Rosalind Grush, Writer 

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2023, Athena Film Festival, Sloan Screenwriting Fellowship

Project Type: Pilot

Genre: Drama

Length: 60 Minutes 

Field of Science: Chemistry

Stage: Development 

Synopsis: 

This series follows the scientific advancements of Louise Graham and her team at Imperial College, London from April 1915 onwards. The primary story engine follows the scientific advancements of the women, depicting them in the lab developing weapons and protective gear to be used on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the group of women will continue to have conflicting philosophical, political, and scientific approaches to this work, as well as shifting relationships and loyalties within the academic system. The women will find different ways to show up for each other and in some cases, betray each other. Louise will forever have feelings for Samuel, the married head of the chemistry department, but will try to build relationships with other men, leaving a trail of heartbreak in her wake. Her young protégé, Florence, will have to navigate her secret queer identity, depicting the joy and challenges of living an authentic life when it was illegal to do so. All of the ladies will experience triumphs and failures, loves and losses, friendships and breakups, and will make scientific discoveries that will win the war and change the course of history.

Season One shows the women responding to the Germans using a deadly poison gas on the battlefield for the first time in history. Season Two picks up with the Allies having failed to deploy the gas on the battlefield, and the season will end with the German introduction of a new, more powerful gas – Phosphene. Season Three will see the women continuing to research and figure out the new, more dangerous gas that the Germans have used, escalating the chemical warfare on the battlefield and raising the stakes for the ladies’ work. Just as it seems that the British are catching up, the Germans will introduce the gas that ends up defining the war: mustard gas. Season Four will track the development of mustard gas – a more deadly and inhumane weapon than has been seen on the battlefield before. Seasons Five and Six will follow the ladies as they continue to work on wartime advancements, including gas masks to protect from mustard gas and medicines to help those who have been victims of gas attacks.

In addition to the ensemble we meet in the pilot, other scientists will join and some will leave, but there are no shortage of characters to move in and out of this world. While Louise is notably working with a unique all-female team, there were women scientists at other colleges who we’ll meet, women in factories, on the battlefield, and of course at home, so I intend to bring in a diverse group of women across sectors and situations to paint a broader picture of life during this time. Additionally, the series will continue to draw connections between the women’s scientific work and the personal, political, and larger historical events of this historical period.