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Marcus Aurelius: Human Resources Counselor
a TV Comedy Pilot
by Dave Schroeder
It’s The Office meets Outlander meets The Good Place and it’s two shows in one.
LOGLINE: Following a particle accelerator accident that rips a hole in the spacetime continuum, Marcus Aurelius, 14th Emperor of Rome and stoic philosopher, struggles to adapt to modern life after he switches bodies with an office's human resources counselor.
SYNOPSIS: Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius camps with his army in southern France. Two millennia later, in the exact same location, mild-mannered human resources counselor Ken Wiggins enjoys a bird-watching vacation. Underneath Ken, a power overload at Large Hadron Collider causes a rip in the space-time continuum, scrambling Ken and Marcus’ consciousness and memories.
Marcus emerges in the present day and must adjust to modern life as a human resources counselor at an Atlanta tech firm. One employee, the meek Cassie, senses in Marcus a strange affection. For Marcus, as the realization sets in that his beloved wife Faustina has long been dead, a life with someone like Cassie seems increasingly in the realm of possibility.
Meanwhile, Ken finds himself as Emperor in ancient Rome, where his HR homilies are misunderstood as cunning stratagems to fend off political enemies. As Ken and his legions head back to Rome, he learns that Empress Faustina is conspiring with an ambitious General to plan a coup.
Subsequent episodes touch on the absurd resiliency of Marcus’ stoic advice in commonplace HR situations. Likewise, Ken’s milquetoast approach to solving his Empire’s challenges proves surprisingly effective.
BIO: Married, three kids, 24 years as a diplomat. Strange encounters with Kings, Presidents. I’ve even given citizenship to one of David Crosby’s illegitimate children. I love the absurd and I’ve come across a lot of absurdity out there to inspire my writing. I’m a Stage 32 Lookbook “Recommend” writer, and my seven scripts (all written in the last year) have quarter-finaled or better in nearly 30 contests.
Contact Dave Schroeder.