Pilot Episode
Reality Parody/Historical Sitcom
By Sarah Ann Masse & Nick Afka Thomas (We Are Thomasse)
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Logline
What would happen if The Real Housewives existed in the 18th century and starred six of the most famous, wealthy, powerful men in history? Meet The Real Founding Fathers of America as they navigate popularity, parties (both social and political), sex, spies, slavery, and their fragile egos as they figure out who will be the first leader of the young USA. Wigs will fly, tears will be cried, and shots will be fired. History has never been so FABULOUS!
Series Synopsis
Washington. Adams. Jefferson. Madison. Hamilton. Franklin.
1781: After defeating the British at the Battle of Yorktown, the sassy sextuplet of Founding Fathers face the challenge of creating a brand new country. What follows is the most unpredictable 8 years the USA has ever seen, and the ensuing struggle for power and popularity makes bitch-slapping the Brits look easy.
Covering the least appreciated years in America’s history, The Real Founding Fathers Of America follows the feistiest Founding Fathers from the moment Independence was won in 1781 until the first President was inaugurated in 1789. What happened in between? Why did it take 8 years to set up the system of government? Whose fashion sense was truly revolutionary? Who had the hottest wife? And whose party would you want to go to- Adams’ or Jefferson’s?
Steering the fledgling nation through treaties, scandals, bankruptcy and uprisings, these petty politicians will travel the world in private ships sipping champagne, dueling, making laws, and gossiping non-stop. Will Madison ever find a wife? Does Hamilton have daddy issues? Is Adams a hermaphrodite? Will Jefferson ever be called out about slavery and sex scandals? Is Franklin a serial killer? And which Father is really responsible for Independence?
Alliances will be forged and broken, friendships will be tested, egos will grow, and so will their reputations as America’s most fabulous figures. It’s the wild 1780s, when shots are fired and shots are taken. Drunk on power, the Real Founding Fathers are in the middle of the biggest political party ever… but do they have the constitution for it?
Goals
Why us? Why this story? Why now?
As creators, we have spent years making comedy that combines facts with farce, and history with current events. So to us, the connection between the cracked foundation of the United States and the present-day issues of racism and sexism embodied by the Trump Presidency was always clear, but when we filmed this proof of concept in 2018, six months after the events in Charlottesville, we were told it was “ahead of its time”. However, in January 2021 neo-Nazis stormed the Capitol, waving the Confederate flag while claiming the Founding Fathers as heroes of their revisionist history, and it was made frighteningly obvious that the time to tell this story is now.
We live in a world where the disgraced former President invented the fallacious 1776 Commission to undermine the important 1619 Project with his “alternative facts”; where there are violent arguments over statues of treasonous historical figures; where extrajudicial murders of Black people prove that the phrase “All men are created equal” is as unfulfilled a promise as when it was written by a hypocritical slave-owner. And with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of independence fast approaching, now is exactly the right time to show the Founding Fathers for who they really were: inspirational but problematic, visionary but myopic.
Watching the Founding Fathers behave like ‘Real Housewives’ reveals how petty, entitled, and privileged these men were, all while staying true to the actual history of the time. In ‘The Real Founding Fathers of America’ we wrap our biting satire in a sugar coating that allows hard truths to be more easily swallowed, reaching people who wouldn’t normally listen, making them laugh, but also making them think about tough topics such as racism and sexism. We already have women playing two of the Founding Fathers in our proof of concept, and when we get this series made, we are committed to hiring diverse talent in front of and behind the camera, especially Black and Indigenous artists, because it is essential that when re-examining the history of our country we hear from the people who have been the most impacted by the sins of our Founding Fathers.
With the success of shows that creatively revisit well-known history like ‘Our Flag Means Death’, ‘The Great’, ‘Bridgerton’, and ‘Dickinson’ and series that embrace darkness and silliness like ‘Miracle Workers and ‘What We Do in The Shadows’’, we know the Founding Fathers are overdue for a proper outing and that there is an eager audience out there just waiting to lap it up, positioning ‘The Real Founding Fathers of America’ as a must-watch show in the lead up to America’s 250th Birthday.
Comps
Our Flag Means Death, Drunk History, What We Do in The Shadows, The Real Housewives, John Adams, The Office, Blackadder, Hamilton, Miracle Workers, 1776, Bridgerton, The Great, and Dickinson.
Contact
direct: wearethomasse@gmail.com
Writer Bios
Sarah Ann Masse is not only an actress, writer, comedian, and producer; she is also a Colonial America history nerd who has been obsessed with John Adams since she was four years old. She spent her formative years dressing up in historical costumes at Colonial Williamsburg and hosting Revolutionary themed Birthday Parties. As a matter of fact, her very first piece of comedic writing was a monologue about her belief that she is the reincarnation of John Adams. Sarah also just so happens to be a Real Housewives scholar with RHONY being her all time favorite iteration. (She is a total Bethenny, in case you were wondering).
Everything in Sarah’s life has been leading to this moment, where she gets to combine her two great loves into a comedic, catty, historical TV show. As one of the first women to come forward about being abused by Weinstein, her storytelling is enhanced by her feminist lens, her skill at toppling powerful men, and her desire for inclusivity and representation, as seen in the dozens of viral videos she has created with her husband Nick Afka Thomas as We Are Thomasse. Their super-viral videos are often historical and political in nature (Colonial Karen, Awkward Exes) and they have a way of reaching across political, cultural, religious, racial, and gender divides to affect diverse audiences from all walks of life.
It takes Nick Afka Thomas approximately 20 seconds to get hooked by a reality show, with his favorites being Big Brother, The Bachelor and The Real Housewives. He’s even worked with Big Brother power couple “Brenchel” on a reality show pilot. But he’s also a total history junkie who crosses the street just to read historical plaques on buildings, and was educated at two great British institutions: Eton (founded 1440) and Oxford (founded in the 11th Century).
One of his first acting jobs in America was as George Washington, and his obsession with the American Revolution has only grown from there. As half of We Are Thomasse – alongside his wife Sarah Ann Masse – he has released dozens of history sketches, the most viral of which deal with the ever-changing and always dramatic relationship between Britain and America across the last few centuries. And like many of the Founding Fathers themselves, Nick has had plenty of brushes with Royalty, from Prince William calling him “sir” to afternoon tea with the Queen Mother… No biggie.