The Dead Amoung Us

Lets make one thing clear; I am terrified of death. Not because I'm scared of dying necessarily, or of heaven/hell, but because it's impossible to understand. There is no one who will ever know what it's like and I can't see a first person perspective on what that future might be like. Also the idea that I would just stop existing entirely is horrifying because what even is that like? I only know existing. I have to move on or I'm going to have a meltdown, my breath is already caught in my throat.

Anyhow naturally I have this fucking idea about a show where there is a group of people who, by no choice of their own, see ghosts. This idea I think has stuck around because it ingnite my brain with the idea of characters who have to deal with this inevitable peril either VERY SOON or are stuck unable to remove this reminder of where all life leads. For the sake of it being a reproducable show with an episodic format (something I felt [at the time I was first thinking of this idea] wasn't common for TV as much as it used to), I imagined these people would form a group where they assist the dead with their unfinished business so they can move to the afterlife. More or less the idea is an ensemble comedy version of Ghost Whisperer. I really wanted to focus on the idea of a lot of these people chosen being considered poorly by their surrounding community for not meeting the standards expected of them. Essentially people who didn't really suit the society they were in because their goals/values were just not really in line with the places they were. This was defintiely to mirror how I was feeling at the time but after some time I feel like it's interesting that they are required to engage with this other part of life that most people don't have to and it would almost make sense that these folks grew alternate perspectives on life with this experience.

So originally this was written in college so it was a college club. As a now 25 year old, I feel like this isn't bad. I think there is something about that time in life where you really gain independence and have to figure yourself out in a way you couldn't while living with your parents (this is going off the stereotypical and personal experience of living on your own in college, which is not analogous to everyone) that really makes it just the worst time to discover you have cosmic understanding outside of your control and you have to deal with that somehow. Instead of using a club or doing a bit where the characters have to help with unfinished business I now feel there could be an interesting character study of why people have trouble moving on from their lives or accepting mortality. Maybe something more slice of life where then maybe an episode can focus on a character who does make their life focused around helping those with unfinished business because it's a way for them to avoid thinking about what happens when the spirits are gone. Additionally, the slice of life element would mean that this doesn't have to be every episode, you could focus on several different characters and how this discovery of spectral sight affects them. Maybe some have lived with it since a young age and others are just coming into the ability; there is so much room to explore how this massive change in perception would change a person.

This also exposes my problem though. It's a very vague idea that I've not really solidified in a way I yet find effective. This is even an idea that could permeate several different works and show that I think about this stupid fucking ending of all things a lot more than I'd like to. Maybe I'll never move on. Maybe one day I'll make something that feels like it's at least accurately depicted a notable aspect of this concept that swims in my oceanic brain.