Marc Berman walked briskly across the Hollywood studio lot deftly avoiding both vehicles and people alike. A task made more difficult since he never looked up from the cell phone cradled in his left hand. But working as a Television show producer for more than two decades had honed his multi-tasking skills to a fine degree.
At the moment, he was late for a production meeting with the staff of the hit show Life Swap. Marc detested being tardy for any meeting but it was rarely his fault. Serving as the show-runner for a broadcast TV show required him to make hundreds of decisions a day. It could even be said this was the most important meeting he would have all week. His staff would be making recommendations regarding the next contestants on Life Swap.
But the final decision rested solely on his shoulders.
Marc breezed into a conference room already full of people sitting around a long table.
“Apologies. Had to take care of an issue with the cinematographers union. Let’s get started”
As he took his seat at the head of the table, Marc did a quick scan to ensure that everyone who needed to be there was present. He noted one unfamiliar face. He stared at a young woman.
“Have we met?” he asked uncertaintly.
The woman cleared her throat nervously “Uhh yes sir. During the interview for the new production assistant job”
Marc smacked the side of his head “Oh, right. Sorry Chloe. I can get overwhelmed with all the things needing my attention. Welcome aboard.”
He consulted the notes on his phone “Today’s agenda is in regard to selection of the Life Swap contestants for episode 10, Season 3”
Marc looked to his right where the husband-wife team of Tony and Jill Esposito sat. Their official titles were Casting Directors for the show.
“Okay Tony or Jill, kick it off” he ordered.
The couple exchanged a glance before Jill stood up and walked toward a large television screen hanging from a wall. She was holding a small remote in her hand and started to aim it at the screen when she turned to look at Marc
“Just to confirm. You signed off on the choice of Chris Sampson as the contestant who’ll be choosing who he will be swapping with?”
Marc nodded. “Why don’t you pull up Chris’ bio and run through it. Chloe needs to know about him and it can serve as a refresher for everyone else”
Tony clicked away at a laptop and a headshot picture of a young man appeared on the screen.. He had short brown hair and a sullen expression. Jill began to recite some relevant facts
“Chris is 18 years old. From a broken home. Father disappeared when he was young. Mother is a frequent substance abuser. He has been fending for himself for years now. Not a particularly easy task since he’s not a big kid. Maybe 5’6”
Jill clicked the remote to bring up a new slide. It showed Chris standing in a courtroom next to a public defender. She continued
“Frequent run-ins with the police. Mostly petty stuff like defacing public buildings with graffiti or vandalism. He occasionally runs with a local gang of delinquents. He has spent some time in Juvie Hall. That’s what actually lead him to us”
Chloe held up a hand “What is Juvie Hall” she asked nervously
Marc turned to look at her “Don’t be shy about asking questions here. It’s a correctional facility for 21 and under. Not a nice place. I’m friends with the Family Court judge on Chris' case. She still holds out hope for the kid. So she gave Chris an ultimatum. Go back to Juvie Hall or see if spending some time as another person can get his life back on track”
Jill jumped in to add “I should point out he is definitely interested in the potential prize money”
March chuckled “Nothing wrong with that” He looked toward Chloe once again “It’s often necessary for us on the show to frame the narrative. The viewing audience loves to see stories about underdogs.. Overcoming adversity and all that. Unsympathetic characters not so much. We need viewers to keep the show going so…..” his voice trailed off.
Chloe’s eyes lit up as she comprehended the subtext of what Marc said “So you’ll focus more on him coming from a broken family than his hooliganism”
Marc smiled broadly “Exactly. But the other part of the overcoming adversity is who he ends up swapping with”. He looked toward Jill once again
“So who did you and Tony come up with as potential swap partners for Chris?”
Jill clicked the remote and a pretty young woman with long brown hair appeared on the screen
19 years old. She wants to be famous. Has done a little modeling and tried to get some acting parts. Not having a great deal of success. To make ends meet, she is a waitress / stripper at a bar. To be fair, it’s a higher end establishment but she dances topless. Her stage name is Sadie Lynne”
Marc steepled his fingers under his chin “Interesting. Very interesting”.
