Loveday Writing

We are introduced to Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow), the daughter of Leon Bechley, a renowned fertility doctor at the Bechley Institute. She’s on a date at a bar with Sam, hoping to have a quick hook-up before going to an event where her father is being presented with a lifetime achievement award. We are then introduced to Edie (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Tim (Mo McRae), married criminal defence attorneys who have hit a rough patch in their marriage due to Edie losing her desire for sex. We are then introduced to Roxy (Emily Osment), a retired gymnast with a drug addiction who tackles a man who tried to grope her during a promotional event.

After Leon receives his award, he is ambushed by a Wall Street Journal reporter, who asks him whether the claim he used his own sperm at the Institute is true. Leon doesn’t answer, but leaves and has a heart attack on the street.

The story on Leon’s apparent use of his own sperm at the Institute breaks, with Tim telling Edie and Roxy seeing it on the news, as her parents try to talk her into trying rehab again. Edie asks her mother, Genevieve (Tamara Tunie) to discuss the story with her, as Edie grew up with Julia. Genevieve admits that she had suspected Leon used his own sperm as Edie possesses similar qualities to him.

Later, Edie has lunch with Amanda, a prosecutor who Edie regards as being hipster. Amanda asks if Edie’s firm will get involved in the Bechley case, as she tells her it looks like large scale fraud. It’s also clear during the lunch that Edie and Amanda are flirting.

While Leon recovers in the hospital, Julia invites his patients to the Institute to get a free DNA test. When she goes back to the Institute, she finds many patients waiting, including Edie and Tim, with the latter revealed to be Julia’s ex-boyfriend, and Roxy, who’s filming a live video as she walks in. When Roxy, Julia and Edie interact with each other, Tim points out that they share the same tooth tapping nervous habit. Later, Sam comes to the Institute for a test with his wife.

After Roxy leaves the Institute, she comes home to find her parents talking with a lawyer, considering suing Leon. When Roxy overhears them talking about the fact that she is their only source of income, she leaves. Meanwhile, Julia goes back to the hospital and confronts Leon, he tells her that when he started out, fertility was a dead-end street and he was trying to help. Julia is upset and outraged, telling him that he hurt people and asks how many of his kids would be out there. He tells her he didn’t keep formal records.

Later, Julia goes back to the Institute to find Roxy there waiting for her with coffees. Roxy wants to bond with her and see Leon, however Julia angrily rebukes her and Roxy leaves. When she walks in, she finds the police searching the premises and taking files. She asks Institute employee, Michael, what to do and he tells her that they need a defence attorney. She goes to see Edie and Tim and asks them to take the case, Edie bluntly declines while Tim tries to help, only for Edie to cut him off.

Julia tells Leon about the police search and he admits that he has a laptop in the office with information recorded on it. Julia admonishes him for lying to her, telling him that she gave up med school and becoming a doctor for him. Leon tells her that if he goes down, she’ll go down with him and no-one will licence her.

Meanwhile, Edie and Tim are lying in bed together when he suggests that they should take the Bechley case as it would put them on the partner track at their firm, however Edie accuses Tim of making the situation about his and Julia’s past relationship and leaves. She meets up with Amanda at a bar and kisses her. Tim goes to Julia’s apartment where she shows him Leon’s hidden laptop which reveals he has in fact kept track of the children he fathered through the Institute. Tim tells her that it proves intent and she should give it to the police. While Julia considers hiding it, she ultimately turns it in.

Julia then watches a video on Roxy’s vlog and manages to find her based on the neon sign in the background. Julia finds her drugged out and rides her home on her bike as she can’t drive her home. She lets Roxy stay with her. Edie shows up moments later and admits she was always jealous of Julia because she had the stable family life she never had growing up, but Julia tells her she now has that with Tim. Julia invites Edie to hang out.

The next morning as they are making breakfast, Roxy and Edie find out that they are Leon’s children. Leon’s second-in-command, Isaac, calls Julia to tell her that Leon is leaving the hospital and is about to be arrested. It’s revealed that Leon is being charged with sexual assault as well as fraud, and Amanda will be prosecuting the case. The pilot ends with Leon being put in the police car in front of Julia, Roxy, Edie, and the press.

Overall I felt that this pilot did its job in establishing the show’s premise and main characters, however I felt that the storytelling was chaotic, in comparison to the storytelling in the original series’ pilot. The writers of the Sisters pilot went to the trouble to slowly introduce the three main characters in chapter form, whereas this pilot quickly went back and forth between the three main characters to introduce them to the audience. I found this off-putting as it was hard to keep up with them all.

There are many similarities to the original series from the premise, to the character’s names and jobs, with small changes made. The main difference, other than being set in America, is the character of Leon, who is much younger than the original character of Julius and who isn’t dying. I thought he would die from his heart attack, but thankfully he didn’t. I found it interesting that he was also charged with sexual assault as well as fraud, which will definitely raise the stakes for him.

I’m hoping that the show’s remaining episodes (like the original series, Almost Family was cancelled after one season) are less chaotic in its storytelling and it will be interesting to see how loyal they’ll be to the original material.

Stray Observations:

-This show kept the following details the same as the original series:

• The three main character’s first names: Roxy, Julia and Edie. Julia is the daughter Leon kept.
• Julia and Edie grew up together and their mothers were friends.
• Julia rides her bike everywhere.
• Roxy has a drug addiction and is in the public eye as an entertainer.
• Leon was guilty.
• Julia and Tim had a past romantic history. Tim went on to marry Edie.
• Tim and Edie are both lawyers.
• Edie has an affair with her colleague, Amanda (her name also the same).
• Tim and Edie’s marital issues.
• Edie has a strained relationship with her mother, Genevieve (her name also the same).
• Roxy’s parents are trying to get her into rehab.
• Roxy’s parents names, Ron and Diane, are the same.
• Julia hooking up with a potential brother who also turns out to be married.

-This show changed the following details from the original series:

• Julia’s father name changed from Julius to Leon.
• Leon wasn’t dying and is much younger than Julius.
• Setting change from Melbourne to New York (this can really be forgiven as it had to be done).
• Julia’s mother name is Sarah, in the original series her name was Vita.
• Sarah has a park bench dedicated in her memory.
• Roxy is a retired gymnast, in the original series she was a children’s entertainer.
• Edie’s last name in this show is Palmer, in the original series it was Flanagan.
• Roxy’s last name in this show is Doyle, in the original series it was Karibas.
• Bechley is spelt ‘Bechly’ in the original series.
• Julia is the communications director at the Institute, in the original series, Julia taught English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

-Roxy, Edie and Julia are lactose intolerant.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “You’re the one, the most special one.” (Leon to Julia)
• “I told you something life changingly disgusting that happened to me, your daughter, and you’re talking about probability!” (Julia to Leon)
• “I wish I knew you were coming, I would have done…something.” (Julia to Tim when he unexpectedly shows up at her messy apartment)
• “I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to my dead mom.” (Julia to a passer-by whilst she’s sitting on a bench dedicated to her mother)
• “I’m kind of in a fight with my roommates…who are also my parents.” (Roxy to Julia)
• “I already called the guest room, so you’re on the couch councillor.” (Roxy to Edie)