Ladiesof
Versailles
AN INDEPENDENT PILOT
Ladies of Versailles is a half hour independent pilot for a potential television series.
When their favorite venue is taken over by an evil ex, four girls decide to host their own DIY concert in the decrepit mansion they share with a grouchy old woman.
synopsis
In the pilot episode, four roommates—Marie, Serena, Luce, and Val—get settled in their new home: a huge, dilapidated Brooklyn mansion they share with Serena’s aunt, the eccentric Kathleen.
Eager for a night out at The Foyer, their favorite underground music venue, the girls are struck with horror when they arrive and discover that it’s been taken over by Marie’s awful ex, Max. After enduring droning male ego, surviving a disastrous bathroom mishap, and getting kicked out of the venue, the roommates decide to host their own shows and vow to be the best venue in the city. Thus, Versailles is born.
The ladies of Versailles plan their first house show behind Kathleen’s back. After a last minute lineup change, a measly headcount, and a fortuitous raccoon, the show goes on. The warm and welcoming environment the girls create at Versailles stands in stark contrast to The Foyer. The only thing that could ruin it is a sulking intruder, Max.
CHARACTERS
SERIES ARC & TONE
While Ladies of Versailles works as a succinct short film, our aim is to produce this project as a pilot for a potential television series. The rest of the season follows our four heroines as they work to make Versailles the top venue in the Brooklyn DIY scene. As a group, they face conflict with rival venues, neighbors, rude partygoers, and law enforcement. Realizing their power, the girls start to curate their headliners, choosing to spotlight artists outside of the stereotypical scene. They find themselves in the unique position to change their community for the better. As individuals, they follow their own character arcs as drama plays out in personal goals, relationships, school, and among themselves.
Visually, the show is highly stylized, paying particular attention to art direction and music selection. While the setting is modern day Brooklyn, the aesthetics blend influences from 1960s rock and roll, Romanticism, and the 90s punk movement, highlighting the bridges between different artforms and eras.
Music selection plays heavily into the plot and overall tone of the series. In the spirit of DIY, the soundtrack and diegetic music will feature up-and-coming bands and musicians playing as themselves with an emphasis on grungy, reverberant, and ethereal sounds with female voices
The season will consist of 10 thirty minute episodes structured around the girls’ school year. The plot plays out as a drama with comedic dialogue and absurd action. While stakes are high and tension drives conflict, the overall tone and payoff is lighthearted.
The show’s themes circle around music, community, and the messiness of young adulthood. Ladies of Versailles serves as a microcosm: as the girls learn to use their platform to showcase underrepresented voices, the show itself serves the same purpose, providing a stage for independent and lesser-known artists.
Ladies of Versailles’ visual aesthetic falls in trend with the resurgence of indie sleaze. Its queer and female forward characters bring a fresh perspective to storytelling while remaining a universal tale of music and friendship.
Episodes
PILOT
We’re introduced to Marie, Val, Luce, and Serena as they get settled in their new apartment, a Bed-Stuy mansion owned by Serena's aunt Kathleen. The roommates celebrate with a night out together. They end up at a house show that sets the scene for the series: punks, cigarettes, and underground music. After the girls get kicked out of the shitty party, they decide to turn their own apartment into a makeshift venue. Hurdles and growing pains give way to a successful evening as the girls host their first event.
REBEL GIRLS
Serena finds out that her girlfriend who’s been studying abroad has been cheating on her. The girls make a joint dating profile to bring back her edge. We see the aftermath of the second house show. Serena sweeps glass from the back alley where Val smashed bottles after a successful Edward 40 Hands. Marie fronts everyone’s rent.
GHOST OF KENMORE
Kathleen's on vacation, so the girls sneak into her apartment upstairs to snoop around and have a makeshift seance. Val’s convinced there’s a ghost. The roommates throw a Halloween party with everyone in costume. Marie, Serena, and Val all end up Irish exiting their own party and Luce is left to hold down the fort. We follow each of their storylines, and we end the night with Serena avenging her breakup.
