The Viscount's Vengeance, Take Twelve
Behind the glamour of the stage, two young actors, Nancy and Johnny, navigate the treacherous waters of 'The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance,' a play so dreadful it might just be a crime. With a crazy director and a baffling local mystery brewing, their summer is anything but dull.
# The Viscount's Vengeance, Take Twelve - Project Treatment
## Project Overview
**Format:** Limited Series, 3 Parts (60 minutes each)
**Genre:** Cozy Mystery / Theatrical Dramedy
**Tone References:** *Only Murders in the Building* for its blend of witty, character-driven comedy with a genuinely compelling mystery in a contained environment; *Waiting for Guffman* for its affectionate and hilarious depiction of small-town community theatre; and *Knives Out* for its sharp dialogue and clever subversion of mystery tropes.
**Target Audience:** Fans of high-concept, character-forward dramedies like *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* and sophisticated, playful mysteries. This is aimed at an audience that appreciates sharp writing, meta-humor, and a story with a warm, beating heart.
**Logline:** When a real-life local mystery begins to mirror the absurd plot of the disastrous play they're starring in, two young actors must turn their stagecraft into detective work to save their theatre and uncover a town secret before the final curtain falls.
## Visual Language & Cinematic Style
The visual identity of the series operates on a cinematic duality. Inside the Oakhaven Playhouse, the world is a warm, dusty cocoon. The palette is rich with deep reds of velvet curtains, the golden hues of aged wood, and the soft, hazy light filtering through grime-covered windows. Camera work here is more intimate and often handheld, capturing the nervous energy of rehearsals, the texture of dog-eared scripts, and the way dust motes dance in the beams of a single work light. The theatre itself is a character, a space of both frustrating confinement and creative sanctuary. In contrast, the town of Oakhaven is presented with a crisp, slightly saturated, storybook quality. We use stable, composed shots that evoke a sense of quaint order, which makes the underlying mystery feel all the more disruptive. The visual language will consistently play with the line between the theatrical and the real, using stage lighting techniques—spotlights, gobos, dramatic shadows—to frame key moments of investigation in the outside world, as if Nancy and Johnny can't help but see life through the lens of the stage.
## Tone & Mood
The tone is a sun-drenched tragicomedy, a symphony of artistic suffering played with a wink and a smile. The mood is built on the friction between the high-stakes melodrama of "The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance" and the low-stakes charm of a small-town mystery that unexpectedly becomes very high-stakes. The emotional rhythm is driven by the rapid-fire, witty banter between Nancy and Johnny, which serves as both their armour and their bond. This humor, however, is layered over a genuine sense of yearning—for artistic validation, for connection, and for a place to belong. Moments of broad, theatrical comedy, often courtesy of the delightfully unhinged Ms. Carson, are punctuated by quiet, observational beats where the weight of our heroes' predicament and the warmth of their friendship can land with gentle sincerity. It is a story that finds the sublime in the ridiculous and celebrates the profound connections forged in shared, absurd struggle.
## Themes & Cinematic Expression
The central theme is the interplay between performance and authenticity. The series explores how we "act" in our daily lives and how putting on a persona can sometimes be the only way to discover our true selves. This is expressed cinematically by blending the heightened reality of the stage with the grounded world of Oakhaven. A rehearsal of a dramatic confrontation will be intercut with Nancy and Johnny's real, awkward attempt to question a suspect, using the play's terrible dialogue as a bizarre crutch. The sound design will further blur these lines, with the creak of a stage floorboard echoing the sound of a suspect's creaking garden gate, or the faint, imagined applause of an audience underscoring a successful moment of detective work. A secondary theme is the preservation of community legacy against encroaching modernity. The Oakhaven Scroll and the Playhouse itself are symbols of the town's history and soul. This is visualized through archival textures—faded photographs, the delicate ink on the scroll, the layers of peeling paint on the theatre walls—contrasting with the cold, sterile blueprints of the developer who threatens to erase it all.
