And Also With You
Los Angeles, California | Series
LGBTQ, Comedy
This is a 30-minute dramedy about a nice Catholic church lady who comes out as bisexual in her 50s, and her lesbian daughter reluctantly helps her find her queer community. As an indie TV series, our writers' room will create a 6-episode season 1 that we will film all at once in Cleveland, OH.
Green Light
This campaign raised $20,315 for development. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
148 supporters | followers
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This is a 30-minute dramedy about a nice Catholic church lady who comes out as bisexual in her 50s, and her lesbian daughter reluctantly helps her find her queer community. As an indie TV series, our writers' room will create a 6-episode season 1 that we will film all at once in Cleveland, OH.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
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And Also With You is a heartwarming dramedy about a nice, Catholic church lady who comes out as bisexual in her 50s, and her lesbian daughter reluctantly helps her find her queer community but has a chip on her shoulder because she didn't feel supported when she came out. It's a late-in-life coming-of-age story that centers a mother/daughter relationship, and presents both queer characters and characters of faith in a compassionate, accessible way.
I didn't come out as bisexual until I was 30 years old. Growing up Catholic, I thought being gay was a sin. Any pubescent stirrings of attraction to women terrified me, so I shoved them down because I still had crushes on boys. When I finally allowed myself to accept and nurture those feelings, I mourned the potential queer communities and relationships I had missed out on because I hadn’t figured this out sooner.
If I had seen more examples of queer relationships and family dynamics as I grew up, I might have been able to live as my full self earlier. I wrote AND ALSO WITH YOU as the kind of heartfelt sitcom-style show that I could have watched in middle school with my own mom. I want to normalize the queer experience for the households where it is often demonized and swept under the rug by featuring those very households in a positive and compassionate light.
This show will highlight the important distinction between subscribing to the institution of the Catholic church and having a faith practice. Considering one of the major tenants of Christianity is to love thy neighbor as thyself, it is possible to hold a queer identity and a Christian faith practice at the same time. I want to foster more understanding between queer communities and traditional faith communities via accessible narratives with endearing characters.
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Dawn, a more-than-middle-aged midwestern gal who works in the parish hall of her local Catholic church, is finally ready to act on that pesky hunch she has that she wants to smooch ladies. She’s excited to bond over this with her daughter Cara, who came out as a teenager and recently moved back to Cleveland for her partner Rory’s job. However, Cara has her own baggage associated with Cleveland, and navigates emotional minefields of old high school flames, religious trauma, and her lack of purpose in life. Each episode will feature Cara teaching Dawn about another facet of the queer experience, and Dawn showing Cara the power of connecting to a higher calling. Their blind spots always get in the way, but ultimately they gain a fresh perspective that brings them closer. AND ALSO WITH YOU is a sweet & cozy sitcom that shows there is always a new version of ourselves waiting to be born.
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We are a pioneering indie TV series. The industry is in a tough place right now following the rise of new streaming models, the pandemic, and the strikes. Fewer projects are being greenlit, especially those involving emerging creators. We are staying resilient in our industry by creating our own opportunities.
Right now, the series is still in its development stage. I'm running my own writers' room this summer with five additional writers to help write five 20-minute episodes for a six episode season 1. Once we finish all the scripts, we will be able to go into production. The plan is to shoot all the episodes at once, like a feature film, in spring/summer 2026. We will film in the Cleveland, OH area where the show is set.
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The funds from this campaign will go directly to paying the writers to work in the room and write five scripts. This means breaking story as a group for six weeks and writing their own episodes independently. This is no one's full time job, so they are taking on this commitment in addition to any life obligations they already have. The least I can do is help them pay their rent!
As an indie producer, I believe in paying crew at all levels of production. Artists worked hard to become the professionals they are, and in an economy that often doesn't compensate artists fairly, we want to be a part of the change by never expecting free labor.
Our stretch goals beyond paying the writers and the writers' assistant include legal fees for the creation of contracts and office supplies like index cards and snacks. Any funds raised beyond what we need for development will go towards the budget for production. We are in this for the long haul and every bit helps!
.jpg)
- Contribute to the campaign! This is just the beginning of our fundraising journey. Once we raise the money for development, we will still need to raise funding for production and post-production, so every dollar counts.
