Logline: A cautious, traumatized, clairvoyant witch and devoted mother must trust herself and a former witch hunter to save her family from a backstabbing bishop intent on murder, and the hidden power manipulating them all. This story is a Salem Witch Trials prequel.
Taglines:
Every family has secrets.
It didn’t begin in Salem.
Witchcraft + Politics = Murder.
The mystery surrounding the death of a conscientious witch’s sister leads her into a web of secrets and betrayal. It causes her to question her relationship with the sister she thought she knew, and to recruit a repentant witch-hunter to help investigate her murder and protect her family in this Salem Witch Trials prequel that begins in Elizabethan England.
Genre: Drama · Period · Historical Fiction · Crime · Suspense · Faith & Spirituality · Female Protagonist · Action · Adventure
Status: Pre-production. In search of attaching a Showrunner that can attract A/B List talent and investors, network or streaming platform. Open to optioning the script if the monetary offer and vision is in alignment with our common goals.
Comps: 
Vikings (History Channel) serves as a model for historical fiction, the characters responsibility to family and community cultures, the action/adventure necessary to survive and thrive under hardships (political and spiritual); plus, the look, feel and tone of this series.
Good Witch (Hallmark) is in alignment with how witchcraft and magic is manifested and treated in a family-based, dramatic series that less fantasy-oriented, more accurate and representative of various witchcraft practicing cultures (individual and communities) and there relationships to the environment and the metaphysical realm.
The Fall (BBC Two/Netflix/Amazon Prime Video) this series is in harmony with featuring a strong female protagonist who must investigate and stop a succession of serial murders. Also, the lead character in this series is bisexual.
by Artifice Design, U.K.
WHY DO WE WANT TO PLAY A PART IN PRODUCING “THORN TREES”?
There has been an explosive growth of witches, Wiccans, Pagans, Neo-Pagans with 2+ million in the U.S. alone, greater than 1.4 million Presbyterians, and is the 2nd largest faith group after Christianity (per 2018 statistics). Millennials have rejected Christianity seeking more freedom of spiritual expression and practices (like tarot and astrology). We want to respond to this reality through storytelling that is more accurate and respectful of this faith.
We decided to focus on development/pre-production ourselves after pitching and discovering that the entertainment industry is attached to a tradition of witch-based stories being either horror or fantasy, that perpetuates stereotypes that are disrespectful and maintain prejudice–that very often includes metaphysical practitioners, shamans and other lightworkers as recipients. We are committed to not going down that path since there is an abundance of stories told from these perspectives. Thorn Trees incorporates new voices and experiences that have not been represented (or are rarely represented).
One of our development producers is a Wiccan High Priestess & pipe carrier. Another is a healing artist, pipe carrier, and is a Christian ordained minister. We practice many faiths and walk different spiritual paths among us–respectful of each other, committed to telling a realistic story about a Pagan family led by a strong, female protagonist.
We choose to create this story to disrupt the pervasive and traditional horror and fantasy genre narratives about witches that often equate the word “witch” with dismissive, negative, prejudiced, and false narratives about them and their cultural diversity and history. Our motivation for creating Thorn Trees is to help heal the damage done to our pagan and witch ancestors in the past, reduce the misrepresentation of witches in the present, and contribute to diversifying and expanding upon future witch-focused and Elizabethan period stories.
Join us as a Producer, Investor, Distributor, Influencer or Supporter!
Discover More About Our Slated Directors, Creators, Screenwriter & Producers
– Lili Bordán (Slated as an Episode Director), New York, U.S.A./Hungary
– Bruce Nahin (Co-Producer, Business Affairs), California, U.S.A.
– Meta Valentic (Slated as U.S. Line Producer), California, U.S.A.
– Bernadette Montana (Consulting Producer), New York, U.S.A.
– Jacob Larch (Creator, Screenwriter, Producer), England, U.K.
– Valerie Mich’El Oliver (Creator, Screenwriter, Producer), New Jersey, U.S.A.
– Lyndsy Spence (Consulting Producer), Ireland, U.K.
– Alisha Solaiman (Assistant Producer), Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Need to chat with Valerie or Jacob, Producers? Please be sure to put THORN TREES in the Subject field of your email:
Jacob Larch (Creator, Screenwriter, Producer, U.K.)
Email: jlarch@jacoblarch.com
Click Here to view the entire interview.
Valerie Mich’El Oliver (Originator, Creator, Screenwriter, Producer, U.S.)
Email: oliver.valerie@thepursuitstudio.net
Click Here to view the entire interview.
Bernadette Montana (Producer, U.S.)
Email: bridscloset@gmail.com
Click Here to view the entire interview.
JOIN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP FOR UPDATES, and learn how you can play a part in helping us get the pilot filmed, or host pilot screenings in your community and perhaps influence future episodes; attend or be participants in special webinars, live discussions, and events; have members discover your Wiccan and Metaphysical resources or services, and much more!
See The Pursuit Studio’s projects on the Internet Movie Database profile (free to view), or on the Pro profile on the IMDb (requires a paid IMDb account).
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