## Character Arcs
### Nancy
Nancy begins as a wry, internal observer, armed with a sharp wit she mostly keeps to herself. Her defining flaw is a fear of taking up space, of truly committing to her own voice for fear of being as ridiculous as the world around her. She is a talented actor who hides behind professionalism and quiet competence. The mystery forces her out of her shell. Her journey is one of finding her leading lady energy in the real world. As she and Johnny investigate, she discovers that her actor's skills—observing human behavior, reading subtext, and improvising under pressure—make her a brilliant detective. Her arc culminates not just in solving the crime, but in confidently ad-libbing the climax on stage, using her own words to save the day, finally bridging the gap between her inner monologue and her outer voice.
### Johnny
Johnny's persona is a performance of effortless confidence. He is charming, theatrical, and uses irony as a shield. His flaw is that he leans so heavily into the performance of being "Johnny the Actor" that he struggles with genuine vulnerability. He believes the secret to surviving bad art is to be brilliantly, intentionally bad. The mystery challenges this detachment. As the stakes become real—threatening the theatre and the town he secretly loves—he is forced to drop the act. His arc is about discovering the power of sincerity. He learns that true strength isn't in mocking the material, but in fighting for something he genuinely believes in, including his partnership with Nancy. He ends the series as a more grounded, earnest person, whose talent is now matched by his heart.
### Ms. Carson
Ms. Carson initially appears as the archetypal eccentric director—a source of comedic chaos and nonsensical artistic direction. She is the embodiment of "all style, no substance." Her flaw is an inability to connect with reality, preferring her world of "phantom tangs" and "emotional architecture." However, her arc reveals this eccentricity as a coping mechanism. We learn the playhouse was her family's legacy, and the nonsensical play is her desperate, clumsy attempt to save it and honour their memory. The mystery of the scroll is deeply tied to her own family's history. Her journey is one of accidental revelation; her bizarre creative choices inadvertently provide the clues Nancy and Johnny need. She ends not as a caricature, but as the story's surprising emotional anchor, a woman whose love for her art, however misguided, is the very thing that protects her town's history.
## Detailed Narrative Treatment (Act Structure / Episodes)
### Part I
We are introduced to the sweltering, creatively stifling world of the Oakhaven Playhouse through NANCY’s weary eyes. She and her charismatic co-star, JOHNNY, are trapped in rehearsals for "The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance," a comically terrible play penned and directed by the formidable MS. CARSON. We establish their survival mechanism: a shared, cynical wit and a pact to make the play an "intentional" masterpiece of bad theatre. The inciting incident occurs when Ms. Carson, in a fit of inspiration, shoehorns a detail from a real local news story into the script: the mysterious disappearance of the historic Oakhaven Scroll from the town archives. The only clue, she declares, is a "phantom tang of marmalade." Later that night, while exploring the theatre's dusty archives for props, Nancy and Johnny find a very real, very sticky, and recently discarded jar of expensive marmalade—the same brand favored by the town's seemingly benevolent historical society president, MR. HUXLEY. They realize the quaint local mystery might be more real, and more connected to their theatre, than they ever imagined.
### Part II
Nancy and Johnny's investigation begins, with them using their acting skills as detective tools. They "run lines" to practice interrogating witnesses and use costume pieces for clumsy disguises to tail Mr. Huxley. Their prime suspects expand to include MRS. HENDERSON, the overly anxious librarian, and old MR. PEABODY, who seems to know more than he lets on. All the while, Ms. Carson continues her frantic rewrites, and her bizarre additions—a villain who despises baked goods, a secret passage behind a wobbly pillar—start to eerily mirror the real clues Nancy and Johnny uncover. Their investigation reveals the true value of the scroll: it contains a deed proving the Oakhaven Playhouse, not the town council, owns the adjacent undeveloped land, making it a prime target for a ruthless property developer who has been quietly charming his way into the town's favor. The midpoint sees them break into Huxley's office, only to find he's being blackmailed. Their "All Is Lost" moment arrives when they are caught by the developer, who confiscates their evidence and threatens to not only demolish the theatre but ruin their fledgling careers. Their friendship frays under the pressure, and they are left with nothing but a terrible play to perform.
