How does one survive high school?

In the most transformative and transitional era of one’s life, high school is probably one of the most universally loathed and dreaded moments of the human experience– up there with death and taxes. Like a zombie apocalypse, it can certainly be scary. You must find all that you can to scrape by. Some may resort to living in the shadows. Some may thrive in such a place.  Sometimes, when you’re that age, it can feel like life or death. Sure, no one is eating at your flesh, but that calculus homework can feel about as bad. However, for both high school and a zombie infested society, one thing is certainly true: having friends by your side is key to survival. 

Mason, Zeke, and Lucas are banding together to survive Creekside High School– literally and figuratively.

The pilot, “Hate Apocalypse,” throws us right into the action. Cantankerous Ezekiel accidentally curses the school into seeing the world through his pessimistic gaze– turning everyone into “hate zombies.” It’s up to him, level-headed Mason, and instigating Lucas to save the day. Will they be able to put their bickering aside and become the heroes this school needs? Or will they succumb to the hate steadily infecting their classmates?

Meet the Trio

Zeke, Mason, and Lucas an inseparable trio, content living in their own little world with their tiny friend group– outsiders on the fringes of Creekside High. 

Ezekiel (or “Zeke”) is a hardcore pessimist. A wildcard. Boisterous, passionate, and incredibly stubborn– when Zeke has an opinion, you’ll know it. As much as he hates to admit it, Zeke is incredibly sweet and slightly anxious deep down. A fiercely loyal friend, he would do anything for Mason and Lucas. Even spill his guts to the entire school to keep them from becoming zombies.

Lucas is the definition of a devil’s advocate, a major instigator who loves to engage in mischievous antics for the thrill of it all. Easily frustrated, both in general and by Zeke’s stubbornness specifically, Lucas and Zeke’s love language is bickering. There is always a new debate, and they’re always in opposition. This isn’t because they don’t agree on anything; they definitely do. It’s purely for the love of the game, the art of the argument.  

Mason is the level-headed mediator of this chaotic trio– the voice of reason and glue holding the group together. Mason’s levels of patience are astronomical. They love their two friends, but, as any person would, they do get irritated from time to time by all the bickering and pessimism– resulting in occasional outbursts and confrontations when they’ve had enough. While still a bit anxious (as every 15-year-old is), Mason manages to keep it together for the sake of their friends.

Hello! I’m Carly Burton, the writer and showrunner of Surviving Creekside, and I’m so thrilled to have the honor of bringing this world to life. 

Growing up, the shows I watched were always a little wacky. Supernatural, super silly, and super full of imperfect characters in imperfect situations. When writing this tween pilot, I had to get myself back into the tween spirit. Trying to remember what it was like to be a kid, I started to reminisce on my years as a dance instructor for little ones. Seeing how much they connected to others through the things they watched, how passionate they were, how silly, and how much they needed these stories about friends and love to grow into more kind human beings really drove me to focus my story on those exact things. I also know that, as a writer, you write what I know. I certainly know these characters, and I certainly know what it’s like to use your friends to get you through the scary parts of growing up. 

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to create the world of Creekside High with such a wonderful team. Collaborating with them to bring this story from script to screen has been epic, and I’m excited to see just how much their work and incredible talent pays off. 

The Plan

Surviving Creekside’s pilot “Hate Apocalypse” will wrap filming towards the end of April. The money raised from this campaign will be used for transporting equipment, securing locations, production design (and lots of zombie make-up), and, most importantly, keeping our beautiful cast and crew fed. From there, the pilot will enter post-production and, ideally, enter various little film festivals in NYC and the US!! To create this pilots, we'd have to raise $3,000 minimum, but reaching our stretch goal of $4000 would do wonders to bring this pilot to life.

If you’re unable to donate, you can still support us by sharing our fundraiser and following our production at @survivingcreeksidetv on Instagram. Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you at Creekside soon!!!