The Pitch

“The residents of Santa Lorena face sex scandals, medical mysteries, mob violence, corporate crime, mutant spiders... And it’s not even time for breakfast.”

TOMORROW WAITS FOR NO ONE
a one-hour dramedy/mystery series

by Marcello Aurelio Lanfranchi

A car crash survivor struggles to remember who he is while finicky mobsters try to kill him and the douche who ran him over plots to steal his fortune. Meanwhile, a good girl becomes the bad girl to save the man she loves from an even worse girl.

Synopsis

     Mystery man MARCUS LAZANO is chased through the woods by two mobsters and struck by foxy FRANK CAIN’s car. He awakens in the morning with no recollection of his identity. Romantic sparks fly when dashing Det. COLE WASHINGTON is assigned to Marcus’s “missing persons in reverse” case. Frank thinks he's the only one who knows the truth, so he hatches a plot to enrich himself at Marcus’s expense. Those pesky mobsters have other plans, though.

Meanwhile, a love triangle is brewing, as nurturing Nurse GAIL RENWICK has romance in her eyes, firmly planted on her soon-to-be cousin-in-law, dastardly District Attorney PHILIP BENTON. His girlfriend ruthless RONDA LIN, of course, won’t let anything come between her and her social climbing… uh... I mean her one true love. The town of Santa Lorena is also home of many more offbeat characters in this quirky dramedy mystery series.

Treatment

     SILICON VALLEY, the center of the high-tech universe. Amidst modern electronics offices and peaceful suburban streetscapes dotted with ticky-tacky ranch homes and lollipop trees, not all is as serene as it seems. Mystery and intrigue, plotting and backstabbing, passion and risk – they all play their parts in the daily lives of the residents of Santa Lorena. There are also some serious weirdos in this town!

     What if you take Jane The Virgin and ratchet up the absurdity? You have Tomorrow Waits For No One.

     It starts out with a bang (actually a few bangs and a crash). A man is chased through the woods by two mobsters and struck by foxy FRANK CAIN’s car. He's unconscious but alive. Frank calls 911 and, while waiting for the ambulance, he checks for an ID in the guy’s wallet. Whoa, a wad of large bills! Frank mulls over what to do next. As the ambulance arrives, he instinctively pockets the wallet.

     Mystery man MARCUS LAZANO awakens in the morning with no recollection of his identity. Romantic sparks fly when dashing Det. COLE WASHINGTON is assigned to Marcus’s “missing persons in reverse” case. Frank thinks he's the only one who knows the truth, so he hatches a plot to enrich himself at Marcus’s expense. Those pesky mobsters have other plans, though...

     Will Cole uncover Marcus’s past before Frank does? Will the mobsters finish the job Frank inadvertently started? Will the Santa Lorena University Temblors make it to the playoffs???

     Meanwhile, a love triangle is brewing, as nurturing Nurse GAIL RENWICK has romance in her eyes, firmly planted on her soon-to-be cousin-in-law, dastardly District Attorney PHILIP BENTON. His girlfriend ruthless RONDA LIN, of course, won’t let anything come between her and her social climbing… uh... I mean her one true love.

     Stolen jewels, a faked death, embezzlement, a hurricane, mutant spiders, ruling-class abuses, middle-class apathy, working-class struggles, a taxidermed skunk! These are the stories of the people of Santa Lorena, California.

Here’s a little bit of information about the key players:

Marcus Aurelius Lazano (24), a confused young man of Italian descent with boy-next-door good looks. Though Vincenzo, his father, was abusive, Marcus was a straight-A student until his mother Ramona was murdered, when he was 15. He was a suspect, but the DA didn’t believe the case was strong enough to prosecute. On the run and recovering from a devastating car accident, Marcus struggles desperately to regain his memory as attempts are made on his life.

Franklin “Frank” Samuel Cain (24), a jeans and tee-shirt metal-head kinda guy whose best (only) friend is Marblehead, a taxidermed skunk. A loan officer at the Bank of Santa Lorena, he got the job by blackmailing the human resources director. Police are investigating irregularities at the bank. If he plays his cards right, Frank might just use Marcus’s identity to his benefit.

Det. Cole Malcolm Washington (33), a fashion-conscious-but-not-flashy African-American man. Cole is a detective with the Santa Lorena Police Department, and he takes his job seriously. Cole became a cop after his father was murdered by drug dealers when Cole was a teen. He came out of the closet during his time at the academy but was given a chance by Chief Evans, longtime friend of the Washingtons.

Hon. Philip Palmer Benton, Esq. (38), a distinguished man of old money. Philip is Santa Romilda County District Attorney. Aspiring to higher office, he has a reputation for doing whatever it takes to win a case – or an election – and has crossed the line into ethically questionable territory in his pursuit of victory. He and Ronda Lin have a tempestuous relationship.

Ronda Elizabeth Lin (35), a stern brunette who dresses in no-nonsense business suits and keeps her hair pulled back into a bun, a suitable style for this tightly wound woman. A typical Type-A personality: impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about her status, highly competitive, hostile, and aggressive, Ronda is not somebody one would want to cross.

Abigail “Gail” Stephanie Renwick, RN, CEN (28), a pretty, wholesome-looking girl. Gail works at University Hospital. She’s known Ann Benton since childhood and has had a crush on Ann’s brother Philip since she was a little girl. As Gail’s cousin Roger is engaged to Ann, Gail will have the opportunity to spend much more time with Philip.

Santa Lorena, CA. One of the other main characters is the fictitious Silicon Valley town of Santa Lorena itself. It is a suburb on the San Francisco Peninsula in fictional Santa Romilda County. Like all good soap communities, Santa Lorena is at once a small town and a bustling urban center.

Tomorrow Waits For No One will attract an audience as varied as its very diverse cast, which includes gay and lesbian characters and character roles not often available to actors of color. Scripts have been drafted for episodes one through six and the rest of the first season has been storyboarded. Several characters introduced during the first season could be spun off into their own series, maybe titled Another Day Awaits Us.