'Black Oil' Program Pitch - MSTU2008 Assessment

Logline:

After spending 10 years in foster homes and juvenile detention, a troubled teenager returns to a plutocratic city that's struggling with a corrupt government, an illegal drug trade and economic inequality.

Synopsis:

Set in 1982, Black Oil chronicles the ongoing ordeals within the city of La Brecha Hills in Kern County, California - which lies on the enormous Halfway-Sunset Oil Field that has been owned and operated by the Bourke dynasty since the 19th century. Several other affluent families are employed in high positions at Halfway-Sunset as well as owning other large businesses and corporations. However, much to the distress of the wealthy residents, the city is located between North Kern State Prison for Men and Kern Valley State Prison for Women. Due to the city's close proximity, released inmates often relocate to La Brecha Hills and begin working within the illegal drug trade or for the La Brecha Hills' rich - despite the low pay, unfair working conditions and constant prejudice from their employers. The city is literally split into two, with the rich living on the north side of the city and the poor living on the south, causing major tensions between the "southies" (the poor) and the "northies" (the rich).

The central theme of the show will be the battle between rich and poor, and the social, political and economic problems that arise from it. Airing Wednesdays 10.00pm on FOX, the show will be highly serialised, with story arcs unfolding over a 42 minute episode/12 episode season. Moreover, it'll delve into numerous familiar tropes from the soap opera/drama genre that will encourage repeated viewership including family ties and loyalty, tumultuous love affairs, corruption, melodrama, surprise twists and cliffhangers (Hayward, 2009). The series will convey a dark, gritty tone, with both good and bad characters displaying undesirable characteristics such as elitism, greed, revenge, lawbreaking, and power-hungry ambition.

Pilot Episode:

Recently released juvenile delinquent, Jase Owen (Thomas Dekker), moves to La Brecha Hills with his grandfather, Clint Owen (JK Simmons), despite their troubled relationship. Clint is the under-sheriff of Kern County and, although conflicted, is notorious for his injustice and foul-play towards the "southies", despite his close ties with that community. He most notably arrested and charged his daughter, Olivia, with the murder of Jase' father - she was later killed during a prison riot, which lead to Jase bouncing from different foster homes for 8 years and his incarceration for 2 years.

Jase begins his junior year at La Brecha Hills High School where he meets Will Carpenter (Michael J Willett), the school's outcast as he is neither poor or wealthy and doesn't fit in with the divided schoolyard. However, he is particularly vocal about the social inequality which is why Jase takes a liking to him. As the episode progresses, Will and Jase develop a crush on each other despite Jase remaining guarded and stand-offish. Will introduces Jase to his mother, Linda (Elisabeth Shue), the principle of the school. Jase also encounters Thornton and Ethan Bourke (Douglas Booth), twin brothers who're the current heirs to the Bourke family fortune and Halfway-Sunset Oil Farm. Ethan and Jase engaged in a physical altercation with Linda giving Jase detention after the "northies" claim that he started the fight. Whilst in detention, Linda reveals to Jase that she was best friends with his mother and claims that the best way to survive in La Brecha Hills is to "knuckle under".

Clint is called into a meeting with La Brecha Hills mayor, Gordon Bourke (Bryan Cranston), the brother of Charles Bourke who is the current CEO of Halfway-Sunset. The two talk about the ongoing illegal drug trade and, although they have no proof, suspect it is lead by a "southie". Mayor Bourke bribes Owen with a promotion to Sherriff if he able to find the drug trade leader, even if it involves framing a "southie". Owen reluctantly accepts.

After returning home from school, Thornton and Ethan are called into the office of Charles Bourke, their father, where he advices them that only one can become the heir to Halfway-Sunset. He proclaims that he hasn't yet made a decision, but asserts that whoever impresses him the most this year with their cunning business and leadership skills will become the proper heir, thus beginning a turbulent rivalry between the two boys.

Whilst walking home from school, Jase encounters a man named Rhys who claims he knew his parents. The two begin talking with Rhys offering Jase the chance to regularly sell cocaine and marijuana at his school. Due to his experience of importing and selling drugs in juvenile hall, Jase accepts. However before he leaves, Rhys proclaims that Jase' mother didn't kill his father and believes one of the "northies" was responsible for the murder and cover-up.

(Left to Right) Thomas Dekker (Jase Owen), JK Simmons (Under-Sheriff Clint Owen), Michael J Willett (Will Carpenter), Elisabeth Shue (Linda Carpenter), Bryan Cranston (Mayor Gordon Bourke) and Douglas Booth (Thornton and Ethan Bourke).