### Part III
It's opening night. The theatre is packed, the developer sitting smugly in the front row. All hope seems lost. Backstage, just before curtain, Nancy pieces together the final clue from one of Ms. Carson’s most ridiculous lines. The scroll was never stolen; it was hidden for safekeeping generations ago by Ms. Carson’s own ancestor—inside the Viscount's prop goblet on stage. During the play’s climactic scene, Nancy and Johnny make a choice. They abandon the script. In character as Seraphina and Percival, they begin to ad-lib, weaving the real story of the developer's scheme and the scroll's location into the play's melodramatic dialogue. The audience is confused, then captivated. Ms. Carson watches from the wings, horrified, then slowly understanding. The performance builds to a chaotic, hilarious, and thrilling crescendo as they physically unmask the developer's plan live on stage, culminating in Johnny smashing the prop goblet to reveal the ancient scroll within. The developer is exposed, the town rallies to protect its theatre, and the play is hailed as a bizarre, interactive triumph. In the final scene, Nancy and Johnny take a bow to a thunderous standing ovation, sharing a look that says they’ve not only solved a crime, but they’ve also found their true voices as artists and partners.
## Episode/Scene Beat Sheet (Source Material)
1. Nancy, in a state of internal despair, rehearses her lines for the dreadful play, "The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance."
2. The sensory details of the old, hot theatre are established: sticky fingers, the smell of wood and perfume.
3. Johnny, her co-star, enters the scene with an overly dramatic, self-important air.
4. They share a non-verbal moment of camaraderie, acknowledging the absurdity of their situation.
5. They run the scene, delivering the overwritten, nonsensical dialogue with feigned sincerity.
6. The dialogue introduces the play's central "mystery": the missing Oakhaven Scroll.
7. The play incorporates a real-life local rumor, which Nancy finds ludicrous.
8. Johnny's character reveals a key clue added by the director: the culprit has a fondness for marmalade.
9. Both actors internally recognize this "culinary intrigue" as a ridiculous fabrication by their director, Ms. Carson.
10. Ms. Carson dramatically interrupts the rehearsal from the dark auditorium.
11. She praises their performance with obtuse, artistic jargon, calling the play a masterpiece.
12. Johnny politely questions the logical continuity of the "marmalade" clue.
13. Ms. Carson dismisses continuity, passionately defending the marmalade as a "motif" and a "sensory anchor."
14. Nancy attempts to diplomaticaly suggest a more practical, visual clue (a prop jar), but is shot down.
15. Ms. Carson insists the actors must "evoke the phantom tang" of marmalade through their performance, demonstrating with a grotesque gesture.
16. After Ms. Carson leaves, Johnny and Nancy are left alone to decompress.
17. They mock the direction and decide on a new strategy: to lean into the absurdity and perform the play as an intentional, brilliant parody.
18. They workshop over-the-top ways to perform their lines, turning their frustration into a creative, collaborative game.
19. Their shared laughter fills the empty theatre, solidifying their bond and shifting the mood from one of despair to one of joyful conspiracy.
20. The scene ends on a quiet, hopeful note, with the friends united against the challenge ahead.
## Creative Statement
"The Viscount's Vengeance, Take Twelve" is a story for anyone who has ever had a terrible summer job, poured their heart into a thankless project, or found a kindred spirit in the trenches of absurdity. At its core, this is a celebration of the creative process—not the glossy, idealized version, but the messy, hilarious, and often desperate reality of making something from nothing. It posits that sometimes, the most profound art isn't the "perfect" final product, but the joy and connection found in the struggle to get there. In an era often defined by cynicism and detachment, this series offers a heartfelt and witty counter-narrative. It argues that there is immense value in earnestness, even when aimed at something ridiculous, and that the bonds we forge in shared creative endeavors are the true masterpieces. This is a story that believes in the transformative power of a stage, the quiet dignity of a small town, and the fact that two friends with enough wit and heart can solve any mystery, on or off the script.
## Audience Relevance
In a content landscape saturated with grim anti-heroes and dystopian futures, "The Viscount's Vengeance, Take Twelve" offers a refreshing escape into warmth, wit, and low-stakes charm that blossoms into high-stakes fun. Its appeal is rooted in the universal experience of being young, ambitious, and in over your head. Audiences will deeply relate to Nancy and Johnny's plight, finding echoes of their own lives in the challenge of navigating difficult personalities and finding dignity in undignified work. The series taps directly into the current cultural zeitgeist's love for cozy mysteries and "found family" narratives, as seen in the success of shows like *Only Murders in the Building*. It offers the intellectual satisfaction of a well-plotted mystery alongside the emotional comfort of a character-driven comedy, making it the perfect vehicle for audiences seeking smart, uplifting entertainment that leaves them feeling better about the world than when they started.
