When the captain of a women's professional soccer team finds out it has been sold to a former rival who plans to coach it with a droid, she must find the humanity in AI technology before her angry teammates destroy the robot and the team.

SYNOPSIS:

I know what you're thinking – Oh no, not another soccer show like Wrexham or Ted Lasso, but this is about what it means to be human - and the threat of being replaced by AI - Artificial Intelligence. There is actually very little soccer played in the movie.

This is a comedy with the theme of acceptance but lots of conflict from a droid who truly knows everything. Our protagonist, SUBY (30s,) has an internal conflict that comes from having an amazing career, but she doesn't want to end her career as a failure on the last-placed team. With lots of injuries, she wants to be the team's player-coach after the last coach abruptly quit. The new team's owner MAYA (30s), has unfulfilled dreams. During college tryouts, her teammate, Suby, didn't pass her the ball, and Maya ran into a goalpost; a funny scene that still gets thousands of views on YouTube. The same actor plays Maya and the droid, AI-Me.

The external conflict comes from the droid's handlers, who play the "fish out of water" when they have to move to Tulsa and the players who resent being coached by a droid, and this sets the grounded comedy TONE of the series. It can also be emotional - the players truly care about each other, especially their captain Suby. But in a reversal, the tone gets darker when the NWSL commissioner tries to shut down the team - pushing the philosophical conflict from the issue of AI. There is a victory for the team as Suby is made the acting coach - restoring humanity to our story.

Some of the funniest scenes and comments come from the very funny goalie, Tamara, who struggles to adjust after coming from a rural village in Bulgaria. There are the younger twins, Hannah and Sara - who have anger issues and often explode. At the midpoint, these twins decide to give the little droid flying lessons when AI-Me corrects them one too many times that the game is technically called football and not soccer. After they punt the droid into the goalpost - it breaks into hundred of pieces. We think all is lost after the droid is destroyed, but there is a backup of AI-Me, and as the new droid rolls back onto the field, Suby remembers that earlier, AI-Me had called her “PonyTail,” a nickname that Maya had given her when they were teammates. Suby realizes that the little droid does have some humanity since a human created it. Suby clarifies what happened during the tryouts. Maya was wrong about Suby. AI-Me understands. Or is that Maya in that droid? In the climax of the story, they go on their first "road trip" to play North Carolina. Maya comes to the game, and she and Suby argue about strategy - Maya needs a win - her board of directors and investors want results - but since the time has lost every game, Suby thinks a tie would be enough. Suby goes against Maya - causing Maya to get voted out of her own company. Suby has destroyed the one thing Maya had. We also think at this low point, that the team will be sold again - with the evil NWSL commissioner's help - but it ends with a twist.

Why Me? I know soccer - at one time, I either coached, managed, or played on a dozen soccer teams. I am an emerging screenwriter with an animated musical script being produced by BlackOrb Studios. I have dozens of kick-ass female-driven scripts on Coverfly, one in the top 7%; many were finalists in Nicholls, Austin Film Festival and other contests.

Why Now? 5 billion people watched the Women's FIFA World Cup. The NWSL is breaking records in both attendance and viewers. On Apple TV, Ted Lasso was the first show on Apple's streaming service that topped a billion minutes in a week. The little droid is neurodivergent and cute in an odd way, like Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own. A comedy about 30-something women's soccer players- coached by AI? The time is right for this story, and the current owners of LA's Angel City Women's Soccer Club - could read like producer titles of a hit movie.

Also available as a TV pilot with 3 seasons outlined.