Sir Rah Entertainment: SR mark
A Sir Rah Entertainment Original  ·  Half-Hour Dramedy

MR. WENDELL

In a high-end Los Angeles sober-living house, a recovering alcoholic turned mentor tries to keep a fragile community together as privilege, street wisdom, ego, and relapse temptations collide: one chore chart at a time.

EP 103  Final Locked
$2.1M to $4.1M  Financing Target
Feb 2027  Target Start of Principal Photography
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Overview: Format
  • Half-hour, character-driven comedy with grounded emotional stakes
  • Primary location: an upscale sober-living house in Hancock Park / Westside-adjacent L.A.
  • Ensemble cast; interwoven A, B, and C stories
  • Heartfelt laughs paired with real-life recovery pressure
Tone

Warm, sharp, and human. Think prestige-comedy heart with a street-smart edge: big laughs from personality clashes, plus honest moments where sobriety isn't a punchline. It's the fight.

"We build stories the way we build the house that raises us: one honest room at a time."
The World of the House

A small society, under one roof.

The house runs like a small society: meetings, tests, chores, check-ins, and rules. Everyone is here because the outside world got too loud: but inside the house, personalities are louder. Mr. Wendell's job is to keep order without losing his own balance.

Mr. Wendell isn't a saint. He is a man in recovery leading other men in recovery. His leadership style is old-school: direct, funny, sometimes blunt. He believes responsibility builds community: and community keeps you sober.

Series DNA

Core Themes

01

Accountability vs. Enabling

The line every character in the house has to walk, and keeps crossing.

02

Identity & Belonging

Culture, class, masculinity, and ego collide inside one shared address.

03

Second Chances

A chosen family nobody picked, that ends up needing each other anyway.

04

Service as Recovery

Giving back as the thing that actually keeps people sober.

05

Grief & Avoidance

What it costs every character to keep avoiding the truth.

Ensemble

Who Lives in the House

Leadership

MW
Mr. Wendell

Recovering alcoholic in his 50s; divorced father of four; tough-love mentor with a disarming sense of humor.

RG
Reggie

House manager, 40s; OC country-club surfer vibe; ex pro golf coach; gambler; new dad; black sheep of a well-to-do family.

Residents

SH
Shane

Early 20s; brilliant, reckless Beverly Hills kid who identifies with street culture; desperate for structure behind the swagger.

SN
Shannon

Mid-20s; Nigerian-American, former USC pre-med prodigy; surfer/skater; sharp opinions; searching for identity.

RY
Ray

Early 50s; OG South Central hustler turned real estate & nightclub entrepreneur; humble, old-school, second time in the house.

EL
Eli

Early 30s; mixed-race tech-artist inventor; adopted into wealth; socially awkward; identity confusion.

AR
Arthur

Late 70s; insurance-company founder; uses the sober house to avoid home and the modern world; inappropriate old-school mouth.

WM
William

Bougie Beverly Hills plastic surgeon; rich narcissist; oblivious; name-drops and steamrolls conversations.

MG
Miguel

Mid-40s landscaper with Beverly Hills clients; first-gen; family man; sober but still learning humility.

Staff & Outside World

GM
Gomer

Mid-30s security guard; big, flashy jewelry; always snacking; food addiction revealed over time; family man.

ML
Mei Lin

House nurse; runs intake and testing; calm authority; sees everything.

LS
Luis

Handyman and ex-client; grief-driven addiction; nervous, organized energy; oddball who acts like he owns the place.

YK
Mr. & Mrs. Yoakum

Sober-house owners; child died from overdose fifteen years ago; now philanthropists running multiple homes.

GD
Mr. & Mrs. Gold

Affluent, connected Westside parents; terrified of losing Shane; love him but fear him.

Season One · First Four of Ten

Episodes 101: 104

EP 101

Pilot

We meet the sober house ecosystem and Mr. Wendell's leadership style, as resident personalities collide and old habits fight for control. This is a family that didn't choose each other, but needs each other.

EP 102

The Visit

Outside relationships invade the house. A visit stirs ego, shame, and temptation, forcing residents to confront how they present sobriety versus how they actually live it.

Final Locked
EP 103

Roommates

Chore time and a new roommate arrival ignite a chain reaction, triggering territory issues, class tension, and the comedy of forced intimacy.

EP 104

The Offer Stands

A tempting offer threatens to split loyalties and expose who is truly committed to the house, testing how far Mr. Wendell can bend without breaking the community's rules.

