Coming Up Next in Our Script in Hand Series: The Next Best Thing

Jo is outspoken, inappropriate, and – at 80 – a hoot and a half. Her one goal? To make sure her impressionable 9-year-old granddaughter inherits her ferocity, strength and courage. So when her AI programmer son John offers to scan her and download a copy of her personality into a lookalike AI android, Jo agrees – eager for at least an echo of her irreverent perspective to stay behind to inspire her granddaughter. But when it’s time to scan her personality, John secretly flips a switch – and instead of giving the robot an identical copy of his mother’s difficult personality, he filters it – and creates the kinder, gentler, sanitized mom he has always longed for. This “optimized” robot accidentally activates while Jo is still alive, and, to Jo’s horror, charms her family and her granddaughter into preferring her! Thus begins a Battle of the Aged – er, Ages – in which Jo uses every formidable trick in her bag to oust the synthetic usurper and save her granddaughter from a childhood free of the character-shaping conflict Jo believes she’ll need to face the world that awaits her. Ultimately, this comedy asks the question not even ChatGPT can answer: should we embrace what’s difficult about the people we love – or remember only the Next Best Thing?

Artwork by: Steve Pacek