## Project Overview
**Format:** Limited Series, 3 Parts (60 minutes each)
**Genre:** Cozy Mystery / Theatrical Dramedy
**Tone References:** *Only Murders in the Building* for its blend of witty, character-driven comedy with a genuinely compelling mystery in a contained environment; *Waiting for Guffman* for its affectionate and hilarious depiction of small-town community theatre; and *Knives Out* for its sharp dialogue and clever subversion of mystery tropes.
**Target Audience:** Fans of high-concept, character-forward dramedies like *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* and sophisticated, playful mysteries. This is aimed at an audience that appreciates sharp writing, meta-humor, and a story with a warm, beating heart.
**Logline:** When a real-life local mystery begins to mirror the absurd plot of the disastrous play they're starring in, two young actors must turn their stagecraft into detective work to save their theatre and uncover a town secret before the final curtain falls.
## Visual Language & Cinematic Style
The visual identity of the series operates on a cinematic duality. Inside the Oakhaven Playhouse, the world is a warm, dusty cocoon. The palette is rich with deep reds of velvet curtains, the golden hues of aged wood, and the soft, hazy light filtering through grime-covered windows. Camera work here is more intimate and often handheld, capturing the nervous energy of rehearsals, the texture of dog-eared scripts, and the way dust motes dance in the beams of a single work light. The theatre itself is a character, a space of both frustrating confinement and creative sanctuary. In contrast, the town of Oakhaven is presented with a crisp, slightly saturated, storybook quality. We use stable, composed shots that evoke a sense of quaint order, which makes the underlying mystery feel all the more disruptive. The visual language will consistently play with the line between the theatrical and the real, using stage lighting techniques—spotlights, gobos, dramatic shadows—to frame key moments of investigation in the outside world, as if Nancy and Johnny can't help but see life through the lens of the stage.
## Tone & Mood
The tone is a sun-drenched tragicomedy, a symphony of artistic suffering played with a wink and a smile. The mood is built on the friction between the high-stakes melodrama of "The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance" and the low-stakes charm of a small-town mystery that unexpectedly becomes very high-stakes. The emotional rhythm is driven by the rapid-fire, witty banter between Nancy and Johnny, which serves as both their armour and their bond. This humor, however, is layered over a genuine sense of yearning—for artistic validation, for connection, and for a place to belong. Moments of broad, theatrical comedy, often courtesy of the delightfully unhinged Ms. Carson, are punctuated by quiet, observational beats where the weight of our heroes' predicament and the warmth of their friendship can land with gentle sincerity. It is a story that finds the sublime in the ridiculous and celebrates the profound connections forged in shared, absurd struggle.
## Themes & Cinematic Expression
The central theme is the interplay between performance and authenticity. The series explores how we "act" in our daily lives and how putting on a persona can sometimes be the only way to discover our true selves. This is expressed cinematically by blending the heightened reality of the stage with the grounded world of Oakhaven. A rehearsal of a dramatic confrontation will be intercut with Nancy and Johnny's real, awkward attempt to question a suspect, using the play's terrible dialogue as a bizarre crutch. The sound design will further blur these lines, with the creak of a stage floorboard echoing the sound of a suspect's creaking garden gate, or the faint, imagined applause of an audience underscoring a successful moment of detective work. A secondary theme is the preservation of community legacy against encroaching modernity. The Oakhaven Scroll and the Playhouse itself are symbols of the town's history and soul. This is visualized through archival textures—faded photographs, the delicate ink on the scroll, the layers of peeling paint on the theatre walls—contrasting with the cold, sterile blueprints of the developer who threatens to erase it all.
## Character Arcs
### Nancy
Nancy begins as a wry, internal observer, armed with a sharp wit she mostly keeps to herself. Her defining flaw is a fear of taking up space, of truly committing to her own voice for fear of being as ridiculous as the world around her. She is a talented actor who hides behind professionalism and quiet competence. The mystery forces her out of her shell. Her journey is one of finding her leading lady energy in the real world. As she and Johnny investigate, she discovers that her actor's skills—observing human behavior, reading subtext, and improvising under pressure—make her a brilliant detective. Her arc culminates not just in solving the crime, but in confidently ad-libbing the climax on stage, using her own words to save the day, finally bridging the gap between her inner monologue and her outer voice.
