Road to the Show

Road to the Show is an hour-long sports drama not entirely dissimilar to Friday Night Lights and follows LSU pitcher Luke Hopper in his final year of college and last chance to get drafted and play professional baseball. He has to deal with the ups and downs of college life and living on his own in his early 20’s in his battle to make his dream come true and accomplish what his father couldn’t. This includes dealing with his declining relationship with his girlfriend and handling his drug-addicted best friend and battery-mate, as well as fighting for scouts’ attention against the team’s new, arrogant, hotshot pitcher. At the end of the first season, Luke would get drafted and the show would chronicle his seemingly never-ending climb through the minor leagues, a time of ever-mounting pressure and financial hardship, where no job is guaranteed and a simple trade or white envelope changes the situation and environment completely. With the most talented (and colorful) high school and college players dropping left and right and almost no time for a social life, Luke has to fight harder than ever to make an impression against other pitchers who stand taller and throw harder. The change of surroundings and circumstances from season to season would constantly keep the show fresh while providing limitless story potential with new and recurring characters. The only constant character would be our protagonist, with room for certain past characters to make appearances in future episodes. While sports-themed TV shows are not entirely unpopular, baseball is often overlooked. While this show would appeal to the baseball audience, its theme of chasing your dream at all costs and the arduous journey for anything worth fighting for can relate to anyone. The show would have a “real-life” quality in the depiction of college/baseball life, including the use of real team names and references (if proper rights can be obtained), and would likely carry a TV-14 rating that would still make it family-friendly.