A Sitcom Pitch by Mike Laskasky, RJ Sachdev & Michael Martin
A disgraced news reporter returns to the struggling local TV station where he started. Not everyone is ready to welcome him with open arms.
Reporter Ben Moreno’s on his way to cable news stardom, until his carefully crafted plans are derailed by a disastrous live shot and a humiliating DUI. With nowhere else to turn, he’s forced to accept a job back at the fledgling TV station he left behind in Davenport, Iowa. Now, Ben has a chance to revive his career, but not before he reckons with how he treated the people and place where it all started. Ben’s professional embarrassment thrusts his personal failures back into his lap. At its heart, this is a show about meeting the same people on the way down as you did on the way up.
Synopsis
Ross's Restaurant - Home of the Magic Mountain (the other one not the one you're thinking of)
America's (Former) Mayor refusing a Magic Mountain
The Average RAGBRAI Bike riding enjoyer
Home of the Quad City River Bandits
Former Ninja Turtles Van Current News Van
Iowa's Very own Pork Queen™
Meet the Team
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Michael Laskasky
Writer & Creator
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RJ Sachdev
LEAD/HANSOME
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Michael Martin
DIRECTOR
Origin
Davenport is inspired by Mike Laskasky’s first real job working as a local television reporter in the Quad Cities (one of which is Davenport, Iowa). Many of these small-town TV stations are antiquated and understaffed, but the towns they serve do still rely on them. The people who work there are not viewed as big city interlopers; they’re a part of the community they cover.
It’s a job…at an office that happens to do a TV show at the end of the day. It is not a career path with a whole lot of upside, but it's a great way to become famous with senior citizens in the 104th biggest media market in America.
Mike’s Show Reel Circa 2012
Cast
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Ben
Reporter (30)
Always willing to admit when he’s wrong, it just hasn’t happened yet. After a success stint at Channel 4, he’s moved on to a reporter job at WTHR, the #1 station in Indianapolis. It’s the 27th biggest news market in the country, not that he keeps track. Ben has his career mapped out, all the way to national cable news.
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Abby (Lead)
Sr. Producer (28)
Knows all about her astrological chart (virgo rising), but not because she believes in it; she’s just well-read. Abby could work as a TV producer in a much larger market, but family connections keep her in Iowa (or so she tells herself). At her core, she loves to be needed and no one is needed more at Channel 4 than Abby. She’s the human embodiment of a fire extinguisher.
Dream Casting: Kaitlyn Denver
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Cody
Jr. Cameraman (23)
Obsessed with hustle culture. Cody’s tried the carnivore diet more than once. He has a shoot first, aim second mentality. A smart guy, but sometimes his youthful exuberance and enthusiasm blinds his ability to read situations correctly.
Dream Casting: Jaren Lewison
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Kip
Weeknight Anchor (39)
A little country but not macho, Kip would be a very successful small town mayor. He doesn’t really care about the news; he just wants to be on TV and the 10pm news just happens to be the vehicle for that. He would be a street sweeper if it meant he got to be the most famous guy at his church.
Dream Casting: Beck Bennett
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Terry
News Director (64)
Patriarch of Channel 4 and sober for 16 days, not including light beer. Terry is not going to lecture anyone about the ethics of journalism or the impact of money in politics. He wants the show to go on the air for the allotted 22 minutes and for no one from the corporate office in Des Moines to call him with complaints.
Dream Casting: Brian Stack
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Jed
Producer (32)
Perpetually damp, has the religious conviction of a youth pastor but none of the charisma.
Dream Casting: Jefferson Dutton
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Heather
Reporter (30)
Effortless charm could win or date the Homecoming Queen at a rival high school.
Dream Casting: Sydnee Washington
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Chuck
Weatherman (51)
Doesn’t know what the dark web is, but is very concerned about it.
Dream Casting: Chris Witaske
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Randall
Sr. Cameraman (42)
The type of Iowan who complains about the hustle and bustle of the “big city” in Davenport, has an opinion about all the Diet Dr. Pepper flavors.
Dream Casting: (Davenport Iowa’s Own) Seth Rollins
Script
This script started as a collection of stories Mike would tell to his friends in New York about his early career in local news. Between two stops, one in Fargo and one in the Quad Cities, he learned what it was like to be a one-man-band in the news business. You’re thrown together with a group of reporters, producers, and crew–all at different points in their careers with distinct points of view. Davenport is born from those places and most importantly, those people–it’s the chaos, the confusion, and the camaraderie of putting it all aside (temporarily) to put on a live show.
Open the script as a PDF
The Davenport, IA Skyline
Production
Shot in a documentary style, multi-cam setup, the series balances the stark, office setting of the Channel 4 newsroom with the charm of small-town Iowa. There is nothing flashy about present-day Channel 4, but there are glimpses of what once was–from the local Emmy awards proudly displayed in the news director’s office, to the framed advertisements showcasing the station’s news teams from the glory days decades ago.
The current price of corn in Iowa is $3.73 to $4.12 per bushel.
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The current price of corn in Iowa is $3.73 to $4.12 per bushel. 〰️〰️
Thesis?
TV shows about the news love to dwell on the importance of Journalism. And it is important! We agree. But the act of working in journalism, specifically in middle America, is very different. In Iowa, reporters don’t sit around and argue over the AP Stylebook or give flowery monologues about the death of objectivity, because they have too many other things to worry about. Sure, Davenport may reveal aspects of the local news business that audiences never considered, but it’s not a commentary on the state of the news. It’s a show that celebrates the people and places who are still trying to make it work against all odds.
Thank You
Wow, you made it to the end! Can't you just imagine a billboard with the cast sitting in the Davenport newsroom with a painfully clever tagline under them, in a cool font, that says something like: