The Pitch

Here’s the set up. Nielsen families’ll flip, trust me:

Married couple, mid-30s. Bible-belt background, but they’ve made a life for themselves on the West Coast. They’ve been married 10 or 11 years and their lives haven’t exactly been trouble-free, but they’ve come through it together. “Love conquers all” and blah blah blah.

He’s an art director with high-profile clients. On the side, he cartoons and illustrates. Really cool, colorful cat. She’s a vegan, animal-rights, mother-earth type. Also, she’s a hairdresser who’s done everything from reality TV to celebrity clientele. They’re a couple of trendy intellectuals, you know? They own a place near the beach in LA county. Not rich, but they’re making it work. They’re living the Gen X dream. Energy! Energy!

So, trouble, right? Years ago, she was diagnosed with an incurable auto-immune disease, which makes things tricky. Being the all-natural, health-food crusader, though, she’s staying ahead of it. As long as she doesn’t do something ridiculous, like get pregnant or run a Triathlon or something, she’ll be fine.

So that’s the back-story.

Pilot episode opens up early one morning and she tells him: “I’m pregnant.” They didn’t plan it, but hey, mistakes happen… what are they going to do? They go to the OB and get an ultrasound. They find out… are you ready for this?

She’s carrying triplets.

So, suddenly they’re faced with a dilemma: if three babies could potentially be the end of the wife, what do they do? Do they consider “reduction”? If so, how many? Do they roll the dice and go full term?

Do they stay in LA or pack up and journey back to the Midwest, where it’s fish-out-of-water all over again?

Is tragedy inevitable?

There’s laughter, there’s tears. Big, windy embrace between our couple just before the credits roll. Then, the stinger: we fade back up on the husband, alone at home at his art desk. His wife appears in the door frame. She’s been crying, but she looks determined. “I’ve thought this through. Triplets, I mean…” she says.

He turns in his chair to face her. He knows she means business: “And?”

She smiles. “I say we go for it.”

Go to black.

By the way, my name’s Jeremy and I could write the hell out of this show. I could make it stirring and pitch-perfect and, most of all, 100% authentic.

Because, thing is, it’s not really a pitch for a TV series. It’s my honest-to-goodness life. A week and a half ago, my wife and I found out we’re having triplets. And all of the above really is our story.

My fingers are crossed for a great adventure with lots of happy endings and maybe a nice cliffhanger here and there. But I guess we’ll have to see.

Stay tuned.