction site). Now as I'm sure you've gathered, the tone of the show is character driven, black comedy that points and pokes and prods society's foibles and tender underbelly. It'll be poignant, sometimes crude, intelligent, critical, bizarre, and the itchiest thing you ever seen. As I like to say, "release the funny and bring on the dark laughs." Or was that Hitchcock who said that? Funny name, huh? Hitchcock... But I digress. Okay, as for themes and stories... This show is all about me trying to get ahead. To climb the anthill that is life. Sure there will be story themes based on my relationships with my three close pals, and yeah, there'll be lots of shenanigans, sight-gags, misunderstandings, ensuing hilarity, wacky escapades, and high and low humour. But this also about the journey of Avery Ant: the working ant. He has dreams and one of them is to get out of that crappy apartment and into something better. And that means getting a better job, a better car, and finding true love – you know, the freakin' dream for Christ's sake! And so my character will grow and develop. He'll get some of these things. He'll have success – and this might even alienate him from his friends. But he'll also have failures, and like so many of us – he’ll dust himself off and start trying again.
I’ve also put together a strong supporting cast...
Avery Ant 22 Minute Series Characters
AVERY
Now obviously the main character is the one I play, who also just happens to have my name – Avery Ant. Avery is a working class ant with big dreams and a small toaster... make that, wallet. No... small stature. And I'm talking height here, not status, although, as a working ant, he also doesn't have a pile of that either. He also doesn't have a girlfriend, and he wouldn't mind getting one of them. He's a wiseass and an ambitious ant. He's funny, good-looking, and charismatic... I could go on. So I will, the main thing to remember is a compelling, hilarious, lead character who will continue to develop and change as he tries to get ahead in this crazy bathtub we call life.
BRUCE
Next up is my roommate, Bruce. He's the brawn to my brains, although the big lug would never hurt anyone. Bruce wears the uniform for a living and puts his life on the line everyday – no, he's not a cop – he drives an ice cream truck. Oh, and he also waits tables at a Chinese restaurant and greets people at Wal-Mart. He has three jobs at any one time and is always on the verge of, or in the middle of, losing one. And even though he’s got three jobs he can barely afford to get by. Bruce loves being a man in uniform. He'd run a hot dog stand if the job came with a snazzy costume. From doorman, to mall cop, to bellhop, to courier, and all uniforms in-between, Bruce is the guy in the company issued attire who has no real authority. Proving that the uniform doesn't always get you the power. It's kind of funny, and by funny, I mean pathetic. Okay, sure, he's, well, everything I just said. And, yeah, he's a prime example of someone who's stuck in dead end jobs, but on the plus side... um... he looks damn great in a uniform. Yup, I can definitely say that out of the four of us, he's the pretty one. Sure, he's a loser, but he's a babe magnet. You should see how the chicks, sorry, I mean the hotties, really go for him. I guess that uniform cuts both ways. A for me – and remember it’s all about me – let’s just say he’s the perfect foil, and that every great comedian needs a straight man.
Bruce is your classic drone. He’s the loser who loves being a man in uniform. He has to hold down three jobs and still can’t pay the bills. Like my character, he’s working class. Unlike my character, he can’t get ahead. Whether Bruce is working as an ice cream truck driver, a mall cop, or bellhop, he represents a guy in a uniform who thinks he has authority , but actually has no real power.
PINA
And then there’s Pina. That uncompromising, enterprising, anything but... She's a parole officer. Funnily enough, she used to be my parole officer. That's how we met. You see, I was arrested for "social unrest" a few years back. I even did some time in the slammer – which we can show in comic flashbacks – and once I got out, I was assigned to report to her for a year. We've been friends ever since. It's weird, but it works. Pina's all about law, order, rules, and regulations: And as you all know, I'm all about questioning law and order and rules and regulations. Although you better be careful when you do that around her, because she's one tough lady. Why, with the exception of me, she's got the biggest balls in our little clique. As a parole officer, and friend, she's pretty rigid, uptight, and conservative – and that provides me with lots of zingers at her, and the system's expense. Although she's also pretty freakin' quick on her feet and gets as good as she gives. And conversely gives as good as she gets.
