TERI BAYUS

WRITING INVENTORY

All ideas are copyrighted and WGA registered.

Television:

H.O.A.©

60 minute- Streaming

Comps: Better Call Saul, Barry, & Community

Logline: A reclusive hitman tries to leave his violent past behind by disappearing into a quiet desert suburb—until the petty tyranny of the HOA awakens old instincts, and he begins picking off neighbors who violate the rules… one trash bin at a time.

Series Description: HOA is a twisted mystery-comedy-drama set in a sunbaked California desert community where the grass is fake, the neighbors are nosy, and the HOA rules are sacrosanct. Behind the stucco walls and smiling faces lies a simmering paranoia because residents keep dying in suspiciously poetic ways, each one seemingly punished for violating the community’s sacred CC&Rs.

No one knows who’s behind the murders. But while the bodies pile up, one man—an ex-hitman turned reclusive homeowner- is trying very hard not to be noticed. Trouble is, he’s finding it harder and harder to resist the urge to “clean up” the neighborhood, one HOA infraction at a time.

While the local park ranger (who takes her job very seriously) digs into the mystery, the neighborhood’s tight-knit lunacy spirals into absurdity. HOA is a sharp, satirical blend of suburban noir and moral gray zones, where the line between justice and madness is as thin as the community’s approved window treatments.

Status: Pilot and Series Bible Created

Fork & Fable ©

60 minute- Streaming

Comps: Aly McBeal, IZombie, & Once Upon A Time

Logline: Every dish tells a story. Every story leads him closer to the truth.

Series Description: A world-weary food critic begins seeing traces of fairy tales in the restaurants he reviews—and with each bite, he’s pulled deeper into a surreal culinary quest to understand his past, his purpose, and the recipe for a life fully lived.

After two decades of chasing stars and headlines, Roy has seen it all, or so he thinks. But when he starts experiencing strange, fairy tale-like visions during his restaurant reviews, his world takes a surreal turn. Hidden behind the foie gras and fusion menus are enchanted truths, mysterious histories, and a cast of characters who feel ripped from storybooks… or maybe his subconscious.

With each restaurant visit (and Roy insists on three before writing), we dive into a new parable wrapped in fine dining, exploring the magic behind the meals and the secrets of those who serve them. Along the way, Roy begins to collect a group of eccentric allies, a psychic sommelier, a waitress with a Grimm past, a sous-chef who speaks in riddles, each of whom might hold a clue to why reality is shifting around him.

Part foodie fantasy, part existential mystery, and part modern fable, this episodic dramedy stirs together magical realism, emotional depth, and mouthwatering escapism. As Roy searches for meaning in dishes and dreams, he’s not just reviewing restaurants. He’s rewriting his own story.

Episodes include: Little Red Riding Food (a charcuterie shop run by a grandma and granddaughter), Hansel and Gretel (a bakery owned by a brother and a sister), Three Little Pigs (a BBQ joint owned by three brothers), and Cinderella (a restaurant owned by a stepmother and her daughters).

 Status: Pilot and Series Bible Created

DELMAR STATION©

30 minute- Streaming

Comps- Cheers, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Ted Lasso

Logline: After a messy divorce leaves her with an unexpected prize—a gritty Rock & Roll bar in Reno—a fiercely determined single mom juggles the chaos of parenthood, a wild nightlife scene, and rebuilding her identity one shot at a time.

Series Description: Presley didn’t plan on running a bar, but life had other ideas. Fresh off a divorce and full of fire, she finds herself the new owner of a raucous rock-and-roll dive bar in Reno, Nevada. By day, she’s managing homework, lunch boxes, and school drop-offs. By night, she’s dealing with rowdy regulars, broken bands, and the ghosts of the bar’s wild past.

With a loyal but unpredictable crew, including the bar’s salty former owner, a bartender with a checkered past, a cocktail waitress with big dreams, and a bouncer who’s seen it all, Presley’s world is messy, loud, and full of heart.

At its core, the show is a raw, funny, and empowering look at second chances, found family, and the rock-and-roll spirit that helps us survive—and thrive—when life goes off-script.  This show is R-rated and will have episodes, including- The Dead Girl On The Toilet. Exotic Erotic Ball, Last Night With The Tigers. Blowjob On My Break, Ghostbusters, The Dead Guy In The Van.