### Johnny
Johnny's persona is a performance of effortless confidence. He is charming, theatrical, and uses irony as a shield. His flaw is that he leans so heavily into the performance of being "Johnny the Actor" that he struggles with genuine vulnerability. He believes the secret to surviving bad art is to be brilliantly, intentionally bad. The mystery challenges this detachment. As the stakes become real—threatening the theatre and the town he secretly loves—he is forced to drop the act. His arc is about discovering the power of sincerity. He learns that true strength isn't in mocking the material, but in fighting for something he genuinely believes in, including his partnership with Nancy. He ends the series as a more grounded, earnest person, whose talent is now matched by his heart.
### Ms. Carson
Ms. Carson initially appears as the archetypal eccentric director—a source of comedic chaos and nonsensical artistic direction. She is the embodiment of "all style, no substance." Her flaw is an inability to connect with reality, preferring her world of "phantom tangs" and "emotional architecture." However, her arc reveals this eccentricity as a coping mechanism. We learn the playhouse was her family's legacy, and the nonsensical play is her desperate, clumsy attempt to save it and honour their memory. The mystery of the scroll is deeply tied to her own family's history. Her journey is one of accidental revelation; her bizarre creative choices inadvertently provide the clues Nancy and Johnny need. She ends not as a caricature, but as the story's surprising emotional anchor, a woman whose love for her art, however misguided, is the very thing that protects her town's history.
## Detailed Narrative Treatment (Act Structure / Episodes)
### Part I
We are introduced to the sweltering, creatively stifling world of the Oakhaven Playhouse through NANCY’s weary eyes. She and her charismatic co-star, JOHNNY, are trapped in rehearsals for "The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance," a comically terrible play penned and directed by the formidable MS. CARSON. We establish their survival mechanism: a shared, cynical wit and a pact to make the play an "intentional" masterpiece of bad theatre. The inciting incident occurs when Ms. Carson, in a fit of inspiration, shoehorns a detail from a real local news story into the script: the mysterious disappearance of the historic Oakhaven Scroll from the town archives. The only clue, she declares, is a "phantom tang of marmalade." Later that night, while exploring the theatre's dusty archives for props, Nancy and Johnny find a very real, very sticky, and recently discarded jar of expensive marmalade—the same brand favored by the town's seemingly benevolent historical society president, MR. HUXLEY. They realize the quaint local mystery might be more real, and more connected to their theatre, than they ever imagined.
### Part II
Nancy and Johnny's investigation begins, with them using their acting skills as detective tools. They "run lines" to practice interrogating witnesses and use costume pieces for clumsy disguises to tail Mr. Huxley. Their prime suspects expand to include MRS. HENDERSON, the overly anxious librarian, and old MR. PEABODY, who seems to know more than he lets on. All the while, Ms. Carson continues her frantic rewrites, and her bizarre additions—a villain who despises baked goods, a secret passage behind a wobbly pillar—start to eerily mirror the real clues Nancy and Johnny uncover. Their investigation reveals the true value of the scroll: it contains a deed proving the Oakhaven Playhouse, not the town council, owns the adjacent undeveloped land, making it a prime target for a ruthless property developer who has been quietly charming his way into the town's favor. The midpoint sees them break into Huxley's office, only to find he's being blackmailed. Their "All Is Lost" moment arrives when they are caught by the developer, who confiscates their evidence and threatens to not only demolish the theatre but ruin their fledgling careers. Their friendship frays under the pressure, and they are left with nothing but a terrible play to perform.
