EPISODE 14, SCENE 96:
Full Production

[Setting: Writers Room, mid-morning. Coffee cups everywhere. Kat’s laptop open to a new email alert. The usual background noise of scribbling and joking dies as she reads.]

KAT (reading, stunned):
“You are hereby authorized to begin immediate full-scale production on all five Isn’t It Ironic segments.”
(beat)
Wait—immediate?

CASEY (leans in):
Full production?
Not pilot-plus-option?

KAT:
All five. Signed by the senior deBos himself.

RICKLES (grinning):
Holy crap, we’re renewed before we even premiered!

LORENZO (still processing):
All five?
(beat)
That’s… that’s bigger than the single. 
Or even the album.

CASEY:
No kidding—it’s validation, brother.
We’re not background music anymore; we’re canon.

[Kat leaps up and hugs them both. Rickles claps so loud Morgan barks.]

KAT:
We actually did it.
Our weird little INFJ therapy circle just became a studio division.

[They laugh, shout, high-five. Casey pours what’s left of his cold brew into four cups and raises a toast.]

CASEY:
To irony—finally paying the bills.

ALL:
To irony!

[They drink. The room glows with that rare, collective disbelief that something impossible has happened.]

KAT:
They have no idea what they just unleashed.

LUNDY (smirking):
Neither do we.
And that’s the fun part.

[Kat crosses to Lorenzo, resting a hand on his shoulder.]

KAT:
This one was faith in disguise.
Even the cynics had to invest.

[Smash cut to: Lorenzo writing by lamp light, later that evening, alone with his pomchi.]

LORENZO:
Guess I got what I prayed for … just not the ‘peace’ part.

[He turns back to his notebook.]

LORENZO:
I just wanted to write a few songs, Lord … not run a circus.

[Morgan barks softly. Lorenzo laughs.]

LORENZO:
Yeah, Girlie. Let’s just stay home and headline the porch tour instead, huh?

SCENE 97:
Second-Place Lorenzo

[Setting: Writers Room, Casey and Kat watch the Headline scroll:]
“Better Than I Prayed For” climbs to #2 on Charts, then falls from Top 10 on Billboard Pop/Rock charts.”

KAT:
Second place again?

CASEY:
Don’t say it. He’s pretending not to care.

KAT (softly):
You think it hurts?

CASEY:
Yeah. But it’s the kind of hurt that keeps us humble.

[Middle of the night, Lorenzo lays on the couch, absently shaking a tambourine in rhythm to the music as softly as he can play. He reads the same Billboard headline:]

LORENZO (quietly):
There it is.
The thing we thought would fix everything.
(beat)
Now what?

LORENZO:
Everybody says they want a miracle.
Nobody mentions the hangover.

[Lorenzo glances toward the empty dog bed where Morgan used to sleep beside the chair, then sighs — but she trots in, alive and well, tail flicking. Soft smile.]

LORENZO:
Guess we’re still in the game, huh, Girlie?

[The first faint light of dawn hits the window — red-gold, like a spotlight just flicked on.]

LORENZO:
Now we start over, I guess.
Season Two.

[FADE OUT]

SCENE 98:
Spin Class

[Setting: deBos HQ atrium converted into press area. Banners: “Faith + Frequency — The Isn’t It Ironic Initiative.” Reporters packed in.]

MARVIN deBOS JR. (at podium):
Ladies and gentlemen, we at deBos Enterprises believe faith and irony can coexist —and be monetized responsibly.

[Laughter from crowd; flashbulbs.]

CASEY (whispering to Lorenzo):
Translation—Granddaddy approved it.

LORENZO:
Amen to dividends.

REPORTER:
Cheap Whiskey -- how does it feel to have all five segments going straight to series?

LORENZO (stammering slightly):
Overwhelming. I mean—we wrote about grace, and now we’re living off it.

KAT (quiet aside):
Nice save. You almost said “living on it.”

CASEY:
Either way, IRS hears both.

REPORTER 2:
Will Cheap Whiskey’s tour overlap with production?

deBOS:
Yes. Cross-pollination builds brand synergy.

LORENZO:
That’s corporate for “we’re figuring it out.”

[Crowd laughs; tension breaks.]

REPORTER 3:
So what exactly is “Faith + Frequency”?

CASEY:
Five stories, one irony, and hopefully Wi-Fi.