- Share our campaign with friends/family/co-workers you think would love it!
- Interact with our content on social media and share the campaign there. Here are some examples of social media posts you can use. Feel free to copy and paste:
Join filmmakers @olivia_haller and @erinbrownthomas_filmmaker by supporting their heartwarming indie TV series about a nice Catholic church lady who comes out as bisexual in her 50s. Support them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/and-also-with-you-series
I just found out about And Also With You created by @olivia_haller and WOW, you've got to support this project! Join the indie TV revolution on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/and-also-with-you-series
I'm so excited to see this new queer indie TV series called And Also With You by @olivia_haller and directed by @erinbrownthomas_filmmaker - Support them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/and-also-with-you-series
Our official socials to follow are:
Instagram: @andalsowithyou_series
Facebook: And Also With You
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Episode Fees
Costs $5,000
Paying the writers for delivery of script.
Story Fees
Costs $15,000
It takes a lot of time and energy to break story! This will help the writers pay rent while they're working in the room.
Production Costs
Costs $5,000
This money will help us pay a Writers' Assistant, provide supplies for the room, and cover legal fees.
Share this update!
About This Team
OLIVIA HALLER (Creator/Showrunner) is a writer, performer, and producer who specializes in earnest, heartfelt stories with a surreal or supernatural angle. Most recently, she served as a developmental producer on the pilot of CHASERS which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Her short film [SUBTEXT] which she wrote, produced, and starred in has been accepted to over 50 festivals and counting, including the American Pavilion at Cannes, SCAD, Cleveland, Evolution Mallorca, FilmQuest, and the Austin Film Festival (nominated for the Enderby Entertainment Award). Her half-hour pilot AND ALSO WITH YOU is currently in the Top 1% of scripts on Coverfly, having won or placed in numerous contests and festivals including the Stowe Story Labs PAGE Fellowship. Her stage play LONELINESS WAS A PANDEMIC received an Off-Broadway production at Theaterlab in November 2024. Olivia holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University and two certificates from UCLA TFT's Professional Program in Writing for Television (drama and comedy). She lives in Los Angeles with her mutt Scottie.
ERIN BROWN THOMAS (Producing Director) is a director, writer, and producer whose latest project, CHASERS—a bold, 31-minute single-continuous-shot pilot, world premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and made its LA premiere at Slamdance, marking the first narrative project to be accepted into both festivals. Over the past decade and a half, Erin has directed in almost every genre, carving out a passion for helming dramedies and mainstream stories set within a faith context. Her writing explores the perils of unchecked ambition, satirizes social imbalances, and earnestly critiques industrialized Christianity, blending tones into genre cocktails. Her work has screened at Cannes as part of the 2023 AMPAV Emerging Filmmaker Showcase, won “Best TV” at the Academy Award®-qualifying HollyShorts, and taken home top prizes at Cinequest and Walla Walla Movie Crush, where her film [SUBTEXT] won the Audience Choice Award over Sundance selections and Oscar-nominated films. She has been recognized at dozens of prestigious festivals, including Austin Film Festival, Cleveland International, and Palm Springs ShortsFest, where she was selected as an Artist in Residence. Beyond filmmaking, Erin is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Salute Your Shorts Film Festival, where she champions emerging talent, solidifying her role as a leader and advocate in the independent film industry.
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MEET THE WRITERS
Julia Rose Barnett is an award-winning, LA-based writer and filmmaker who tells female-driven stories that heal genetic trauma, woven from the threads of her unique experience as a psychic-medium. Julia worked in the writers' room for ABC's EMERGENCE, workshopped her play Arriving Early at The Players in NYC, and gives psychic readings that have been featured on podcasts such as the Confident Collective. A few awards for her hourlong pilot, MASTER BLENDER include Script Pipeline (grand prize runner up), Screencraft (semi-finalist), Shore Scripts (semi-finalist), and more. When she is not writing or reading Tarot, Julia loves baking bread and snuggling her cat, Oliver.
