February 1981, New York’s most alluring and disruptive interior decorator rises to serious fame and fortune with the help of his seemingly perfect family, while struggling to keep his secrets safe in the closet.

SYNOPSIS:

Story: Interiors is a weekly one-hour drama. Set in the early 1980’s, this show captures a unique time and place in interior design like none before or since. What drives the show week to week are the interior decorating projects and clients. The real crux of our story, however, is what’s on the interior. We will come to see that all the characters on our show, gay, straight or a little of both, have something “in the closet,” some secret.

Engine: Beyond the décor, the 80’s, the city, the wealth, or even the AIDS crisis, Interiors is the story of a man whose giftedness awakens things in people that they didn’t know were there. In other words, this closeted man helps his clients “come out.” The irony is that David chooses to not do the same for himself. He will pay a huge price for it, and so will those who love him.

World: The 1980’s were the glory days of interior decorating in America, when there was still a clear distinction between decorating and architecture. Decorators were trained professionals in everything from art to color to fabrics to furniture, and in how to skillfully put it all together. And from society wives to the nouveau riche on Wall Street, decorators were making money hand over fist. It was an incredible time to be working in interior decorating, and they had no idea that it would all be over in a flash. From “do it yourself” magazines like Domino to television channels devoted entirely to home improvement, the 1990’s made people feel like they could be their own designer, that they didn’t need an expert. On Interiors David will be the one ushering in this new era, by empowering his clients, and by melding architecture and décor. His rivals will not be happy.

Tone: Think American Beauty meets Behind the Candelabra. Like we’ve experienced with American Beauty, Interiors creates a complicated web of relationships that keeps us engaged from the very beginning, and with the AIDS crisis, tragedy is inevitable. To this we add in the lush, beautiful opulence of Candelabra. The interior spaces themselves will become characters that help us tell our story. And as with Candelabra we will watch the pain of a man who chooses to live his life in the closet in order to be a success in his world.

Pilot: We begin our story with David having abruptly left his long time mentor Kitty Scarborough, a force of nature with a temper as hot as her company was 20 years ago. David is about to land his first client, Poppy Dunlop, a timid young heiress who’s just inherited $40 million and the penthouse at One Sutton Place from her recently deceased grandmother. Complications arise as we discover Poppy’s mother wants absolute control over her daughter, and nothing to do with David and his unconventional ways. By the end of our episode, with the help of David and his gifted team, we watch this once terrified young woman stand up to her emotionally abusive mother.

At the same time, we watch David and those he loves struggle to hide the many secrets they keep, wondering who they can trust. From his lover Andrew starting to fall deeply in love with him despite his wife Elena’s warnings that David is completely devoted to his family. To Elena receiving a strange package brimming with disparaging photographs of her. To his son Finn’s Ritalin problem, his right hand Alison’s scandalous affair with her brother-in-law, and his business manager Kent’s challenges being one of the few black men in the business. These complications and more are set in motion. Because at the heart of it all, Interiors is about the longing for love and acceptance in a world that demands conformity, performance and achievement. Our inner truth vs. what the outside world wants. And our audience will be with David and those he loves as they wrestle with these stifling demands every episode.