She’s all about law, orders, rules, and regulations. My character’s all about questioning them.
BUSTER
Of course no sitcom would be complete without a character named Buster. Good ol' Bus is a surgeon and the working professional among our happy little clan of pals. I met him at medical school and we became fast friends before I washed out after my first year. (Although I got a lot out of my time there, including some helpful hints on how to self-medicate.) Buster may be a doctor, but the guy's in pretty ghastly shape. He eats poorly, doesn't exercise, drinks, and worse – the guy looks like he's on death's door. Oh, and he also tends to get extremely self-doubting and unsure of his decisions. Why, in one hilarious episode he is gonna have me perform surgery for him because he's got the shakes so bad. And this poor guy is the supposed success story of the four of us! Oh, did I say poor? My mistake, because if he's one thing, he's really rich... But he's one of those annoying cash poor, rich. You know the type. They could buy and sell you, but they never pick up a restaurant tab.
Buster is the only professional among us. But he’s got major self-esteem issues. As a surgeon, he thinks he’s a god, but he just can’t seem to figure out how to be a man. I guess that’s why he’s in such ghastly physical shape. You know?
DIRK
And of course, I'll need a nemesis. A secondary character that's a real pathetic piece of work: And have I got a doozy. His name's DIRK, but he's known as "The-Bald-Know-It-All." Or, "The Desiccated Chrome Dome." Basically, the guy's a smug, arrogant, dateless, know-it-all who also happens to be jealous of me, my quick wit, and my good looks. And who could blame him?
Avery Ant 22 Minute Story Ideas
TALIBANT
Due to a police mix up, I get arrested as a terrorist. Laughs ensue as I’m denied my basic human rights and all my friends believe I may be an evil insect. My whole life is put under a microscope and turned into a fabricated sideshow. Apparently along with being Osama’s drinking buddy, I’m also dating the ghost of Princess Di. Seems I really get around...
I’ll FIGHT THE LAW
Pina finds herself handcuffed to a prisoner that she has to trot around with us all night. Given my own recent letdown with “innocent until proven guilty” I find myself understanding the felon's pleas of innocence and after a few belts at Dipsos, start to figure that maybe the time has come to help my new and shackled friend find his freedom.
I SCREAM AGAINST ICE CREAM
Is about what happens when Bruce goes into "small fry shock" after the stress of being an ice cream jockey takes him over the edge. It's Avery to the rescue. And if you think Bruce had a problem with the little tadpoles, wait till you see how I react. Plus there's all that hilarity of watching me drive the damn ice cream truck. Anyway, the whole experience raises some issues that are clearly getting me mighty PO'd. Trouble is I can't find emotional solace from my psychiatrist (BOB) because we've recently become drinking buddies and so he can no longer council me.
THE DEATH OF CHUCKLES THE BUREAUCRAT
I decide that even though I've just recently been promoted to foreman, I still need to speed up my fast tracking to the top. So I march into the personnel office and demand a promotion. The suit behind the desk is a cold-blooded, by the numbers, bureaucrat. He gives me the big speech about accepting my meager lot in life and being a happy worker. I tear a shred out him and tell him that he better make things happen for me, and quick. Or else! That's when the guy dies and I get his job. Of course, I am kind of conflicted about it.
Avery Ant The TV Series Wrap Up
Okay, that's it. I'm sure you have questions, but I'm late for a tee off time.
Like I said, the main things to remember are a completely unique lead character with a built in back story. A building theme, story, and character arc. A fresh concept. A dark comedy. A PO'd pismire with "antitude," who questions everything around him as he tries to get ahead in it all: and lots and lots of laughs.
Give it some thought. This has good itch factor. Nobody needs an updated version of My Three Sons ; what they need right now is a dark and healthy dose of “Avery Ant.”
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