Look & Feel

Visual Style

  • Clean, upscale interiors contrasted with raw emotional moments
  • Naturalistic lighting; subtle warmth; handheld intimacy in tense moments
  • Comedy plays in wide ensemble frames; emotion plays in close-ups
Market Positioning

Comparable Titles

Ted Lasso

Heart and community accountability carrying an ensemble comedy.

Atlanta

Observational L.A./Southern culture with a sharp, specific POV.

Shameless

Messy family energy, reframed inside a recovery household.

The Bear

Pressure and care compressed inside one tight ecosystem.

Where We Are

Production Status

Path to Camera

Timeline to Principal Photography

Now: Q3 2026
Lock the room
Finish executive drafts of Pilot & EP105, complete Series Bible / Character Bible / Season One Overview, finalize detailed episode-by-episode budget.
Q3: Q4 2026
Close financing
Circulate investor pitch deck, secure legal/finance counsel, close the $2.1M to $4.1M financing round for the ten-episode first season.
Q4 2026: Jan 2027
Preproduction
Casting, location agreements, department heads, SAG-AFTRA/WGA paperwork, insurance, schedule and budget lock.
Feb 2027
Cameras roll
Principal photography begins on MR. WENDELL Season One.
The Ask

Financing Target

$2.1Mto$4.1M
Reduced SeasonFull Season

To produce all ten episodes of MR. WENDELL Season One. The full-season budget is built and costed line by line at roughly $4.1M, about $414K per episode; the reduced scenario delivers the same ten episodes at roughly $2.1M.

Flagship Streamer DramaStranger Things, The Sandman, Rings of Power
$5M: $30M+ /ep
Streamer Commissioned OriginalNetflix, Hulu, Prime Video half-hour
$1M: $4M /ep
Traditional NetworkBroadcast / premium cable
$3M: $8M /ep
Guild Low-Budget ThresholdWGA / SAG-AFTRA new media
Up to ~$300K /ep
Independent ProductionSelf/investor financed, produced lean
$50K: $250K /ep
Sir Rah TargetOur target for MR. WENDELL
$210K: $414K /ep

Figures reflect general industry ranges as of 2026, drawn from published production cost reporting and WGA / SAG-AFTRA guild thresholds. Provided for planning context only: not a quote for MR. WENDELL's specific budget. Bar widths are illustrative, not linear.

This Round Funds

  • Production of all ten episodes of Season One
  • Cast, crew, locations, and equipment
  • Line producing and unit production management
  • Post-production through delivery

Materials Ready Now

  • Complete Series Bible & Character Bible
  • Pilot & Episode 105 executive drafts
  • Season One Overview & episode outlines
  • Line-by-line production budget & rate card
Who's Behind It

Executive Leadership

WH
Creator & Executive Producer
Wendell Harris

Founder of Sir Rah Entertainment Group and creator of MR. WENDELL. Oversees creative direction, development, and production strategy.

LJ
Executive Producer
Loretha Jones

More than three decades of American film and television: The Five Heartbeats, School Daze, B.A.P.S and The Fighting Temptations, plus series work from The Parent ’Hood to CBS’s The Equalizer.

CJ
Co-Executive
Charlie Jordan-Brookins

Led original programming at BET Networks as Senior Vice President, overseeing scripted, unscripted and movie content including the relaunch of The Game, Being Mary Jane and The Book of Negroes.

JH
Director & Creative Executive Producer
Jonathan Harris

Directs the series and carries creative executive oversight on tone, casting and visual language, after two decades running comedy sets: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Workaholics, Key & Peele and A Black Lady Sketch Show.

MC
Producer
Matthew Conners

Carries production supervision across the season, on a career spent almost entirely in the half-hour format: The Exes, Hot in Cleveland, Country Comfort and Lopez vs. Lopez.

EB
Co-Producer
Erinn Bell

Development and creative packaging through financing, plus assistant production supervision during the season, brought from a working career on network comedy sets.

TH
Associate Producer & Camera
Torin Harris

Coordinates crew staffing, equipment logistics, and production resources.

CC
Producer, Location & Assigned Staff
Carlyn Couch

Oversees location scouting, permitting, logistics, and crew coordination.

SS
Line Producer
Scott Sudduth

Responsible for budgeting, scheduling, and day-to-day production management.

LW
Unit Production Manager
Larry Watson

Oversees production operations, crew management, logistics, and resource allocation.

JC
Director of Photography & Producer
Joseph Cicio

Leads cinematography and collaborates on the visual style and technical execution of productions.

KW
Director & Producer
Keith Ward

Prospective creative partner for future productions and directing opportunities.