Synopsis

Ron Westerly, a single parent, black father with a checkered past leases a small town diner to save his 15-year old son, Clevon from the growing violence of the city only to discover that the seemingly, idyllic town has a dark and violent underbelly.

The Story

After Clevon is traumatized by the murder of his girlfriend, Ron realizes they have to make a change. And fast.

Ron takes over Norwood’s derelict diner and turns it into “THE PATTY SHACK”, a Caribbean themed restaurant. Struggling to fit in, Ron slowly adjusts to small town life and the restaurant, at first too foreign for the locals, soon becomes a popular hangout spot.

Through his father’s business, bitter and anguished Clevon, begins to get to know the townspeople and slowly interact with other teenagers.

Armed with new friends Aki, a 15-year-old 2nd generation Asian-Canadian, Alex, an 18-year-old repatriate from the nearby Stony Valley Reserve and Benny “Benito” Marks, a 14-year-old wannabe rapper; Clevon struggles to adjust to his new community and quickly discovers that teenage life in Norwood and the neighbouring Stony Valley Reserve is explosively similar to Jane & Finch. Drugs and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, poverty, joblessness, gang violence are as prevalent in Norwood as they are back home, forcing Clevon to fall back on the survival skills he thought he had left behind.

To make matters worse, tensions between the reservation and the town, always at a low boil, are heating up when it’s discovered the Norwood Chamber of Commerce is facilitating the building of a box store on land claimed by the Stony Valley Reserve. Soon Ron and Clevon find themselves embroiled in more conflicts than they could have ever conceived and Ron’s hope of rescuing his son just might drown them both.

Norwood Crossings journeys into the heart of contemporary, small town, culture, side stepping the myth of "the simple, country life" to bring a fresh look at rural Canada.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

25-50, both urban and rural markets and crossing over into various

 race, ethnic and gender demographics.

FORMAT:

A weekly, one-hour, serial drama.

SETTING:

A variety of location settings including; The Patty Shack restaurant, the local high school, rural backdrops such as field parties, small town settings, the Stony Valley Reservation.

TONE:

Serious with dark, comedic undertones. 

STYLE:

Fast paced, single camera, using steadycam and hand-held, quick cuts,

High Definition, high-energy imagery. Highly stylized. Norwood will combine elements of Moccasin Flats, Drop the Beat and the Wire.

SCORE:

Will include a score from some of Canada’s hottest hip-hop, dancehall, rock and country rock groups.