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. Everyone’s buzzing except Lorenzo, who looks like he’s leaving Earth. Morgan trembles in her crate by the stairwell.]

LORENZO (Voice-Over):
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.]

CASEY (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.]

CASEY (V.O.):
Season one’s lesson: grace isn’t the encore — it’s sound check.

KAT (V.O.):
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!