Set in New York City, where the world is equally idealized and depressing, Above the Line is a comedy about three people whose search for happiness leads to making everyone around them miserable. It follows Jamie, a recent film school graduate struggling to pursue his dreams of becoming a talent agent, Evan, Jamie’s "nepo baby" roommate who wants to be a director, and Renee, an aspiring actress who recently moved to the city. Above the Line is a melodramatic and dark comedy with an introspective center. What does it take to find happiness, and is giving up your chance for happiness worth it to reach your goals?

The pilot starts with Jamie, the day after he moves back to the city, bombing an informational interview with Nathan, a CAA agent. Jamie wants another chance to get Nathan to recommend him for a job in the mailroom, so he goes on set with Evan, his roommate. Evan’s dad, Adam, is friends with Nathan, and Jamie wants Evan to tell him where Nathan and Adam are going to be. Jamie joins him, but is unable to get Evan’s attention to talk about Nathan. Renee, the lead actress, has a callback for a feature and tries to get Evan’s attention, too. There, Jamie meets Renee and immediately falls in love. 

Jamie and Renee devise a plan to get what they want from Evan. Renee makes her callback, but the director doesn’t show up, and the casting director shows little interest in her. Jamie stole Evan’s phone to find out where Evan’s dad and Nathan were meeting and invited Renee to meet him at the bar after he confronted Nathan. The confrontation goes even worse than the initial meeting, leading Jamie to blow up at Nathan and ruin any chance of getting the job. In the end, Jamie finally discovers Renee and Evan are together, Renee gets a chemistry read, and Jamie is offered the opportunity to steal Evan’s job. 

Jamie, Renee, and Evan are desperate to prove they can be great and will prioritize their goals and passions over the feelings of their friends and family to achieve them. Through sheer luck and some morally ambiguous actions, Jamie and Renee achieve success and notoriety that leads them to forget their humble beginnings. As Jamie and Renee become worse and worse people, Evan is forced to find himself, becoming the selfless, caring person Jamie thinks he is. 

JAMIE(22) is a smart, hardworking, but short-fused recent NYU graduate. He aspires to be a talent agent, but lacks the inherent connections to achieve this goal. Because of this, he reluctantly has to rely on Evan, his roommate since freshman year, for his connections. He comes from a lower-middle-class family and is the only one of his siblings who “got out” of their hometown.

Alex Finch as "Jamie"

EVAN(22) is Jamie’s roommate, best friend, and frequent collaborator. He’s a talented, pretentious nepo baby who is an asshole to everyone around him. He is only understanding and caring when it doesn’t prevent him from doing whatever he wants. He met Renee through the film bro grapevine, and he only really shows genuine care for her. Everyone knows how much of an asshole he is, but they tolerate him because he is a talented, well-connected director.

Jamie Houghton as "Evan"

RENEE(22) has been Evan’s girlfriend for two weeks. She’s a hard-working, beautiful, and talented aspiring actress. She just graduated from Syracuse and has just moved to NYC to pursue her dreams with her best friend, Ava. Renee constantly defends Evan to Ava, her best friend and roommate, but she subconsciously knows that he’s just an asshole.

Emma Duchesneau as "Renee"

Above the Line explores what it means to pursue your dreams in a world where you must sacrifice so much of yourself to do so, and how working in an industry that commodifies its workers affects relationships with oneself and others. The pilot starts with a scene where Jamie deals with an asshole agent who criticizes him and won’t give him the time of day. This scene is ripped straight from my life. In the film industry, your career is the deciding factor for how most people will treat you, and the deciding factor of your career is your social standing. This culture affects the way you interact with the world, and I wanted to tell a story where we get to see the way this culture changes people in real time.

At its core, the series is about happiness and the desperation we all feel to find contentment within our lives. In the pilot, Jamie asks if Renee thinks they’re crazy for throwing their entire life at something that won’t really provide any happiness. This is a question that so many of my peers have asked ourselves. To find success in the entertainment industry, you have to be delusional enough to believe that you are the next big thing over thousands of people with the same skill and drive as you. We understand how insane that is and lean into it. It’s a sad and comical truth. This is the engine that powers Above the Line. It’s a comedy, but the characters think it’s a melodrama. No matter how horrible they treat each other, there is not a single moment where these characters lose their relatability. There’s nothing these characters wouldn’t do to feel like their life has meaning, and that makes for some pretty fucking good television.

After producing several short films and directing a few small no-budget projects, I wanted to graduate having written, produced, and directed a pilot of my own. My goal is to be a showrunner for dark comedies like Above the Line, and I didn’t want to wait for permission to be one. Just like the characters, making this pilot is my way of fighting for my goals. I couldn’t be happier about the project and the talented people I am lucky enough to work with. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my journey to get here. Without you, I wouldn’t be delusional enough to do this. 

Carter Jones(Director), Wesley Himelhoch("Eli"), and Bella

Rosales(Producer) on the set of Lottie Baby(dir. Bella Rosales)

Now for everyone’s favorite thing to talk about: money! Shooting for two weekends across many different locations while making sure that no one gets hungry enough to eat the camera is no small feat. We need your help to achieve our dreams. We’re looking to raise at least $17,000 to help cover a significant portion of the budget, with a stretch goal of $21,000 to allow us an additional day of shooting so we can give our team as much time as necessary to work their magic. 

The following chart shows the funds the Above the Line team considers critical to execute this ambitious production smoothly.

With your help, no one will eat anything inedible, and we can make an amazing episode of television. The comfort and safety of the cast and crew are the most important things for us, and it will, in turn, show in the quality of the production. I cannot describe how thankful I am for those of you who took the time to read through this, let alone those of you who are kind enough to donate. 

Above the Line is in the beginning stages of pre-production and is scheduled to go into production in mid-April 2026.

We plan on submitting to film festivals for a 2027 festival run, and after it will be available on YouTube. 

1. Follow Us!

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2. Spread The Word!

Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell your pets! Tell that random guy you saw on the street the other day(you know the one). It takes a village to raise a child, but it’s gonna take a city to bring Above the Line to life. 

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If you’re on this page, it means you’re brutally aware of just how many aspiring filmmakers there are in this day and age. The road to success is not one for solo traveling; no matter how talented, every filmmaker needs support.