All The Young Punks

It’s "Shameless" and "The Bear" meet "Euphoria". Shameless and The Bear for the fast-pacing drama and the Chicago streets, and Euphoria for the prevalence of young characters, drugs, alcohol, and sex. The show takes inspiration from the 70s/80s punk-rock era, but set in a contemporary context with its current trends, like social media and internet, which become important for a band’s popularity and rise to stardom. This way, the show has the potential to appeal to an audience of both teens and young adults and, perhaps, some nostalgic of the old-school punk-rock. Some themes the show explores are: - friendship and the family you can find in your friends; - drugs and addiction; - disability and chronic illness; - following your true passion, even if it means going against the best judgment of the adults around you. Sometimes following your heart and not allowing others to influence your decisions means disappointing people close to you, taking risks, and leaving the comfort zone behind, but it’s all for the sake of staying true to yourself. The Rejects, and especially Jim, will learn this along their journey with the band. Whoever wants to pursue an artistic career, knows well – or should know – the sacrifices, the struggles, and the obstacles they have to face. Whether it’s being a writer, a musician, an actor, a filmmaker, a visual artist, etc. These aren’t careers that one ends up doing by chance. These are careers that require a huge amount of passion, stubbornness in the face of rejection and perseverance, many times going against other people’s advice and criticism. Careers that have a high chance of failure and financial instability. Careers that not many people would encourage you to do, especially your parents, who might be the kind of people to push you to pursue something more steady and long-term. As it’s the case for Jeremy, Laura and Luke, for example. But true artists know where their place in the world is, and they would never be able to settle into the routine of a mundane job. It’s like a calling, especially for Jim (the main character). Art can also be a means to escape. For Jim, it carries two meanings: escape from Chicago (a city that has become too unpleasant for him) and escape from the harshness of the real world, thanks to the positive state of mind that music and being on stage brings to him. When he sings and plays his guitar, he’s able to forget about all the things that stress him out, feeling like he has some control over his life. Music makes him happy. He’s not a good student and doesn’t want to go to college. He wants to leave Chicago as soon as possible, but has no money and doesn’t come from a wealthy family, so he knows that his only chance of escape is through his only talent, or what he thinks is his only talent. Jeremy’s reason is similar: his parents have already laid the whole path for him, but he fears that he will lose himself if he follows it. He loves them but also wants to be free from their opinions to find out what his true self looks like. Moreover, The Rejects are a chance for Jeremy to find a group of friends - a family even - and not feel lonely anymore. Jeremy becomes a fundamental member of the band. For Luke, the band is a way to escape the “role” of the “disabled sick kid” and show the world that he’s talented and has some things to say. He wants to leave a mark and inspire people. But because Luke suffers from chronic pain and takes many painkillers, the doors to the music scene aren’t the most accessible ones and he’ll have to fight his way through them from time to time. Thankfully, the rest of the band will always have his back. Unfortunately, this experience will also become a getaway to all kinds of drugs and Luke will fall prey to addiction. Drugs will be a relief from pain, but also a way to escape from all the negative thoughts and worries regarding his deteriorating disability, and will keep him on his feet when he is too tired and weak. Touring and doing shows demand a lot of strength and power, not the best pair when you have a chronic condition and chronic pain. Laura (Luke's twin sister) is the only one who doesn’t feel the same way as the boys; she joins the band because here brother convinces her to. She’d follow him anywhere. At a later moment she will come to understand the impact that The Rejects (and their song lyrics) will have on their fans. Pilot (overview) Cold open on JIM ALLEN (17) smoking near a cemetery where his mother has just been buried. After the funeral, Jim plays the guitar in his bedroom when a string breaks under his fingers. The rest of the house is a mess and his father is asleep on the couch, surrounded by empty beer bottles. Jim starts to clean up. In the hallway, he meets his sister, HOLLY (14), who reminds him that they need to take care of their father now. Jim disagrees: their father needs to get his shit together instead and behave like the parent he’s supposed to be. It’s night in Southside Chicago. Jim leaves the house to go to his best friends (and twin siblings), LAURA (17) and LUKE (17) ROBIN. Together, they play music in the twins' garage. Luke swallows some painkillers, which doesn’t escape Laura’s attentive eyes, She chastises him for taking too many. After the trio finished a few covers of The Clash and the Ramones, Jim tells them that he wants to form a real band and play in front of an audience. Laura is not fond of the idea and throws some objections, to which Jim replies promptly. Jim and Luke keep discussing the topic, as Laura receives a text message from a certain JO (21), asking her to meet later. Later that night, Laura leaves her house while everyone is asleep to meet Jo in her old Mustang. Jo is Laura’s ex, who wants another chance to fix the relationship. Meanwhile, Luke is sitting in his bedroom, taking off his leg braces and swallowing some painkillers. The next day in school, Jim finds a flier advertising the first edition of the Chicago Summer Music Competition. Is fate sending him a message? Jim takes the flier. After school, he works in a music shop– The Music Heaven. A young woman and her son approach him to ask for help in picking a guitar. Jim helps them out, the son is excited with his brand-new instrument, feeling like a rockstar. A sort of melancholy goes through Jim’s eyes and, when the mom and the kid leave, he takes the flier for the music competition and calls the number to enroll his “band”. Laura and Luke are at the Shack, an underground club where punks, goths, metalheads and other hardcore fans reunite to listen to live music and get drunk and high. Jim joins his friends and tells them that he enrolled all of them for the summer music competition, which is happening in two weeks. Laura is not convinced, she thinks that it’s not enough time and that they aren’t ready. Luke is on Jim’s side. Jim does a heartfelt speech, revealing all his feelings: he doesn’t want to go to college because his grades suck and no college would accept him. He also doesn’t want to find a regular job and bury himself in a routine for a minimum wage. His true passion is music, and he wants to try this with them. Laura gives in, but makes them promise that this music thing won’t interfere with school and exams. At home, Laura and Luke discuss the topic. Luke tells her that he sees in the band his chance to prove that he is more than a “disabled, sick kid”. He wants to make his voice heard and leave a mark, and a stage and the possibility of writing songs might be it. He knows that with the family wealth and business they are in more than secure hands, but he longs for something different, a real passion, not something his parents have already set. In school again, Jim receives a phone call from ANNE of the music competition. His band cannot be enrolled because all bands need to have four members minimum, and Jim’s consists only of 3 members. Jim asks for more time to find a 4th. Anne gives him 2 days. Luke comes to him with a song he wrote the previous night. He confides to Jim what he told his sister. Knowing that his life is going to be hard anyway because of his chronic illness, he might do something exciting. Back at home, Jim has an argument with his sister about their father (again). Jim warns Holly to not end up like their mother, who had to take care of their father and his poor mental health, unable to live her own life. Holly slams the bedroom’s door in his face. At the same time, Laura and Jo are having sex in Jo’s Mustang, when Laura’s phone interrupts them. It’s Jim: they need to find a drummer ASAP.