Study Abroad

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FORMAT: Half-Hour Single-Cam [Serialized] TV | Coming-of-Age Dramedy | Premium Cable COMPS: BROAD CITY meets EMILY IN PARIS WORLD: Rome, 2024. A group of newly acquainted American college juniors take on the Eternal City. For these bright-eyed young hopefuls, everything’s new, everyone is beautiful, and everywhere is somewhere to be. But is he gay or just European? Some locals find these USA foreigners charming. Others are not impressed. Per niente. ABOUT ME: I spent my college years deep in the closet. However, I was fortunate enough to use several summers staying with family friends in Paris and multiple college study abroad trips as a chance to really break out of my mold in a new, foreign setting. Although it was awkward being a “late bloomer,” I learned firsthand the magic of time spent abroad during these years—a second adolescence many queer folks experience when they finally can explore themselves, especially while traveling abroad! WHY NOW?: Queer TV/Film needs to explore the post-coming-out landscape! It’s so ripe for comedy. SERIES REGULARS: ETHAN MCNAMARA (20) is an endearingly awkward, kindhearted, and intelligent yet naïve college junior who’s only come out of the closet a month before his big semester abroad. Rome is perfect for his history and language learning appetites. After realizing how free and supported he feels in this exciting new setting away from his domineering Diplomat father, he grows more confident to pursue dating despite his lack of experience. His much cooler and proudly bisexual cousin, SOPHIE MCNAMARA (21) is an uninhibited mix of vulgar quirk, ambition, and disaster all wrapped in a bubbly, compassionate young woman with a heart of gold you can’t help but love. Sophie aims to one day become a gourmet chef — she was practically born ready for all the culinary experiences Italy has to offer and she’s going to absolutely eat her heart out in Rome. The Pilot — MY BIG FAT GAY SEMESTER! Cousins Ethan & Sophie and their new American classmates ogle a beautiful Roman girl at the coffee bar as they nibble on croissants. Hello?! It’s called ‘cornetto’ here, Sophie—but she doesn’t care. Everyone except Ethan comments on how hot the girl is… but Sophie can see Ethan’s uncomfortable after she comments on her cheekbones. Should he say something, too? He plays along… Yes, really hot bones! The gang snaps out of their trance. Huh?! Later, Sophie assures Ethan, you don’t have to pretend you don’t like dick here. When in Rome, right? Mamma fuckin’ mia! Their loud but lovable Italian teacher assigns each American student their local language partner to meet for a caffè. Ethan is SNAPPED into a daydream once he sees his partner ALESSIO’s (20; adorable, intellectual, confident) infectious smile: Ethan rides on the back of Alessio’s vespa as they giddily share gelato. Alessio asks for a lick. Only if I get a lick of that hot Italian cornetto first! Alessio can’t get over how good Ethan’s Italian is — ALERT — did he just touch Ethan’s arm?! The waiter interrupts for another round of espresso. Now Alessio is touching the waiter’s arm? Should Ethan touch the waiter’s arm, too? Is that a thing? Is Alessio flirting with Ethan or the waiter? Or neither? Is that…Sophie spying on them in a wig and oversized sunglasses? Dio mio! Sophie pairs with CHIARA (20; incredibly stylish and artsy, yet bubbly and approachable), the daughter to the famous Michelin-star restaurant owners of Trattoria Amici—a restaurant Sophie has only dreamed of working in. Fuck me! In full chef attire, she rolls up, resume and a copy of the cookbook Chiara’s mom wrote in hand. With Chiara’s mom charmed but her father more annoyed than impressed, Sophie lands a position… as the new lavapiatti—the dishwasher. Chiara vows to help Sophie get in her father’s good graces…eventually. Tired of Sophie’s half-assed Italian, Ethan brings her to the bookstore, where they run into JAMES (22; studly, somewhat brooding), the low-key mysterious but incredibly sexy older Irish boy who lived next door to the McNamara relatives in Galway the summer after high school. Sophie half-jokes: was James the object of Ethan’s gay sexual awakening a few years back? While Sophie drowns on her first day at the restaurant and gets herself sent home for spilling food all over a table of patrons, Ethan invites dreamy Alessio to the ruins of the ancient Baths of Caracalla, where Ethan daydreams again — this time about them naked in the water in Ancient Roman times — the ruins at peak function and beauty. Another night at the bar, Alessio initiates an Italian double-cheek kiss to say goodbye, BUT Ethan’s “liquid courage” misreads the situation and tries to make out with him! Ah, no, that’s not how we do il bacetto! At the farmer’s market, Ethan apologizes to Alessio for their accidental attempted make-out sesh, and Alessio gives him a proper bacetto and a hug. Va bene — it was a cute mistake! But when James approaches (Ethan’s sexual awakening from yesteryear), Ethan discovers that James and Alessio are actually exes, and they’re talking about their plans to hang out later this week?! UGH! On his way home, Ethan runs into an American boy from his class, ANTHONY (20; friendly, boy next door), who’s apparently staying around the corner from Ethan. Anthony invites him up for some wine and a Fellini movie. We do get extra credit for watching classic Italian cinema! Anthony touches Ethan’s arm. Ok, THIS is DEFINITELY FLIRTING. No confusing waiters or daydreams or hunky Irishmen around here! He ushers Ethan inside, who follows and shuts the door, an anxious smile on his face. E allora… SEASON ONE & BEYOND! Finally away from his hometown and family’s New England Irish-Catholic mindset, Ethan pushes through the unknowns of the post-coming-out landscape and begins to open up when it comes to love. Things come to a head when Alessio provides emotional support during a visit from Ethan’s father, and Ethan finally confesses his feelings. Sophie takes “when in Rome” to heart, knowing there’s no better time to pursue her culinary dreams. Despite pushback from Chiara’s father, Sophie learns that real focus and effort are required to achieve your dreams, not just confidence and charm — just at the right time, too, when Sophie is referred to a famous Roman culinary school’s summer session. When spring semester comes to a close, Ethan and Sophie are faced with the choice: do they stay in Italy for the summer to keep expanding their new lives, or go back home to their mundane, adventure-less, and for Ethan, potentially closeted lives in Boston? In typical college STUDY ABROAD fashion, we’ll also chronicle clumsy excursions outside of Rome and other European field trips with this group of college students who are all on the journey of figuring out: who really are we when the world is our oyster?