[Light applause.]

RICKLES:
They put an introvert, a therapist, and a rock singer under fluorescent lighting —
what could go wrong?

REPORTER:
Mr. deBos, was ‘Isn’t It Ironic’ a faith-based gamble?

deBOS:
We prefer to call it a spiritually-adjacent content expansion.

RICKLES (aside):
Translation—he prayed over the budget.

REPORTER 2:
Cheap Whiskey, is this the new you?

LORENZO:
Define “new.”

RICKLES:
He means sober, employed, and terrified.

[Crowd laughter.]

deBOS (through clenched teeth):
Thank you, Mr. Shears.

RICKLES:
Anytime.
I bill by the insult.

REPORTER:
Dr. Bloom, final thought?

KAT:
Irony’s only funny because it’s true.
And truth’s only healing when you share it.
That’s what these five stories are about.

[She glances at Lorenzo.]

LORENZO:
I used to sing to escape the room.
Now we’re inviting everyone in.

[Small applause. deBos steps back up, milking it.]

deBOS:
Well said. And as your humble label partner, I—

RICKLES:
—translate that to “We’re dropping the soundtrack on vinyl.”

[More laughter. Even deBos grins, conceding.]

SCENE 99:
Executive Ghost

[Setting: Writers Room, hours after the press conference.]

LORENZO (after a long pause):
Okay. Elephant in the room.
What happens now?
You’re both tied to III.
I’m under contract to Marv’s casino tour.

[The laughter fades; they all sit.]

CASEY:
Our universe just forked in two — one bus, one broadcast.

KAT:
We’ll be launching III at same time Cheap Whiskey hits stage one in Des Moines.

LORENZO:
Yeah, isn’t that ironic?

CASEY:
You’re headlining a casino; we’re headlining the algorithm.

KAT:
Casey runs point on III day-to-day.
I’ll float between sets.
You tour, send notes when you can.

CASEY:
We’ll keep your voice in every script.
Half the lines will probably still sound like you anyway.

LORENZO (trying to joke):
So I’m promoted to “executive ghost.”

[They chuckle, softer now.]

KAT (gently):
You’ll have Morgan. She’s better company than any of us on the road.

[Morgan lifts her head at her name. Lorenzo scratches her ears.]

LORENZO:
Yeah… she never interrupts a monologue.

CASEY:
You’re not losing us, brother.
We’re just splitting the map.
Different highways, same story.

[Lorenzo nods, swallowing a lump in his throat.]

KAT:
Besides, somebody’s gotta keep the spotlight lit, while you’re out baptizing casinos in Cheap Whiskey.

LORENZO:
”Headliner status,” he says.
You realize that’s just industry code for “you’re the only act crazy enough to ride the bus.”

CASEY (laughing):
It’s not exile, brother—it’s exposure.

LORENZO:
Yeah. Exposure’s what frostbite gives you too.
At least I’ve got Morgan.
She pukes in sympathy.

[They all laugh, but Lorenzo’s eyes say otherwise.]

KAT:
We’re so sorry we can’t go along with you, Lo.
If we miss the sync-drop, we lose our whole cross-promo.

LORENZO:
So deBos gets his headline act, and I get a panic attack on wheels.

KAT:
You’ll crush it, Lorenzo.

LORENZO:
Yeah, right. Maybe after I clean up Morgan’s first encore.

[She licks his hand; bittersweet pause.]

SCENE 100:
Road Outta Town

[Setting: The Cheap Whiskey Tour bus idles. Stagehands load guitars. Steam breathes from manhole covers. Everyone’s buzzing except Lorenzo, who looks like he’s leaving Earth. Morgan trembles in her crate by the stairwell.]

[CLEM FARMER, nervous corporate energy and clipboard in hand, approaches Lorenzo.]

CLEM:
Morning, Champ! Welcome to the Joyous Sadsack Tour.

LORENZO (smirks):
It’s not really joyous until after the first nap.

[Morgan barks once as Lorenzo lets her out of the crate and onto the bus. She jumps up on the front seat like she owns it.]

LORENZO:
I told her we were just going for a ride.
Hell, maybe I believed it too.

[Lorenzo steps onto the bus. The aisle wobbles like a ship deck. Morgan claws the carrier, yipping.]

