Team Emma

NUTSHELL: "Marriage Story" meets "Stepmom" OVERVIEW: From the shock (and joy) of discovering he has a daughter to folding her into his family and his heart, "Team Emma" portrays one man’s relationship with two women — all of whom must come together to give a young girl the best chance at a bright future. Despite his resentment at being kept in the dark for years, the flustered father, with help from his wise and compassionate wife, realizes he must forge an amicable relationship with his dying ex-girlfriend for the well-being of their daughter, so together they can prepare the girl for her mother’s death. This emotional story highlights the importance of prioritizing the well-being of a child by not allowing past grievances to fester. Far from a tired “wicked stepmother” trope, it's a refreshing spin that celebrates loving stepparents by showing what a powerful difference they can make in a child’s life. A story of both love and forgiveness, you may have to grab a tissue, but you'll be smiling through those tears! PITCH DECK AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. SYNOPSIS: Single mother ABBY SMITH (32) is crushed to learn her melanoma has metastasized to her brain—giving her less than a year to live. She and her soccer-loving daughter, EMMA (10), move back to her college town where both Emma’s father, TROY LARSON (32), and Abby’s best friend, BRENDA (32), still live in hopes that one of them will care for Emma. An only child whose parents are deceased, Abby has little choice but to reconnect with Troy in order to secure their daughter’s future—and happiness—but he has no idea Emma exists since she’d told him she terminated the pregnancy due to his chronic alcoholism. Troy’s wife, JESSICA (30s), a strong-willed attorney, finds out Abby’s secret first when protective Abby schedules a consult at her law office to size her up. As Abby cautiously opens up about her circumstances and her urgent need to contact her ex-boyfriend, her story begins to sound very familiar to Jessica, who is well aware of her husband’s past. Her hunch is confirmed when desperate Abby names now-sober Troy as Emma’s father and asks Jessica to both give him the startling news and open her own heart to Emma. A family man who relishes fatherhood, Troy’s bitter that Abby’s choice cost him Emma’s birth, babyhood and first… everything. The thorny circumstances send him into a tailspin, challenging his hard-earned sobriety—to the alarm of his family. Troy’s hell-bent on confronting Abby, but rational Jessica takes control of the situation early and urges him to take the high road for Emma’s sake. Emma’s overjoyed to finally meet her daddy, but Troy and Abby get off to a rocky start co-parenting. Jessica’s painful memories of her selfish stepmother motivate her to bend over backwards to welcome Emma into her heart and home, but Emma’s loyalty to her mother leaves the little girl conflicted. Emma puts up walls, and her anxiety soars as Abby deteriorates. Troy’s stress mounts as he straddles the delicate balance of bonding with and parenting Emma. Determined to make it to Christmas, Abby puts up a valiant fight. When her health takes a dramatic turn for the worse, Emma’s forced to move in with her father fulltime. Troy’s chagrined when Jessica insists they do right by Emma and move ailing Abby into their home for a few months as well. Recognizing that Troy is a responsible, loving father to Emma and his young sons gives Abby peace, but seeing how he’s turned his life around makes her question her past choices. At first she tries to hide her regrets, but she eventually professes her love to Troy—who struggles with the awkwardness of living with both the wife he cherishes and the woman he once intended to marry. While initially frosty toward Abby, as time passes, he’s reminded of what he loved about her. Troy eventually admits he wasn’t a stellar boyfriend and owns that his bad choices pushed Abby away for good reason. When Jessica overhears their deeply intimate heart-to-heart, she’s gutted. Her feelings of betrayal only heighten Troy’s inner turmoil—pushing him to the brink. It’s an emotional story of love and forgiveness where, despite complicated dynamics entangling with human nature, Abby, Troy and Jessica ultimately reconcile their differences as they work together to help Emma adjust to a new chapter upon Abby’s death. You may have to grab a tissue, but you'll be smiling through those tears!