Status: Pilot and Series Bible Created

Grandma Undercover©

• Format:30-minute multi-cam or hybrid sitcom
• Target Audience:Kids 6–11 & family co-viewing
• Tone:Whimsical, clever, heartwarming
• Visual Style:Bright and playful with stylized “spy mode” sequences
• Core Cast:
  • Grandma:A warm, slightly mysterious figure with a love for old-fashioned hobbies.
  • The Cousins:A group of diverse, energetic kids (ages 5–9) who each bring unique spy “skills”.
  • Parents/Neighbors:Occasionally appear as clueless adults or accidental “villains” in the spy adventures.

Synopsis: When a group of curious kids spend afternoons with their quirky grandma, their imaginations explode into wild adventures, because to them, Grandma isn’t just gardening or going to the post office… she’s running top-secret missions. While Grandma goes about her very normal day, the kids dive into full-blown spy thrillers, convinced they’re unraveling a mystery only they can solve.

Series Description: Grandma Undercover is a 30-minute family sitcom that blends everyday life with wild kid-powered fantasy. Each episode follows a group of young cousins who turn ordinary moments with their sweet but eccentric grandma into high-stakes espionage adventures. Whether she’s knitting, mailing a package, or heading to bingo, the kids are sure she’s secretly a spy—and they’re determined to crack the case.

Every episode features two parallel storylines:

• The A-storyfollows the kids’ over-the-top imagined mission, complete with secret codes, disguises, booby traps, and “spy gear.”
• The B-storyreveals the hilariously mundane reality of Grandma’s actual day, full of charming, real-life wisdom and classic grandparent behavior.

Told through a fast-paced mix of live-action comedy and imagination-fueled sequences, the show celebrates creativity, curiosity, and intergenerational bonds. It’s Rugrats meets Spy Kids with a dash of Bluey-style heart.

Status: Pilot in Editing

UNCLE JERRY’S ZOO©

60 minute- Streaming

Comps: This Is Us, Durrell’s of Corfu, 6-Feet Under & Schitt’s Creek

Logline: After the death of a reclusive uncle who lived with 5,000 animals, his estranged family must piece together the life he kept hidden, cutting between the absurd chaos of his estate in the 1990s and the quiet tragedy of a closeted gay man navigating 1950s America.

Series Description: Uncle Jerry’s Zoo is a darkly funny, deeply human dramedy told across two timelines—the vibrant absurdity of the 1990s and the repressive conformity of the 1950s. At its center is Jerry, a gentle, fiercely private man who devoted his life to animals while hiding his identity from the world, especially his own family.

In the 1990s, Jerry’s sudden death left behind a bizarre legacy: a rural compound overflowing with exotic animals and decades of secrets. As his mismatched relatives descend on his property to sort out his estate, they’re forced into a reluctant reunion, navigating grief, guilt, and five thousand living, breathing reminders of the man they never really knew.

Flashing back to the 1950s, we follow a younger Jerry building his sanctuary while carefully masking his truth in a world that refused to see him. His story is one of quiet resistance and profound loneliness, exploring what it costs to survive by hiding,      and what’s left behind when a life is lived only half out loud.

With sharp wit, emotional depth, and flashes of surrealism, Uncle Jerry’s Zoo is a meditation on shame, love, legacy, and the families we’re born into—and the ones we build in spite of them.

Status: Pilot in Editing

THE CONFERENCE©

30 minute- Streaming

Comps: Community, Night Court & The Bold Type

Logline: Every year, a chaotic team of underpaid dreamers and overqualified weirdos assembles to plan a beloved writers’ conference, facing fanatical attendees, literary egos, and relentless college administrators who want to turn passion into profit.

Series Description: The Conference is a fast-paced workplace comedy set behind the scenes of a prestigious—but hilariously underfunded—writers’ conference held at a small liberal arts college. Led by an idealistic director and a jaded volunteer coordinator, each season follows the bumpy road from brainstorming to the big event, as the ragtag staff and ever-rotating advisory committee wrestle with clashing priorities, personal insecurities, and the bizarre business of inspiring writers.

The stakes? Making art matter in a world obsessed with the bottom line. On one side: dreamers who believe in building community and giving scholarships to every underdog with a pen. On the other: a passive-aggressive bookkeeper and a college president who want ROI, not TED Talks.

Between Zoom meltdowns, guest-star cameos from fictional (and possibly real) famous writers, and coffee-shop existential crises, the show explores the hilarious, heartfelt chaos of making something beautiful… while just trying to keep the printer working.

Whether its fan worship gone too far, impostor syndrome in the faculty lounge, or a showdown over wine-tasting logistics, The Conference reminds us that creativity is messy, collaboration is messier—and none of it would happen without the volunteers.