Bailey Benningfield is a writer who specializes in sharp, character-driven comedies that dig into ambition, ego, and the fragile identities we build around externalities like work, family, and fame. Having grown up in Florida, Bailey is familiar with the absurd and has a soft spot for the well-meaning but idiosyncratic characters who often drive it. Bailey’s stories center on people who, like most of us, are trying to prove themselves, stay relevant, or just hold it together long enough to make it to tomorrow. Bailey is a graduate of UCLA’s Professional Program in Writing for Television (Comedy).
Tara Hotchkis is a Sundance alum, writer, and producer known for bold, emotionally resonant storytelling. Her short film MUTED (writer/producer) premiered at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival and won Best Sci-Fi Short at the 2025 Milan Indie Film Fest. In 2025, three of Tara’s projects screened at Slamdance, including CHASERS (executive producer), which also premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Tara began her career under Emmy-winning Director/Producer Walter C. Miller and later worked at Sony Pictures on marketing campaigns for Spider-Man and Men in Black. Tara co-authors the Piper Poppy children’s book series with her wife and recently penned a YA novel and an award-nominated feature script. Tara is a graduate of UCLA’s Professional Screenwriting Program, holds a BA from UC Irvine and an MBA from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School.
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Hunter Ries is a Midwestern writer, cinematographer, and USC Cinema grad known for Netflix's AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, DC Comics' DC HEROES: UNITED!, and clever quips in the family group chat. He's thrilled to partner with Olivia in bringing this compelling, compassionate story to life.
Fiorella Vescovi is a queer, Los Angeles-based Latinx multi-hyphenate writer, director, and actor born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay. Vescovi’s latest film “MAL DE AMORES'' (2023) has screened in over 24 film festivals worldwide including Academy Awards-qualifying Hollyshorts and was nominated for Best Comedy Short by New Filmmakers LA 2024 Awards. The semi-autobiographical short film, a proof of concept for an LGBTQ+ TV series based on Vescovi’s own life experiences, was awarded the Cycle III Grant from the Peregrine Collective, which helped move the project into production. Vescovi was selected as a participant of the 2022 Hola Mexico Film Festival’s Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today program, sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery & HFPA. The film was also awarded the Inside Out RE:Focus Fund, a post-production grant supported by the Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival. In 2020, Vescovi was chosen to join the Women in Film mentee program as a writer/director. As a queer and genderfluid filmmaker, her writing and directing work embraces deeply personal LGBTQ+, Latine, and women empowerment themes while aiming to tell heartfelt and unapologetic stories.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
And Also With You is a heartwarming dramedy about a nice, Catholic church lady who comes out as bisexual in her 50s, and her lesbian daughter reluctantly helps her find her queer community but has a chip on her shoulder because she didn't feel supported when she came out. It's a late-in-life coming-of-age story that centers a mother/daughter relationship, and presents both queer characters and characters of faith in a compassionate, accessible way.
I didn't come out as bisexual until I was 30 years old. Growing up Catholic, I thought being gay was a sin. Any pubescent stirrings of attraction to women terrified me, so I shoved them down because I still had crushes on boys. When I finally allowed myself to accept and nurture those feelings, I mourned the potential queer communities and relationships I had missed out on because I hadn’t figured this out sooner.
If I had seen more examples of queer relationships and family dynamics as I grew up, I might have been able to live as my full self earlier. I wrote AND ALSO WITH YOU as the kind of heartfelt sitcom-style show that I could have watched in middle school with my own mom. I want to normalize the queer experience for the households where it is often demonized and swept under the rug by featuring those very households in a positive and compassionate light.
This show will highlight the important distinction between subscribing to the institution of the Catholic church and having a faith practice. Considering one of the major tenants of Christianity is to love thy neighbor as thyself, it is possible to hold a queer identity and a Christian faith practice at the same time. I want to foster more understanding between queer communities and traditional faith communities via accessible narratives with endearing characters.