LORENZO (weak grin to the driver):
Mind if I sit up front?
I’m the guy who invented “precise-buzz timing.”
Just didn’t realize motion sickness counts as a buzz.

[Montage — inside the Tour Bus]
Lorenzo is white-knuckling on a coffee cup as scenery whips by. 
Morgan panting, eyes still huge.
A paper bag — not for snacks. 
The band joking in back, oblivious.

LORENZO (whispering to Morgan):
First show’s tomorrow night.
It’s just you, me, and two hundred miles of road I can barely see through.

[He glances out the window: blurry dawn, double-vision trees.]

LORENZO:
Hang in there, Girlie.
They only see the joy.
We’ll show ’em the fear someday.

[The bus hits a bump. Morgan barks. Lorenzo laughs — half hysteria, half love.]

[90 MINUTES LATER] 

[Lorenzo is awake on the bus, Morgan asleep at his feet. Lorenzo has his notebook open, laptop still glowing faintly with the “III green-light” email.]

NARRATOR (Voice-Over):
Sometimes the credits roll, but the story’s just catching its breath.
Five-for-five, number 2 on the charts, and a tour he never asked for.

[Lorenzo writes a line, crosses it out, writes again.]

LORENZO (muttering):
“Better than I prayed for.”
Yeah. Maybe that’s the problem.

[He leans back, eyes half-closed, listening to night sounds.]

NARRATOR (V-O):
Season one’s lesson: grace isn’t the encore — it’s sound check.
If you’re lucky, you get a few good songs, a few good people, and a dog who forgives your deadlines.
That’s enough resurrection for anyone.

[Cradling Morgan in the quiet, Lorenzo switches on the overhead lamp, creating a halo over both. He’s humming softly.]

JESUS (V.O.):
You keep asking for signs, Lorenzo.
Maybe the sign’s that you’re still here to ask.

LORENZO:
I know, I know — one step at a time.

JESUS:
Exactly. One paw print, one verse, one encore you don’t owe anybody.

[Lorenzo giggles under his breath.]

LORENZO:
You always deliver the best punchlines, don’t You?

JESUS:
That’s what they tell Me.

[Pause. A star shoots across the sky.]

[Camera drifts upward — sky, stars, porchlight in distance, fading to black.]

SCENE 101:
***MUSICAL NUMBER: “Better Than I Prayed For”***

[END OF SEASON 1]

Better Than I Prayed For

(Performed by: Cheap Whiskey, in the style of Steven Tyler)

Was aiming for thirty pounds, wound up seventy down
Who knew heartbreak could clean out the whole damn house?
Six plumbers later, I nearly gave up on that leak
You showed up with a chisel and said,
“Kid, this is gonna be sweet!”

I was just asking for a little peace
You provided something way more divine
Was supposed to just stretch my back
You straightened my whole damn spi-i-ine

Chorus:
No guilt -- no shame!
Just the quiet in my bones
Didn’t need all their applause
Didn’t need to feel alone
No guilt -- no shame!
That’s the miracle I got
Better than I prayed for
Better than I thought

Better than I prayed for
You outdid my little dreams
Didn’t even know I was starving
‘Til You fed me something clean
Better than I prayed for
That’s the headline, that’s the score
Turns out grace is showing up
When you can’t take no more

I prayed You’d patch that leak
You built an entire new floor
I asked for just a little peace
And there you were at my door
I thought I’d settled all my debts
With years of compromise
Had no idea the best of me
Was still about to rise

Bridge:
Didn’t even know to ask You
Didn’t even dare to dream
That the wreckage I was living in
Wasn’t everything it seemed

Chorus:
No guilt -- no shame!
Just the quiet in my bones
Didn’t need all their approval
Didn’t need to feel alone

No guilt -- no shame!
That’s the miracle I got
Better than I prayed for
Better than I thought

Oh, sweet mercy -- hoo -- look what you done did
Blew my roof off, baby -- scatta-dat-daaaah

Final Chorus:
Better than I prayed for
You blew my plans apart
Better than I prayed for
You healed my crooked heart
Didn’t know to ask You
For the peace You had in store
Turns out grace was better
Better than I prayed for

Outro:
I thought my last good days
Were buried in the floor
Turns out grace was better
Better than I prayed for

Mmm -- Hallejuah -- yeah, yeah, ooooo
Better than I -- ever -- prayed foooor!