"STATE" Television Crime Investigation Series

Created by Matt Lamb

RuffHouse Studios
6340 Coldwater Cny Av #206
North Hollywood, CA 91606
Phone: 818 679-1639

TEASER

Inside a tiny airplane flying over the deep jungle, Daniel Harris is sleeping with his hat
pulled down. It is a blue cap, on the front is embroidered the Seal of the US Department
of State. The plane lands and Dan is escorted by local Police who carry his bags and
equipment to a jeep. The jeep travels through dense forest on a treacherous narrow road.
He takes a call on a seriously advanced Cellular Device catching the curious attention of
his Military guides.
The jeep arrives at a scene in the road blocked by an old Back Hoe tractor. An agitated
crowd has gathered including inhabitants of a local Native village, some American
Missionaries and several armed military officers. The police are holding the crowd back
from an elephant, shot dead, lying in a muddy ditch by the roadside. A crew of men is in
the mud, attaching a chain to the dead animal and connecting it to the tractor. The tractor
pulls the elephant up to reveal a young missionary woman and a native child pressed
dead into the murky earth beneath it.
At the site of the bodies, anger and grief erupts from the villagers and missionaries. The
Police react quickly and firmly against the crowd. Dan jumps frightened as shots are fired
into the air. The chain on the elephant slips and the animal splashes back down into the
ditch splattering everyone with mud.
Chaos ensues.

PREMISE

Dan Harris is a Foreign Service Specialist for the US State Department specializing in
Defense, specifically Law Enforcement and Investigations. Dan’s job is to investigate
suspicious deaths of Non-Military United States citizens outside of the country.

Headquarters for Dan is the State Department in Washington and at his disposal are the
Boundless Resources of the US Government. His foreign assignments are tracked via
Satellite from headquarters by Ned Fellows, his Cyber-Geek colleague and technologies
wizard. To complete the cast we have Forensic Specialist, undisputed “Goddess” Dr.
Meredith Allison, the blunt but likeable Major Dodd and the often interfering Judd
Waxman from the Terrorist Division.

Dan will work in the field both alone and with a liaison in the country he is visiting each
episode. Depending in the level of cooperation from the hosting country, Dan may also
use disguise and other covert tactics to obtain the truth about the deaths of the victims.
The nature of this partnership or liaison can vary from show to show. It could be a
stubborn Japanese Detective, a competitive and beautiful Russian police Lady or even an
odd Pothead Jamaican Cop. The interaction between Dan and his liaison will be an
opportunity to introduce Guest Stars of many various types of performers.

The victims will be a variety of tourists, activists, politicians, immigrants, fugitives,

celebrities and other non military citizens. There will often be family members, friends,
colleagues and enemies to the victims. These characters will create the supporting cast
each episode along with local Law Enforcement and citizens.

Inner office tension enters as jurisdiction for military or terrorist related activities is taken
over by the overzealous Judd Waxman. Judd is egotistical, power hungry and at times
unfair to innocent people who he mistakenly feels are terrorists. This bothers Dan but the
sometimes hindering Military protocol proves a life saver at times as the benevolent
Major Hobbs is often quick to the rescue when things get dicey. Major Hobbs is
sometimes harsh, but at least fair; he has the force of the military and a direct line to the
Secretary of State and the President.

Apart from being a dedicated and respected investigator Dan is a divorced father of
teenage Daughter, Katie and 12 year old son Jake. His job carries him all over the world
and strains the relationship he has remaining with his children and is the cited reason for
his recent divorce. As comic relief Carol, the Ex-Wife, who is never clearly seen on
camera, is constantly calling and interrupting important and potentially dangerous
situations to bend his ear about something irritating her.

The shows episodes will stay as current as the “News of the World” and the nature of
premise will supply unlimited settings for the action to occur. The Computer Graphics
which have become a necessary part of this genre can easily be incorporated much the
same as other Crime Investigation shows with the enhancement of the satellite tracking
capabilities and superior gadgetry of US Government resources.

Dan Harris’ focus is centered on his struggle to balance his demanding job all over the
world and his dedication to his children’s lives. It is often the chaos and hardships that he
sees on his assignments that remind him of the value of his own family and gives him the
passion to finish his case and return home.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Dan Harris- 40’s Foreign Service Specialist for the US State Department specializing in
Defense (Law Enforcement and Investigations). He is also the divorced father of two
children. He is a dedicated and respected man in his profession but struggles to maintain
his control at home after a recent divorce leaves him feeling inadequate as a family man.

Dr. Meredith Allison – 30’s Beautiful and intelligent head of Forensic Science in the
Department. Willful yet compassionate, she is sympathetic to Dan’s newly single status
but noticeably steers clear of any romantic entanglements with him. She proves a key part
in solving the cases with her scientific and analytical input.
Major Dodd – 50’s Major Dodd is the man who is in charge of delegating cases as
Private or Military and is adept in resolving the interdepartmental hassling of Judd
Waxman over the jurisdiction of cases. He is blunt but also fair and is the constant voice
of reason. He is also capable of bringing in the guns if the case requires it.

Ned Fellows - 20’s Ned is a young, sarcastic yet brilliant Technologies Specialist for the
Department. He handles the surveillance via GPS, information and background research
and general communication coordinator for Dan’s field work.

Judd Waxman – 30’s – 40’s Judd is the ambitious and sometimes arrogant head of the
Terrorist Division of the department. He is constantly trying to take over from Dan’s
Team in hopes a breaking a big terrorism case. It is only major Dodd who can keep him
at bay.

Katie Harris – Teenager Daughter and backbone of the Harris Home. She is fiercely
independent and chooses, against her mother’s will, to spend most of her time under the
roof her father’s often empty house. She is kind and motherly perhaps only to her
younger brother Jake.

Jake Harris – 10 – 12 Jake is the sweet but troublesome son of Dan and Carol. He has
some difficulty understanding his parent’s separation and is the usual source of family
drama and trauma.

Carol (The Ex-Wife) - 40’s Carol is the Ex-Wife to Dan who we never clearly see. Only
her nagging voice is recognizable as she calls at the most inopportune times to complain
about something that seems trivial. (We may see her broken and distorted video image
breaking through a satellite feed.) Although a comedic relief device she is also quite
often right in her complaints and eventually brings Dan back to what is important…
home.

STYLE

 The rigid confines of the Washington setting will contrast nicely with the organic
world setting of the cases.
 The technology, surveillance and gadgets available from Military affiliation will
be useful in sustaining the strong potential entertainment this show offers.
 The music, wardrobe and art of the case each week will offer great opportunities
for its creative teams.

SELLING POINTS

STATE, unlike the recent trend of narrowing the niche of the Crime Show, actually
blows off the doors of confinement by opening itself to global heights. The creative
sustainability would be easier to achieve with the whole world as a setting rather than
with a small town. The content, imagery and characterizations of each episode is
unlimited yet the show is grounded by it’s strongly American Characters and Base
Setting.