Dawn, a more-than-middle-aged midwestern gal who works in the parish hall of her local Catholic church, is finally ready to act on that pesky hunch she has that she wants to smooch ladies. She’s excited to bond over this with her daughter Cara, who came out as a teenager and recently moved back to Cleveland for her partner Rory’s job. However, Cara has her own baggage associated with Cleveland, and navigates emotional minefields of old high school flames, religious trauma, and her lack of purpose in life. Each episode will feature Cara teaching Dawn about another facet of the queer experience, and Dawn showing Cara the power of connecting to a higher calling. Their blind spots always get in the way, but ultimately they gain a fresh perspective that brings them closer. AND ALSO WITH YOU is a sweet & cozy sitcom that shows there is always a new version of ourselves waiting to be born.
We are a pioneering indie TV series. The industry is in a tough place right now following the rise of new streaming models, the pandemic, and the strikes. Fewer projects are being greenlit, especially those involving emerging creators. We are staying resilient in our industry by creating our own opportunities.
Right now, the series is still in its development stage. I'm running my own writers' room this summer with five additional writers to help write five 20-minute episodes for a six episode season 1. Once we finish all the scripts, we will be able to go into production. The plan is to shoot all the episodes at once, like a feature film, in spring/summer 2026. We will film in the Cleveland, OH area where the show is set.
The funds from this campaign will go directly to paying the writers to work in the room and write five scripts. This means breaking story as a group for six weeks and writing their own episodes independently. This is no one's full time job, so they are taking on this commitment in addition to any life obligations they already have. The least I can do is help them pay their rent!
As an indie producer, I believe in paying crew at all levels of production. Artists worked hard to become the professionals they are, and in an economy that often doesn't compensate artists fairly, we want to be a part of the change by never expecting free labor.
Our stretch goals beyond paying the writers and the writers' assistant include legal fees for the creation of contracts and office supplies like index cards and snacks. Any funds raised beyond what we need for development will go towards the budget for production. We are in this for the long haul and every bit helps!
- Contribute to the campaign! This is just the beginning of our fundraising journey. Once we raise the money for development, we will still need to raise funding for production and post-production, so every dollar counts.
- Share our campaign with friends/family/co-workers you think would love it!
- Interact with our content on social media and share the campaign there. Here are some examples of social media posts you can use. Feel free to copy and paste:
Join filmmakers @olivia_haller and @erinbrownthomas_filmmaker by supporting their heartwarming indie TV series about a nice Catholic church lady who comes out as bisexual in her 50s. Support them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/and-also-with-you-series
I just found out about And Also With You created by @olivia_haller and WOW, you've got to support this project! Join the indie TV revolution on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/and-also-with-you-series
I'm so excited to see this new queer indie TV series called And Also With You by @olivia_haller and directed by @erinbrownthomas_filmmaker - Support them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/and-also-with-you-series
Our official socials to follow are:
Instagram: @andalsowithyou_series
Facebook: And Also With You
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Episode Fees
Costs $5,000
Paying the writers for delivery of script.
Story Fees
Costs $15,000
It takes a lot of time and energy to break story! This will help the writers pay rent while they're working in the room.
Production Costs
Costs $5,000
This money will help us pay a Writers' Assistant, provide supplies for the room, and cover legal fees.
Share this update!
About This Team
OLIVIA HALLER (Creator/Showrunner) is a writer, performer, and producer who specializes in earnest, heartfelt stories with a surreal or supernatural angle. Most recently, she served as a developmental producer on the pilot of CHASERS which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Her short film [SUBTEXT] which she wrote, produced, and starred in has been accepted to over 50 festivals and counting, including the American Pavilion at Cannes, SCAD, Cleveland, Evolution Mallorca, FilmQuest, and the Austin Film Festival (nominated for the Enderby Entertainment Award). Her half-hour pilot AND ALSO WITH YOU is currently in the Top 1% of scripts on Coverfly, having won or placed in numerous contests and festivals including the Stowe Story Labs PAGE Fellowship. Her stage play LONELINESS WAS A PANDEMIC received an Off-Broadway production at Theaterlab in November 2024. Olivia holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University and two certificates from UCLA TFT's Professional Program in Writing for Television (drama and comedy). She lives in Los Angeles with her mutt Scottie.
