One man. One inheritance. One deeply misguided attempt to become a local legend, on camera, whether the town asked for it or not.
When an inheritance he never earned lands in the lap of a middle-aged addict, Derak Harwood tries to buy back the life he wrecked by becoming a local TV hero — filming a scripted, deadpan mockumentary-style comedy/drama about bushcraft, community service and self-improvement that proves he's changed to everyone except himself.
Derak & Friends is structured as a show-within-a-show: Derak stages and narrates segments of manufactured heroism and homespun wisdom — confronting a mugger, running wilderness survival exercises, hosting recovery support sessions he's clearly using as a mirror he refuses to look into.
A deadpan Producer and Director occasionally break the fourth wall, catching the widening gap between the man Derak performs for the camera and the recovery he still hasn't honestly faced.
Raw footage and photos from the pilot shoot. More to come as filming continues.
