openset

Vertical Drama

ThePackage

Synopsis

Five people who love each other gather on the forty-first floor to celebrate. Two couples, one lone friend, one perfect apartment with a view nobody will get to enjoy. A package arrives at the door with no sender and no return address. Inside is proof, photographs, timestamps, a thing somebody buried, that one person in this room has been watching all of them for a year. The front door clicks and won't open. Every time someone confesses a secret to make the watching stop, the hallway chimes and another package is waiting. Worse than the last. The sender knows everything. The sender is already on the guest list.

Location

One apartment.

Characters

Mara Okonkwo

The keeper of order
Core wound
Years ago she rewrote her younger brother's overdose into a clean accident to protect the family name. She has been “managing” everyone's truth ever since, it's the only way she knows to love.
Opening state
Poised, gracious, hosting the flawless night. In total control of the room and certain she always will be.
Closing state
Stripped of every lever of control, she finally says the one true thing she's never said aloud. It frees her instead of ending her.
Key relationship
Devin, whose secret she believes she already quietly manages.
Arc: From controlling the narrative to surrendering it.Quirk: Straightens objects on tables (coasters, cutlery, picture frames) whenever she's losing her grip on a conversation.

Preview

Episode 1: No Sender

The toast goes up. The photo was already taken.

INT. APARTMENT A, LIVING ROOM, NIGHT

Five glasses rise. Champagne catching the lamp light. The city is forty-one floors down through the glass behind them.

Mara stands at the center of the ring. Perfectly placed.

MARA

To tonight.

DEVIN

To Mara. For all of it.

TOBY

Every single time.

Ellis raises his glass. His free hand drifts to his jacket pocket, checks something, lets go.

Priya holds her glass and watches the room.

The doorbell chimes.

Everyone holds the toast mid-air.

DEVIN

I'll get it.

MARA

Sit.

She sets her glass down. Straightens the coaster beneath it. Goes.

INT. APARTMENT A, HALLWAY, CONTINUOUS

She opens the front door.

A brown cardboard box on the mat. No label on top. She turns it over. No return address. Nothing on either side.

She picks it up.

INT. APARTMENT A, LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS

Mara comes back and sets it on the island.

PRIYA

Who's it from?

MARA

There's nothing on it.

DEVIN(refilling his own glass)

Building does gift drops sometimes.

ELLIS

Yeah. They do that.

PRIYA

Do they.

Not a question. Priya watches Ellis.

He pockets his phone.

Mara pulls the tape. Opens the box.

One photograph inside. She lifts it out.

The five of them. This room. Tonight. Mid-laugh, glasses up. Shot from somewhere deep inside the apartment.

Nobody moves.

TOBY

Is that…

MARA

Yeah.

She flips it. A timestamp on the back. 9:47 PM. She looks at the clock above the kitchen door. 10:07. She turns. The hallway is empty and has been all night. The photo was taken from inside.

Experimental go-to-market: on-set edit

The goal is to have this out within a week of wrap, not the usual months-long post schedule. To do that, an on-set editor works alongside the shoot itself — as each scene is completed, it’s handed off and cut immediately instead of waiting for the full season to finish filming. It’s untested at this scale, which is exactly why we’re calling it experimental rather than promising it as the plan.

All 56 episodes

Episodes 1 and 2 above are the only ones published in full. The rest of the run is titled below so you know the real scope — full scripts go out directly to cast and crew once they’re accepted, not published here.

  1. 01No Sender
  2. 02Smile For The Room
  3. 03The Door
  4. 04House Rules
  5. 05The Easy One
  6. 06What Devin Owes
  7. 07First Crack
  8. 08The Watcher Watches
  9. 09Inside Job
  10. 10The Number
  11. 11Performance Of A Marriage
  12. 12She Already Knew
  13. 13The Name On The Transfer
  14. 14For Mara
  15. 15Don't Open It
  16. 16The Alliance
  17. 17Toby's Leverage
  18. 18The Concierge
  19. 19Two Screens
  20. 20Priya's Turn
  21. 21The Source
  22. 22Everyone's Counting
  23. 23The Brother's Date
  24. 24Seed Of Doubt
  25. 25The Generous Man
  26. 26Pressure On The Host
  27. 27What She Buried
  28. 28The Cover-Up
  29. 29Cast Out In A Locked Room
  30. 30The Comforter
  31. 31Pivot To Priya
  32. 32The First Package
  33. 33Blackout
  34. 34Save Him
  35. 35She Knows, Alone
  36. 36Divide And Conquer
  37. 37The Husband's Choice
  38. 38The Wrong Pocket
  39. 39The Last Unopened
  40. 40Almost
  41. 41Turn The Room
  42. 42Nadir
  43. 43The Controller
  44. 44Every Chime
  45. 45The Friend Of The Brother
  46. 46His Package
  47. 47The Pills
  48. 48Why A Year Of This
  49. 49The Room Reacts
  50. 50Not A Villain, Not Forgiven
  51. 51The Choice To Open
  52. 52What Mara Says
  53. 53The Honest Room
  54. 54The Door Opens
  55. 55What Breaks, What Holds
  56. 56Empty Box

