Secrets and truths unfold for a Dallas Socialite family, after an affair disrupts their seemingly perfect life.

SYNOPSIS:

THE STORY: The Big D is a weekly one-hour dramedy about Dallas Socialite TAMMY JO (TJ) Banner (40's). After years of social climbing, Tammy Jo has finally become Queen Bee of Dallas Society, only to find that life on top isn’t exactly what she dreamed it would be. Her husband BILL (40's) is a serial-philanderer, her daughter VICTORIA (15) suffers from depression, and her football star of a son BILLY JR. (17) is most definitely in the closet. Not to mention the fact that her arch nemesis since their SMU days, DEBORAH ANN WELLS (40's), is determined to take her down. And she’s starting to think that maybe she chose the wrong Banner brother. Bill’s brother BOBBY (38) is his right hand and the most eligible bachelor in Dallas. So, reality has hit for TJ Banner, and now it’s time for her to rescue herself and her family from this crazy world. The only problem is, she’s not sure that her family knows they need to be rescued.

THE WORLD: They say that everything is “bigger and better” in Texas, and in Highland Park, where the Dallas Socialites reign, “bigger and better” is the understatement of the century. The houses are bigger. The cars are bigger. And most importantly, the social rivalries are bigger. This is the land where multi-millionaires compete with billionaires. Where girls are introduced to society in big flashy white couture gowns that are more elaborate than most women’s wedding gowns. Where there’s a charity event every week. It’s the place to be seen, and where you sit, what you’re wearing, who the guests are, and how much money you give, all matters. You do what you need to do to get ahead. But just because they will do anything to get ahead, being in the Bible Belt, they do it in a way that “appears” to be Christian. This is a world where you wear your Sunday best to brunch, even if you didn’t go to Church. Where kids wear “What Would Jesus Do” bracelets while carrying a Chanel bag and wearing a Rolex. It’s a world where you can have a mistress, if you don’t get caught and your wife is being “taken care of.” A world where you can spend more money on the charity function to impress your friends, than you raise for the actual charity. A world where you can still be a virgin until your married even if you’ve been having oral sex since you were 13. If no one finds out your “sins,” the “sins” didn’t happen. So, you better keep your friends close and your enemies even closer, because in the world of The Big D, what you see is NOT what you get.

TONE: The tone of our show blends the quirky, dramedy of Ally McBealwith the night time soap opera appeal of Dynasty. From the very start we hear TJ’s inner thoughts and impressions about her world and the crazy cast of characters therein. We also see into a world that is overly decorated and manicured, full of high drama and seething rivalries.

THEMES: To me, life is just like High School; sometimes worse. What you do. Where you’re from. What car you drive. What town you live in. Where you went to college. The people you know. It all matters. Only now, the stakes are much higher. Like, maybe in high school you cheated on your girlfriend or boyfriend - if you were lucky enough to even have one – and it blew over pretty quickly with little consequence. Now, if you cheat on your wife or husband, it means years of therapy for your kids, the scarlet letter “d” for divorce on your chest, and a heck of a lot of money to pay out. Back in High School, life was full of possibilities. But as an adult, eventually you have to face into who you really are - your family, your abilities, your talent, your income. Maybe you don’t have what takes to be on top. Or maybe you do, but you haven't tapped into your full potential. Or maybe you got there and found it’s bullshit. It's this very human struggle I want to explore on The Big D. Can love survive in a highly demanding, yet throw away culture? This is a big existential question. But it's important. Do we value ourselves and others because of who they/we are or what they/we do? The Big D isn't just about an imploding marriage. It's about what happens when one is smacked up against a world that keeps on demanding us to behave in certain ways and put on certain appearances to fit in. Can love and authentic human connection exist? And this whacky world and it's cast of characters will show us that it can in all its messy, beautiful imperfection.

THE PILOT: Our pilot opens with a peek into the Banner’s massive overly decorated Highland Park estate, complete incredible gardens, a mote and drawbridge. It’s here we meet Tammy Jo (TJ) and discover that her life in Texas started with one little lie. We come to find she had dreams for herself that were bigger than what her life has become. But she got pregnant and never finished college. So here she is now, having climbed her way to the top of Dallas Society, getting ready for her latest charity event for the Dallas ASPCA. These parties will happen almost every episode, because in Dallas there’s a charity event for everything. TJ’s A-list guests will arrive at noon with their society pooches in hand, and since TJ doesn’t have a dog, she’s flown in Moonie the Chihuahua from the Legally Blondemovies for the day. We come to learn from TJ’s assistant RACHEL (30’s) that Billy Jr. tried to do a “Dukes of Hazard” jump as the drawbridge was going down this morning and broke it. So now, there’s no way for these ladies to get into the garden party. Such are the crises on The Big D.

We quickly watch TJ save the party by working with her staff to create a magical path through the garden team’s entrance to the event. And it’s a complete success, despite Deborah Ann’s constant jabs and attempts to dominate. But as Tammy Jo works her magic with the society wives, we come to find Bill is working his “magic” with Rachel. Looking for her notes for her big speech, TJ walks in on them, walks back out to her event, and announces to the entire party that her life is a sham. From there she drives off with her kids to regroup. As they sit down at a roadside diner TJ breaks it to them about their Dad. And this is the very first time her kids hear about her life, when it wasn’t a lie. Later that night, Bill’s brother Bobby shows up to convince her to come home. We see a closeness with him that we haven’t seen with her husband.

TJ’s life may be unravelling but we also see a glimmer of hope of what her life could be without the façade. By the end of the pilot TJ comes home to find Bill in the garden. She tells him she knows what happened isn’t all his fault. She’s going to stay. But it’s going to be on her terms. They’re going to therapy. The drawbridge and mote are going. And most importantly, she’s going back to college. Bill tries to kiss her. She pulls away. She takes her clothes off down to her underwear, and dives into their pool. It’s almost like she’s being baptized; “born again” so to speak. As she swims the length of the pool we hear her narration once again, “The truth is that I like the challenge of staying. And really, on the surface, people would look at my life and think I'm living the dream. But I want more, much more… No more lies. The real TJ is coming back. And Dallas, you better get ready, because I know you all too well.”