He turned to look at an older woman with gray hair “Frannie. What do you think? Can you and your team of magicians in Special Effects turn Chris into a very convincing copy of Avery? He can’t win any money if the club patrons figure out he’s got fake boobs”
Frannie waved a hand in dismissal “Easy peasy. I already gave my approval for all the candidates Jill and Tony came up with. After a few hours in the chair, Avery’s family would swear on a stack of bibles he was their daughter”
Marc held Frannie’s judgment in high regard “Great. Avery Thompson is in. Who’s next?”
Jill clicked the remote once again. A young woman with light brown hair dressed very conservatively in a light Blue dress and a White lace bonnet appeared.
Just turned 18 years old. If it's not obvious by her clothes, she is from an Amish community”
This elicited a few gasps from the room. Chloe asked the question on everyone's mind
“How does she even know about Life Swap? Amish reject most if not all modern conveniences. They don’t own TV or even use electricity”
Jill was prepared for such a question “When they come of age, the Amish encourage their adolescent children to partake of a tradition called Rumspringa. It’s an opportunity for them to briefly leave their community and live among non-Amish. The families know the outside world exists and wish for their children to make an informed choice of which society to live in as they become adults”
Marc interjected “Apparently Sarah saw the show during her Rumspringa. She has already decided to return to her family. But she has an important motivation for wanting to appear on our show before she goes back. Her younger sister has a cardiac condition that is life threatening. Correctable with surgery but it’s very expensive. Sarah wants to use every dollar she would make on Life Swap to pay for that surgery”
“Our viewing audience loves stories like this” he added with a gleam in his eye.
After a moment, he looked back and forth from Jill and Tony “Excellent work you two. Sarah Miller is in. So who do you have for the last slot?”
19 years old. Freshman in college. Parents run a chain of popular Tex-Mex restaurants. Hard working family who are the epitome of the American dream. Neither parent went to college and are delighted their eldest daughter has made it. Mirabel hasn’t declared a major but is interested in social activism. Vocal supporter of various rights such as women’s, animal, climate change, etc etc”
“Mirabel is also vegan” she added.
Marc tapped his chin thoughtfully “Is that why she wants to be on the show. To shine a spotlight on some of her interests?”
Tony chimed in “Mirabel didn’t explicitly say that. But my sense from interviewing her is that is a major consideration”
Marc quickly glanced at the show's legal counsel “Judy, all the contestants have signed off on all the contracts and non-disclosures? They know exactly what they are getting into?”
The young lawyer removed her glasses “They can quit at any time but they have no basis to take us to court if they do something, no matter how much they dislike it while swapped”
Marc was satisfied “Good. I’d hate to get sued by the vegan because she felt forced to eat a hamburger. Mirabel is in”
He looked about the room “Great job everyone. I love it. So many contrasting personalities and lives. This will be the best episode yet”
*****
Chris Sampson had been escorted onto a small stage surrounded with cameras. The hosts of Life Swap, Eliot and Juliette bade him sit in a comfortable chair. It wasn't just being on a stage that made him uneasy. He felt out of place in his normal attire of well-worn jeans and t-shirt among all the Hollywood people.
Juliette asked most of the questions getting Chris to open up about his past. This was all pre-planned by the show staff. They believed a female would have greater success putting Chris at ease.
Finally, it was time for Chris to talk to the three people he would choose from to partner with in this episode. He was only vaguely familiar with the history of the show. Chris was dimly aware that the 3 people behind the curtains could be of the opposite gender but he never thought it a real possibility. The show liked to mix it up from episode to episode to increase the suspense.
He was allowed to ask each of the anonymous contestants a couple vague questions. Their replies were electronically modified to conceal their identity as well as gender. What Chris didn't know was his questions were likewise modified. The 3 women hidden from view also had little clue about who was talking to them.
Chris asked his pre-approved questions. For example, what was important to them in life.
#1 talked about "Success"
#2 discussed how "Family" was everything
#3 went on about making the world a "Better" place.
The co-host Eliot flashed a fake smile "Okay Chris, its time. Which curtain should we raise to reveal your choice? Is the person behind #1, #2, or #3?"
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