Gear available for this set

Full studio inventory (65 items) →

The specific kit allocated to this set. Not exclusive, but this is what's set aside for it.

  • Sony FX3 Full-Frame Cinema Camera (Body Only)
  • Sony A7R V Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera (Body Only)
  • Sony FX30 Digital Cinema Camera (Body Only)
  • Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 GM II
  • Sony FE 16-35mm F/2.8 GM II
  • Sony FE 24-70mm F/2.8 GM II
  • Sony FE 50mm F/1.4 GM
  • Sony FE 35mm F/1.4 GM
  • Sony FE 24mm F/1.4 GM
  • Sony FE 85mm F/1.4 GM
  • Sony E 11mm F/1.8 APS-C Prime (SEL11F18G)
  • Sigma E 30mm F/1.4
  • Sigma E 56mm F/1.4
  • Atomos Sumo 19" SE HDR Monitor, Recorder & Switcher
  • Hollyland Mars 4K Wireless Video Transmission System (×2)
  • Tilta Nucleus-Nano II Wireless Lens Control System
  • Nanlite Forza 500B II Bi-Color LED
  • Nanlite FS 300C LED
  • Nanlite PavoSlim 120C RGB LED Panel
  • Aputure Amaran P60c RGB LED Panel
  • Nanlite Pavotube II 30XR RGBWW LED Tube Light
  • Nanlite Pavotube II 30C RGB LED Tube Light
  • Nanlite Pavotube II 6C RGB LED Tube Light
  • Godox SL60W Daylight LED Monolight
  • Godox AD600Pro Witstro All-in-One Outdoor Flash
  • Godox AD400Pro Witstro All-in-One Outdoor Flash
  • Godox Ving V860III TTL Li-Ion Flash Kit (Sony)
  • Godox X3 TTL Wireless Flash Touchscreen Trigger
  • Godox XProS TTL Wireless Flash Trigger (Sony)
  • Nanlite Projection Attachment for Bowens Mount, 19°/36° Lens
  • Sekonic Light Meter
  • NiSi 82mm True Color Vario ND, 1–9 stops
  • NiSi 82mm True Color Vario ND, 1–5 stops
  • K&F Concept 82mm Variable ND, ND2–ND400
  • K&F Concept 77mm Variable ND
  • K&F Concept 55mm ND Filter, ND1000
  • K&F Concept 52mm ND Filter, ND1000
  • Tilta Mirage VND Kit
  • Lexar Professional 160GB CFexpress Type A Gold Series
  • ProGrade Digital 128GB SDXC UHS-II V90 300R
  • SanDisk 128GB Extreme Pro SDXC
  • Zoom F8n Pro Multitrack Field Recorder
  • Zoom H6 Audio Recorder
  • Rode NTG4+ Supercardioid Condenser Shotgun Mic
  • Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone
  • Sennheiser EW-G4 Wireless Lavalier Microphone
  • Hollyland LARK MAX 2
  • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
  • Deity TC-1 Wireless Timecode Generator, 2-Pack Kit
  • UltraStudio Recorder 3G
  • Alctron MA-2 Mic Preamplifier
  • Hollyland Solidcom C1-4S Wireless Intercom, 4 Headsets
  • Easyrig Minimax Stabil Light Gimbal/Camera Support
  • DJI RS 3 Pro Gimbal Stabilizer
  • FeiyuTech Scorp C
  • Tilta Cage for FX3/FX30
  • Tilta Advanced Ring Grip, DJI RS 3 Pro/RS 2
  • Aputure Light Dome III
  • Godox P90 Parabolic Softbox 35.4"
  • Phottix Raja Quickfolding Softbox 105cm

Open roles on ThePackage

Pick the one that’s you, crew or cast, and apply straight to it.

Lead cast

4 open
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Casting Director

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Director of Photography

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Sound

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Gaffer / Grip

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Set Designer

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HMU

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Editor

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On-Set Editor (same-day cuts, experimental)

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1st AD

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Location (the apartment itself)

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