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APARTMENT ZERO: A SITCOM TELEPLAY
Excerpt: Author’s Note
Where to begin? What to say? They always say “Write what you know.” And, “If you know, or are friends (or enemies) with a writer, anything you say, do, or think, will eventually end up in one of their stories.” Both of those statements are entirely true, and Apartment Zero is a perfect example of that.
Grace Harrell, my girlfriend at the time, and I are the co-creators of Apartment Zero. Just like our main characters, Nesha and Matt, Grace is Black (and an actress) and I’m White (and a writer). So, a lot of what you read in this series is what we lived, breathed, and experienced. In writing it, we took a lot of creative license, stretched the truth, and simply made up some things. But it’s still based in reality, if that counts for anything.
Back then, we were living together in a wacky apartment building. Every day was a new adventure, and the characters in our episodes were really our neighbors. It was so much fun. Friends and family who came to visit knew how unique it was and always remarked that life in our building should be made into a TV show. Ding, ding, ding. The bells went off and the spark was lit.
By taking stories from our crazy building and mixing them with events from our lives, Grace and I brainstormed and created Apartment Zero. Then while she was off…
