Friends and fellow screenwriters, I’ve finally started working on my series project “Swallowed.” It’s a mix of drama and body horror. I’d like to hear your thoughts. Maybe something needs to be added or removed, or perhaps some theme should be developed more deeply.
I’m providing you with the synopsis of the first season of this series. I’ll say right away: there won’t be much body horror. It will mostly be a drama, because I want to explore the theme of how corporations consume one another — how people “devour” each other for their own benefit. That’s the idea I want to reveal.
So I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Logline:
In a world where corporate success requires absolute ruthlessness, the largest venture fund SWALL & LOW CAPITAL is searching for the ideal employee — a person capable of absorbing companies without doubt, pity, or hesitation. To find such an “ideal business killer,” the fund organizes a deadly trial where every mistake costs a life.
Plot:
The philosophy of the company Wall & Low Capital is simple: the world is such that either you eat someone, or you get eaten. In their conviction, only a person who has survived a truly deadly trial is capable of working for the fund. Simulation is impossible — in a simulation there is a second chance, but life gives no second chances.
SWALL & LOW CAPITAL announces recruitment for the position of head of the corporate takeover department — a job with enormous power, resources, and salary, but with a requirement of absolute cold-bloodedness. A group of candidates arrives for the interview: each with their own motivation and personal tragedy. Among them are a former soldier, a con artist, single mothers, a Native American community leader, and others.
The main heroine is originally a kind, gentle woman who loves her terminally ill husband and her children very much. Her husband gave her a pendant that she always wears. She sees this job as a chance to earn money for her husband's expensive operation and secure her family’s future.
The candidates are gathered in a specially prepared hall: closed windows, a broken elevator, one chair for everyone, a water cooler, and an air conditioner set to maximum. Everything is arranged to make them start to conflict and test each other’s strength.
Instead of a typical interview, the manager offers to walk just 50 meters across a lawn — whoever reaches the second building gets the job. But no one knows that upon entering the first building, they will be shrunk to microscopic size. For them, ordinary grass turns into a forest, and insects become gigantic predators.
The trial becomes not only physical but also moral: the candidates are forced to unite, betray, and kill in order to survive. Every action is recorded, the participants are under the control of bracelets, and all personal belongings are surrendered.
The corporation uses artificial intelligence and deepfakes, creating ultra-realistic videos showing that all participants allegedly leave the fund. After that, their digital footprints appear all across America: credit card activity, fines, calls, and purchases. Externally it seems that the participants live a normal life, although in reality they completely disappear.
During the trial, the main heroine loses her pendant while fighting a giant beetle, but she remembers exactly where it was lost.
In the finale, she is the one who survives. By passing the trial, she completely changes: from a kind, caring woman she turns into a cold-blooded, merciless, and hardened person. Her husband dies, and her children remain under her strict control.
Mechanisms of control and moral pressure:
On all surviving participants whom the fund hires, the corporation finds compromising material: evidence that forces them to keep the secret and obey orders. For the winner of the first season, there is no compromising material — the only leverage over her is her children. It is clear to her that if she goes to the police or tries to expose the company, her children may be in danger. This is why she does not go to official authorities, although in her soul she wants to expose the corporation.
Hook for the next seasons:
In the second season, the heroine decides to participate in the experiment again in order to obtain evidence and find the lost pendant. She secretly takes out a fly egg left from the trials and uses it to expose the corporation: all the crimes come to light, and the founders face criminal responsibility. However, scientists begin to study the egg, and from it hatches a huge fly that escapes, creating a threat of national scale and forming a hook for the third season.
Elements that make the series unique:
• A deadly allegory of the corporate world: insects and trials symbolize the unpredictable consequences and cruelty of business.
• Modern technologies: shrinking people, control through bracelets, digital falsification of participants’ traces through AI and deepfakes.
• Emotional and moral drama: the personal motives of the participants collide with the company's philosophy: “one chance — either you consume, or you are consumed.”