Audience Demographic

Similar to Veronica Mars and Justified, Black Oil will offer numerous guilty pleasures and explore complex plot threads as its characters make immoral decisions and ethical sacrifices including tumultuous love affairs and lawbreaking activities that will result in plot twists and cliffhangers. These 'guilty pleasure' programs, such as Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder, are perfectly suited to commercial networks as they appeal to and rate high amongst the 18-49 key demographic (Longworth, 2002).

Moreover, the different types of genre tropes will encourage viewership amongst several different age groups. The 'high school/teenage characters' elements will entice younger audiences between 16-25 to watch the show, similar to previous FOX programs such as The OC and Beverly Hills 90210. These were major culturally influential programs for young adults and were ratings success' at the time of their airing within that demographic (Zeisloft, 1997). Additionally, the 'corrupt politician', 'socio-economic gap' and 'social injustice' story arcs are more orientated towards a more sophisticated and mature adult audience, similar to shows like House of Cards and FOX's Gotham.

Additionally, the 10.00pm timeslot will also mean that Black Oil will be under less restrictions when it comes presenting sexuality - a major plot detail is the homosexual relationship between Jase and Will. Television programs, such as American Horror Story, How To Get Away With Murder and Empire, have received positive media attention for their "forward thinking" and "progressive" portrayal of gay characters (Lawson, 2014), which often leads to higher ratings and cult-like status amongst the LGBT community. Furthermore, The FOX network is no stranger to representing teenage sexuality (The OC) as well as well-rounded gay characters (Glee). For these reasons, Black Oil is perfectly suited for the FOX network as it will bring a wide range of viewers to the network as well as receive free media coverage for its progressive nature.

Program Scheduling

Due to its addictive and melodramatic style, Black Oil will best serve the FOX network on a Wednesday night at 10.00pm, directly following Empire at 9.00pm. A September 2015 debut for Black Oil's pilot would enable the show to build off the hype of Empire's season two premiere and theoretically aid in higher ratings for the network - similar to the record-breaking series debut of 2 Broke Girls following the ninth season premiere of Two and a Half Men which saw Ashton Kutcher replace Charlie Sheen (de Moraes, 2011). This timeslot would put Black Oil is direct competition with other network dramas Nashville and Chicago P.D., both of which will be entering their third season in September. This tactic will enable FOX to draw viewers from NBC and ABC, its main competitors for television ratings during that timeslot (TVguide.com).

Furthermore, Black Oil and Empire both follow similar genre traits such as melodramatic plots, twists and cliffhangers. The two shows could easily be marketed together as a part of a "Juicy Drama" block - similar to ABC's Thursday night lineup of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. This Wednesday night block will also help combat other ratings success' from other networks such as Modern Family (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) (TVguide.com).

Home Viewing, International Distribution & Online Streaming

Because of its serialised structure, Black Oil will be highly suitable for modes of repeated viewing - particularly DVD/Blu-Ray release and repeated airings during unpopular timeslots. These factors would also make the show ideal for online viewing at FOX.com which is an increasing asset with the evolution of television forms (Moylan, 2014). Moreover, Black Oil will be as equally successful with international audiences - with the soap opera/drama genre being popular worldwide - enabling the show to be distributed to networks in Canada, the UK and Australia. The premiere of Revenge attracted over two million viewers in Australia and continues to be a ratings success (Idato, 2012), whilst How To Get Away With Murder is enjoying a successful run on Universal Channel in the UK (Munn, 2015). Because of America's high influence of television programs around the world, if Black Oil is successful in the US it will certainly translate internationally.

In conclusion, Black Oil perfectly suits the FOX networks program criteria. As a 'guilty pleasure' soap opera/drama that deals with major social issues, including corruption, injustice, revenge and socio-economic gaps, Black Oil has the potential to be major critical and commercial success for the FOX network.

Bibliography

• de Moraes, Lisa. 'Charlie Sheen-Less ‘Two And A Half Men’ Season Debut Draws Record Audience'. The Washington Post 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

• Hayward, J. Consuming pleasures. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 2009.

• Idato, Michael. 'Revenge Tastes Sweet For Seven'. The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

• Lawson, Richard. 'Is How To Get Away With Murder The Most Progressive Show On Television?'. Vanity Fair. N.p., 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

• Longworth, James L. TV Creators. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2002. Print.

• Moylan, Brian. 'CBS All Access And HBO Go: Is This The End Of TV?'. the Guardian. N.p., 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

• Munn, Patrick. Universal Channel Sets UK Return Date For 'How To Get Away With Murder. TVWise. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

• Tvguide.com,. 'Fall Preview 2014 - Day-By-Day Schedule | Tvguide.Com'. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

• Zeisloft, M. (1997). “A discussion of Beverly Hills, 90210.” S. Hamilton, MA: Center for Youth Studies