A socially awkward neurodivergent teen with heightened observational skills and a gender transitioning hacker team up at their elite private school to diagnose and treat fellow students’ mental health issues.

SYNOPSIS:

DOCTOR DOSE PILOT: SUICIDAL SAM

Erik Long • (310) 948-3288 • erikmaxlong@gmail.com

The pilot begins in present-day Seattle at a pool party for teens of the elite private school, Sterling Woods Academy. Our two leads, HILL ALEXANDER and SAM STERLING, are preoccupied with their thoughts. Sam is Sterling’s brooding pretty boy Captain of the hockey team. Hill is a scrawny, cerebral, and socially awkward savant who observes and diagnoses various party guests. Hill’s only friend, BEN LIN, begs him for sleeping pills. Hill agrees, and later, Ben drunkenly introduces Hill to the dangerous Queen Bee, FAITH KOHOUT. Sadly, the night ends with Hill labeled as a freak and unwittingly helping Ben commit suicide.

Two months later, Hill’s obsession with documenting other people’s mental health finds the perfect subject in Sam. Since the party, Sam has been transitioning from male to female, and she’s struggling to come out as transgender to her father, ISAIAH, her girlfriend, Faith, and her best friend, a meathead jock bully, DYLAN. Hill recognizes Sam’s depression and PTSD from past abuse from the returning chemistry teacher, MR. SHIVERS. Hill researches potential treatments for Sam’s depression, discovering that microdoses of ketamine could prove most beneficial. Hill creates the pseudonym Doctor Dose to support and treat Sam. Feeling empowered, Sam comes out as transgender to Faith and Dylan. Unfortunately, everyone except Hill ostracizes Sam. Faith even goes to greater lengths to humiliate Sam publicly.

Throughout this, Hill finds a reluctant mentor in the AP psychology teacher, MR. YOUNG. Mr. Young is also a hippie and friend of Hill’s mom with a secret history of illegal psychological experimentation, including microdosing street drugs. After school, Hill discovers Sam is cutting herself. He buys two microdoses of ketamine from ROACH, a student drug dealer, and takes one. After proving that the ketamine is safe, Hill offers the other dose to Sam. She takes it as they both head to a party. Once there, Sam faces further public humiliation from Faith. Sam also physically fights with Dylan, which ends in him kissing her. Sam runs off. Hill tries to keep up with Sam, but he loses her. Fearing the worst, Hill breaks into Sam’s house and discovers a suicide note and drawing of the park where Sam intends to jump. He goes to Faith for help, but she rejects him. Surprisingly, Dylan aids Hill and tells him the park’s location in Sam’s drawing. Hill calms Sam down at the park, allowing her to open up, and the two of them bond. As the ketamine kicks in, she becomes less suicidal. Sam and Hill then part ways and head home.

The following morning, Sam visits Hill’s dorm room in need of a friend. She discovers that Hill is Doctor Dose. He explains that under the guise of Doctor Dose, he plans to diagnose and treat students in need. Rather than being angry, Sam asks to join. Hill accepts, and together they determine who to help next. Later at school, as a team, Sam and Hill walk the halls. They suddenly freeze as Hill discovers his mom was involved in Mr. Young’s illegal psychological experiments, and Sam experiences a PTSD flashback when Mr. Shivers places his hands on the shoulders of Hill’s younger sister, EMMA ALEXANDER. We end the pilot as a buzz from a burner phone snaps them out of it, and they focus on who needs Doctor Dose’s assistance next.

DOCTOR DOSE