• Connection to future seasons: the winner of the first season becomes the key to exposing the corporation and the global threat, maintaining both the emotional and narrative hook.
Tone:
A dark, tense thriller with elements of sci-fi, psychological drama, and allegory, where the ordinary world turns into a deadly game of survival.
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Congratulations on starting Swallowed, Aleksandr Rozhnov! I think that's an incredible theme! I don't see it a lot in movies, shows, etc. Really unique concept and catchy title! Swallowed is like a Body Horror version of Squid Game.
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Congrats Aleksandr - best of luck with this. I like it - two things come to mind. In the movie The Forgiven with Eric Bana (who's brilliant by the way) his character says life is about one person eating another - either you have a full belly, or you're in a full belly. Also Adam Smith comes to mind - the father of capitalism. Both of these might be helpful sources. Great idea!
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Right now I’m probably at the most difficult stage. I’m writing the character bibles. I’ll have 8 participants, plus the company executives and managers — about 10–12 characters total. And at the moment I’m outlining their full bios and interactions. It’s pretty challenging. Today I managed to finish only two characters.
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I feel your pain, LOL. I'm doing the same for my own sci fi anthology series
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Hi! I really liked your logline — I’d definitely watch something like that. Here’s a bit of input from my side:
The logline felt a bit misleading compared to the synopsis. When I read the logline, I expected something closer to Severance — a conspiracy thriller. After reading the synopsis, it comes across more as a sci-fi action story with a strong ironic tone.
I think your main character is likable, but to make her more dimensional, it could help to give her some “flaws” and an inner conflict. For example, she could be a great mother and wife who’s willing to do anything for her husband — including criminal acts. Maybe she’s already forged documents before to help him get the assistance he needs.
Also, a synopsis typically highlights the major plot turns of the story: end of Act 1, midpoint, end of Act 2, and the finale.
Hope this helps! Feel free to message me in DMs!
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I’ll be honest with you — that synopsis was written in one minute. It will definitely be rewritten later, so don’t pay too much attention to it.
As for the main character, the point is that in the beginning she is, so to speak, ideal. She’s a loving wife, a loving mother — caring, cheerful, and kind. But by the end of the first season she becomes cold, calculating, and completely lacking empathy. That inner transformation is her arc and the core of her character development.
So adding flaws at the start isn’t exactly what I’m aiming for. The whole concept of the show is that she begins as someone completely unfit for this kind of work — but by the end, she becomes a perfect match for it.
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This is great, Aleksandr Rozhnov. Quite the bold concept. Consume or be consumed certainly works well as a social commentary on the ruthless business culture...
At this stage, I'd recommend making season 1 airtight before developing additional seasons. It's good to know where you're going but you don't need to have all seasons ready before pitching the project.
And if you want professional development notes on the pilot or series bible, consider booking coverage through Stage 32 to stress-test the concept with an executive who works in this space. Email us at success@stage32.com for any recommendations or guidance. This has real ambition. Keep refining it!
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Thank you all so much! I’m going to finish all my work first, because I still need to write the character bibles and the company philosophy — I want to include that as well. And once it’s all done, I’ll definitely reach out to you for advice on what to do next with the project.
I really want to finish it and pitch it properly.
Thank you for taking the time to read it!
You're welcome, Aleksandr Rozhnov. I'm looking forward to watching Swallowed!
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And by the way, about the main character — people have suggested that I give her some flaw or a “skeleton in the closet” to make her more interesting to watch. Yes, that’s a very good idea.
But here’s my approach: I’m deliberately making her almost perfect at the start — no sins, no flaws. And by the end, she becomes the opposite kind of person. I want to show that no matter how perfect someone is, in the world of business, in the world of corporate consumption, in the jungle of this world, even a perfect person will change.
That’s my idea.
I think that's a fantastic idea, Aleksandr Rozhnov!