### Part III
It's opening night. The theatre is packed, the developer sitting smugly in the front row. All hope seems lost. Backstage, just before curtain, Nancy pieces together the final clue from one of Ms. Carson’s most ridiculous lines. The scroll was never stolen; it was hidden for safekeeping generations ago by Ms. Carson’s own ancestor—inside the Viscount's prop goblet on stage. During the play’s climactic scene, Nancy and Johnny make a choice. They abandon the script. In character as Seraphina and Percival, they begin to ad-lib, weaving the real story of the developer's scheme and the scroll's location into the play's melodramatic dialogue. The audience is confused, then captivated. Ms. Carson watches from the wings, horrified, then slowly understanding. The performance builds to a chaotic, hilarious, and thrilling crescendo as they physically unmask the developer's plan live on stage, culminating in Johnny smashing the prop goblet to reveal the ancient scroll within. The developer is exposed, the town rallies to protect its theatre, and the play is hailed as a bizarre, interactive triumph. In the final scene, Nancy and Johnny take a bow to a thunderous standing ovation, sharing a look that says they’ve not only solved a crime, but they’ve also found their true voices as artists and partners.
## Episode/Scene Beat Sheet (Source Material)
1. Nancy, in a state of internal despair, rehearses her lines for the dreadful play, "The Viscount's Verdant Vengeance."
2. The sensory details of the old, hot theatre are established: sticky fingers, the smell of wood and perfume.
3. Johnny, her co-star, enters the scene with an overly dramatic, self-important air.
4. They share a non-verbal moment of camaraderie, acknowledging the absurdity of their situation.
5. They run the scene, delivering the overwritten, nonsensical dialogue with feigned sincerity.
6. The dialogue introduces the play's central "mystery": the missing Oakhaven Scroll.
7. The play incorporates a real-life local rumor, which Nancy finds ludicrous.
8. Johnny's character reveals a key clue added by the director: the culprit has a fondness for marmalade.
9. Both actors internally recognize this "culinary intrigue" as a ridiculous fabrication by their director, Ms. Carson.
10. Ms. Carson dramatically interrupts the rehearsal from the dark auditorium.
11. She praises their performance with obtuse, artistic jargon, calling the play a masterpiece.
12. Johnny politely questions the logical continuity of the "marmalade" clue.
13. Ms. Carson dismisses continuity, passionately defending the marmalade as a "motif" and a "sensory anchor."
14. Nancy attempts to diplomaticaly suggest a more practical, visual clue (a prop jar), but is shot down.
15. Ms. Carson insists the actors must "evoke the phantom tang" of marmalade through their performance, demonstrating with a grotesque gesture.
16. After Ms. Carson leaves, Johnny and Nancy are left alone to decompress.
17. They mock the direction and decide on a new strategy: to lean into the absurdity and perform the play as an intentional, brilliant parody.
18. They workshop over-the-top ways to perform their lines, turning their frustration into a creative, collaborative game.
19. Their shared laughter fills the empty theatre, solidifying their bond and shifting the mood from one of despair to one of joyful conspiracy.
20. The scene ends on a quiet, hopeful note, with the friends united against the challenge ahead.
## Creative Statement
"The Viscount's Vengeance, Take Twelve" is a story for anyone who has ever had a terrible summer job, poured their heart into a thankless project, or found a kindred spirit in the trenches of absurdity. At its core, this is a celebration of the creative process—not the glossy, idealized version, but the messy, hilarious, and often desperate reality of making something from nothing. It posits that sometimes, the most profound art isn't the "perfect" final product, but the joy and connection found in the struggle to get there. In an era often defined by cynicism and detachment, this series offers a heartfelt and witty counter-narrative. It argues that there is immense value in earnestness, even when aimed at something ridiculous, and that the bonds we forge in shared creative endeavors are the true masterpieces. This is a story that believes in the transformative power of a stage, the quiet dignity of a small town, and the fact that two friends with enough wit and heart can solve any mystery, on or off the script.
## Audience Relevance
In a content landscape saturated with grim anti-heroes and dystopian futures, "The Viscount's Vengeance, Take Twelve" offers a refreshing escape into warmth, wit, and low-stakes charm that blossoms into high-stakes fun. Its appeal is rooted in the universal experience of being young, ambitious, and in over your head. Audiences will deeply relate to Nancy and Johnny's plight, finding echoes of their own lives in the challenge of navigating difficult personalities and finding dignity in undignified work. The series taps directly into the current cultural zeitgeist's love for cozy mysteries and "found family" narratives, as seen in the success of shows like *Only Murders in the Building*. It offers the intellectual satisfaction of a well-plotted mystery alongside the emotional comfort of a character-driven comedy, making it the perfect vehicle for audiences seeking smart, uplifting entertainment that leaves them feeling better about the world than when they started.