SUNNY GARDENS

SUNNY GARDENS

Television (One-hour) · Drama · 58 pages
A Puerto Rican family leaves Spanish Harlem behind for the chance at a better life in 1980s suburban Long Island, where they struggle to hold onto their identity while chasing the American Dream.
Written by Melanie Martinez
2 Accolades
Accolade Highlights
Top 100, Launch Pad Pilot Competition 2022
Selection, Read Latinx Writers Initiative Year 2

1 Writer

Melanie Martinez
Santa Monica, CA
After dashing my Nuyorican parents’ efforts to keep a low profile by ‘filming’ cockroach spray ads on our Long Island porch, I wrote and acted at Harvard, and worked in NYC TV production before moving to London for an NFTS Screenwriting M.A. My 15 years in the UK make me that rare breed of Puerto Rican-American-Brit — handy when mining for stories, ...
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Additional Project Info

This is the story of the rise of suburban Puerto Ricans, about a wave of Nuyorican migrants whose lives changed after a 40-minute ride on the Long Island Rail Road. It’s about balancing the losses and gains that come with the pursuit of opportunity. This sweeping series follows the Rodriguez family as they move to the suburbs of New York City in the 1980’s in search of The American Dream, and the subtle and not-so-subtle challenges they face. Whether they’re figuring out how to use a lawn mower, where to find Goya products, or what to do about their ten year-old’s obsession with Little Orphan Annie, they are changing. Told in contrast with Estrella’s sister’s experience of staying in the city, SUNNY GARDENS is a story about the choices we make and the lasting consequences of those choices, about what it means to be Puerto Rican and who gets to decide that. Most importantly, it’s about family, and the fight to keep it together in the face of great change.