Middletown follows the young, movie-worshipping employees of Middletown Cinema – a place where life reflects art - under the guidance of their empathic yet jaded manager, Tully. Amidst economic downturn in their small Mid-Atlantic town the gang fight to keep their theater afloat.
MIDDLETOWN is a 6 episode limited series, lighthearted drama with a high concept framework - each episode borrows themes and makes strong allusions to a different Y2K movie or show.
Audience: Fan-kid Millennials who caught ‘Dawson’s Creek’ on their first run and will be activated by the references, and Y2K-nostalgic Gen-Z’ers who will feast on the intense vibes. I aim to click into existing niche markets who are incredibly avid and loyal consumers - think where the fans of Community will go for their next content meal - and I know this because I am one.
Season Arc
In the unfolding episodes, we learn what the gang and the community are up against, and how they ultimately come together to preserve the theater and Old Middletown.
Chanel Monét James (she/they) is a filmmaker, editor, and archivist. They create stories that explore human experiences, foster understanding, and highlight the link between music and mental health.
Graduating with a BFA in Digital Filmmaking from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2009, Chanel has since had the opportunity to work on the festival circuit at Brooklyn Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival and with the digital archiving teams Condé Nast and MTV as well as study sketch, improv, and comedy screenwriting at UCB and The Pit.
In 2012, they released her first original narrative short “Lie Awake” on Vimeo. Her debut original narrative feature, “The Things We Do When We’re Alone” (2017), won Best American Feature Film at the Cape Verdean American Film Festival and premiered at Black Cinema House in Chicago in 2018. In 2021, Chanel made her co-directorial debut with the feature film “as of yet”, executive produced by the Duplass Brothers.
Actor - Lynn Chen
Producer - Aidan Daley-Hynes
Cinematographer - Kelsey Phillips
Producer - Nathan Terry
Composer - Nathan Terry