A NEW DIRECTION
The girls huddle after the last event. Versailles needs to expand their talent pool. Too many white guys that sound the same. Marie and Val go scouting at tons of different shows. Luce gets a gig as a nude model.
WORD ON THE STREET
The roommates host their biggest show yet with a three band lineup. The headliner posts the apartment’s address online, so there’s an exceptionally large crowd. The downstairs neighbor complains about the noise and ends up calling the cops. Kathleen swoops in to save the day.
RATS
The block has been infested with rats, and they’re creeping into the backyard and basement. Versailles takes a sabbatical to avoid the rodents. Luce and Dean have been seeing each other. Marie accidentally reveals Val’s crush. Serena organizes an unsuccessful showdown to scare off the rats. The girls end up adopting a cat.
TAKE A TRIP
Luce starts growing mushrooms. The girls decide to take them all together and we follow their adventures throughout the day. They go to the hardware store to buy some grass seed and flowers to redo the backyard. A nosey neighbor scoffs at their landscaping. Luce and Serena are dead set on having a threesome together, but there’s a miscommunication about the third.
RADIO STAR
Versailles has become a well-known name around campus. The roommates get invited to talk on the college’s radio show. They do a live recording back at the apartment, but get in trouble for cursing on air.
WEDDING BELLS
Serena gives up on the prospect of love and decides to marry herself. Her roommates plan a wedding celebration in the backyard. They host a jazz band that ends up turning into a karaoke night.
BLOCK PARTY
Marie has been planning a block party to celebrate the end of the school year. She and Val get invited to a secret show and fall in love with the band. They approach the musicians after their set and ask if they’d perform at their event. The roommates contact their alderman and get their first taste of creating a space for a larger community. The block party is a total smash, with many of our favorite bands returning for reprise. The guitarist of the new band catches Serena’s eye.
SERIES CONCLUSION
The series will consist of three seasons, one for each of the years spent at the apartment. The roommates will host many more shows, grow in their relationships with each other, get into trouble, and learn countless lessons.
The series ends as the girls move out of the apartment to follow their post-graduate dreams. Before saying goodbye to their home for the past three years, they host one final show. At the show, they scout for their replacements, looking to leave Versailles in good hands.
HISTORY
In the mid-2010s, I frequented the Chicago DIY scene, showing up at strangers’ apartments and abandoned churches to listen to bands I’d never heard of. I loved it. The energy was electric; the crowd was wild yet welcoming. There was something magic about the live music. When we signed the lease on our first apartment, my college roommates and I decided to start our own underground music venue. We called it Versailles.
Over the course of a few years, we hosted shows and block parties with bands including Whitney, Twin Peaks, Modern Vices, and Hot Like Mars, had the cops called several times, got broken into, dragged old Christmas trees from the alley into the living room as decoration, had a seance in the vacant upstairs apartment, fell in love, fell out of love, got wasted, made art, and had fun. I wrote 'Ladies of Versailles' as an homage to this time in my life: the music, friendships, and messiness of young adulthood.
The aim of this project is to create a platform for local independent music, tell a story of joy and friendship, and convey the beauty of creative community and the power in a collective coming together for a common cause.
Meet the Filmmakers
PRODUCTION
Ladies of Versailles is a visually stunning comedy-drama. Comparable projects include Almost Famous, Broad City, Girls, and Daisy Jones & The Six. Featured bands and music will showcase up-and-coming talent local to NYC with an emphasis on grungy, reverberant, and ethereal sounds with female voices.
The pilot episode is in development with production scheduled for summer of 2026. As we assemble our cast and crew, we're seeking grant and financing opportunities.
production timeline
SUMMER
2025
DEVELOPMENT
Crew attachments, budget finalization, and final script revisions.
FALL
2025
FUNDRAISING
In the fall, we'll host our own DIY show as a fundraising event.
Winter
2026
Pre-PRODUCTION
Casting, securing final locations, and hiring additional crew members.
SPRING
2026
PRODUCTION
Rehearsals, test shoots, and principal photography.
SUMMER
2026
POST-PRODUCTION
Editing, sound, music, and color correction. Festival submissions and premiere to follow.