ERIN BROWN THOMAS (Producing Director) is a director, writer, and producer whose latest project, CHASERS—a bold, 31-minute single-continuous-shot pilot, world premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and made its LA premiere at Slamdance, marking the first narrative project to be accepted into both festivals. Over the past decade and a half, Erin has directed in almost every genre, carving out a passion for helming dramedies and mainstream stories set within a faith context. Her writing explores the perils of unchecked ambition, satirizes social imbalances, and earnestly critiques industrialized Christianity, blending tones into genre cocktails. Her work has screened at Cannes as part of the 2023 AMPAV Emerging Filmmaker Showcase, won “Best TV” at the Academy Award®-qualifying HollyShorts, and taken home top prizes at Cinequest and Walla Walla Movie Crush, where her film [SUBTEXT] won the Audience Choice Award over Sundance selections and Oscar-nominated films. She has been recognized at dozens of prestigious festivals, including Austin Film Festival, Cleveland International, and Palm Springs ShortsFest, where she was selected as an Artist in Residence. Beyond filmmaking, Erin is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Salute Your Shorts Film Festival, where she champions emerging talent, solidifying her role as a leader and advocate in the independent film industry.
MEET THE WRITERS
Julia Rose Barnett is an award-winning, LA-based writer and filmmaker who tells female-driven stories that heal genetic trauma, woven from the threads of her unique experience as a psychic-medium. Julia worked in the writers' room for ABC's EMERGENCE, workshopped her play Arriving Early at The Players in NYC, and gives psychic readings that have been featured on podcasts such as the Confident Collective. A few awards for her hourlong pilot, MASTER BLENDER include Script Pipeline (grand prize runner up), Screencraft (semi-finalist), Shore Scripts (semi-finalist), and more. When she is not writing or reading Tarot, Julia loves baking bread and snuggling her cat, Oliver.
Bailey Benningfield is a writer who specializes in sharp, character-driven comedies that dig into ambition, ego, and the fragile identities we build around externalities like work, family, and fame. Having grown up in Florida, Bailey is familiar with the absurd and has a soft spot for the well-meaning but idiosyncratic characters who often drive it. Bailey’s stories center on people who, like most of us, are trying to prove themselves, stay relevant, or just hold it together long enough to make it to tomorrow. Bailey is a graduate of UCLA’s Professional Program in Writing for Television (Comedy).
Tara Hotchkis is a Sundance alum, writer, and producer known for bold, emotionally resonant storytelling. Her short film MUTED (writer/producer) premiered at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival and won Best Sci-Fi Short at the 2025 Milan Indie Film Fest. In 2025, three of Tara’s projects screened at Slamdance, including CHASERS (executive producer), which also premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Tara began her career under Emmy-winning Director/Producer Walter C. Miller and later worked at Sony Pictures on marketing campaigns for Spider-Man and Men in Black. Tara co-authors the Piper Poppy children’s book series with her wife and recently penned a YA novel and an award-nominated feature script. Tara is a graduate of UCLA’s Professional Screenwriting Program, holds a BA from UC Irvine and an MBA from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School.
Hunter Ries is a Midwestern writer, cinematographer, and USC Cinema grad known for Netflix's AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, DC Comics' DC HEROES: UNITED!, and clever quips in the family group chat. He's thrilled to partner with Olivia in bringing this compelling, compassionate story to life.
Fiorella Vescovi is a queer, Los Angeles-based Latinx multi-hyphenate writer, director, and actor born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay. Vescovi’s latest film “MAL DE AMORES'' (2023) has screened in over 24 film festivals worldwide including Academy Awards-qualifying Hollyshorts and was nominated for Best Comedy Short by New Filmmakers LA 2024 Awards. The semi-autobiographical short film, a proof of concept for an LGBTQ+ TV series based on Vescovi’s own life experiences, was awarded the Cycle III Grant from the Peregrine Collective, which helped move the project into production. Vescovi was selected as a participant of the 2022 Hola Mexico Film Festival’s Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today program, sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery & HFPA. The film was also awarded the Inside Out RE:Focus Fund, a post-production grant supported by the Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival. In 2020, Vescovi was chosen to join the Women in Film mentee program as a writer/director. As a queer and genderfluid filmmaker, her writing and directing work embraces deeply personal LGBTQ+, Latine, and women empowerment themes while aiming to tell heartfelt and unapologetic stories.