A washed up musician has to try to adjust to his waning fame and the pervasive thought that he may have lived a life full of regrets, while still milking his fame for whatever money he can get.

Michael Vernon

Michael Vernon is the lead singer of the band Eksplode and they were pretty famous for a while a few decades ago. Now he’s old, has lost his once luscious mane, and his fame wanes. With the failure of the band’s most recent album he has come to realize that he has no other skills and barely has the skills he needs to maintain his current occupation. He’s a little bit worried about his future.

Dex Rico

Dex Rico is the real reason for Eksplode’s successes. He is the band’s bass player, but he also provides vocals on a lot of tracks, and has written all of their most popular singles (with the exception of “Pet My Rock Snake” which was all Mike). In a lot of ways, Mike is jealous of Dex, but can’t hate him because Dex is the only person who is unwaveringly nice to him.

Callie Vitale

Callie is Mike’s love-child, who turned up recently because she was curious about her father. Once she met Mike, she was satisfied and tried to go back to her own life, but now Mike makes too much effort to hang around with Callie, as she could be the only good thing he’s ever done.

Mona Puncher

Mona is the band’s manager, and she means business. She wants the band to succeed, but she isn’t delusional about their situation. She has been trying to get Dex to put together some solo albums, but still has to coddle Mike to prevent him from having a breakdown or whatever. It’s annoying, but she cares just enough about Mike to go through with the effort.

Lefty Thompkins

Lefty is Eksplode’s biggest fan, and the head of their road crew. He’d do anything to please the band, and Mike takes full advantage of that.

I picture that this would be one of those shows that follows the characters as if it were a documentary, because there would be a documentary being filmed about the band as a way Mike hopes to make some additional money.

In the cybertechnotopia known as Network City, the crew of a radio station stuggle to keep the place going in spite of slipping ratings and the fact they are all weirdos.

Eugene White

Eugene is the station manager. Eugene doesn’t even really want to work at the Network City Radio, as its been nothing but a source of stress for him for years. But he needs money and has few other options. He is the type who would sell over anyone for a quick buck, and is prone to lying and get rich quick schemes that always end in disaster.

Clark Knight

Clark is the station’s most famous on-air personality. His duclet voice is beloved by listeners and Clark has a swelled ego because he knows how famous he is. He is constantly demanding special treatment, and usually gets it because the station can’t afford to lose him.

Nellie Neilson

Nellie works for Eugene to try to keep things running, but she’s also trying to get a career started as a journalist. She is much more interested in making Network City Radio a respectable business than a profitable one, and that causes friction with Eugene. She also hates to admit it, but she has a crush on Clark.

Ace Audio

Ace is the station’s head of technology and has cybernetic implants that let him control technology. This gives him a lot of power in the station, and he craves more, but he is a coward who will often bend to the whims of those with more personality. Don’t feel too bad for him, though. Any time things go his way even a little, he starts to act like a real jerk. He has also been sleeping in a secret room in the station so he doesn’t have to pay for an apartment.

If there’s one thing I know about sitcoms, it’s that radio stations are a prime setting for them. It worked for Frasier and Newsradio and WKRP in Cincinatti. Setting my show in Network City not only gives it a premise I am sure hasn’t been done, but also shows how I can still use my sitcoms to flesh out these fictional universes I’ve been building up over the years.