Status: WIP

CAPTAIN’S LOG©

30 minute- Streaming

Comps: Shameless, Married With Children & Below The Deck

Logline: After one too many drinks and two decades of parenting burnout, a barely-holding-it-together couple impulsively buys a sailboat to escape their teen-infested home, despite knowing absolutely nothing about sailing, the sea, or each other anymore.

Series Description: Captain’s Log is a raunchy, nautical screwball comedy about love, midlife crisis, and total maritime mayhem. When long-married suburbanites Deb and Cal flee their chaotic household full of hormonal teenagers, they wake up with a hangover and a sailboat. Now floating somewhere between freedom and disaster, they’re determined to rediscover themselves, each other, and the meaning of “port side.”

Each episode features weekly nautical debacles—engine fires, harbor fights, accidental smuggling—plus a rotating crew of misfit characters: crusty fishermen, horny pirates, amateur sailors, and relentless harbor patrol. Along the way, Deb and Cal fall apart and back together again, navigating stormy seas, open relationships, and the occasional emergency flare gun.

Narrated with dry sarcasm and hindsight by three old salts on a bench who open and close every episode with the wisdom that only comes from years of watching idiots crash into buoys— Captain’s Log is part seafaring sitcom, part therapy session, and all glorious shipwreck.

Status: WIP

LILITH©

30 minute- Streaming -dramedy

Comps: P-Valley, South Park, Shameless

Logline: When a strait-laced ad exec takes a gig promoting a luxury topless club, she’s thrust into a wild, glitter-and-grit world of dancers, DJs, and hustlers and discovers that in this business, the real power plays happen offstage.

Series Description: Lillith is a fearless 30-minute streaming dramedy that dives behind the velvet ropes of the strip club industry, where money talks, bodies sell, and everyone’s got a side hustle. The story kicks off when Kate, a buttoned-up marketing pro with something to prove, is hired to spearhead the grand opening of “Silk,” a new high-end gentlemen’s club trying to go legit while staying profitable.

What starts as a temporary job turns into an unexpected education as Kate collides with a cast of sharp-tongued dancers, burned-out bouncers, savvy club managers, and the unfiltered underworld that makes it all tick. With humor, heart, and plenty of chaos, Lillith explores the messy, empowering, and often hilarious lives of the people who work the poles, protect the doors, and run the books.

Underneath the champagne and stage lights is a story about survival, self-worth, and the blurred line between selling a fantasy and living one. Think P-Valley meets Shameless, with a dash of South Park-style commentary—raunchy, real, and ready to make it rain.

Status: Pilot Created

Screenplays for Feature Films:

TRADITIONS©

Comps: Cheaper By The Dozen, Four Christmases, & Almost Christmas

Description: In this heartwarming and hilariously chaotic musical comedy, one wildly blended family tries and fails spectacularly to create the perfect Christmas. Spanning four consecutive holiday seasons, this modern family, complete with biological children, stepchildren, and adopted siblings, embarks on a series of increasingly outrageous attempts to create their own traditions. From desert road trips to snowed-in cabins, goat yoga to mid-flight Christmas carols, each year ends in disaster and dysfunction, but never without a show-stopping musical number.

Through the laughter, bickering, and busted gingerbread houses, the family keeps searching for what Christmas should look like. But it’s only in the final year, when their beloved, strong-willed matriarch falls ill, that the family finally comes together, discovering that Christmas isn’t about the setting, the plan, or the Pinterest board. It’s about showing up for each other, messy and all.

Full of music, misadventure, and mistletoe, this film is a joyful celebration of what happens when love leads the way and how even the most mismatched crew can find harmony, one imperfect Christmas at a time.

Status: Finished

HOOKAH©

Comps: Cheaper By The Dozen, American Pie & Goonies

Logline: In a desperate bid to get their screen-obsessed parents to actually listen, a group of sharp-witted teens launch a full-blown storytelling rebellion, armed with wild pranks, heartfelt tales, and one ancient family hookah that might just bring everyone back to the same table.

Description: Hookah is a nostalgic, hilarious, and heartfelt coming-of-age comedy about one group of teens fighting to be seen in a world glued to screens. Tired of being background noise in their own homes, these smart, scrappy kids band together to pull off a series of bold, comedic stunts, all designed to pull their parents away from social media, streaming shows, and non-stop scrolling.

At the center of it all? The family’s old hookah—once a symbol of gathering, storytelling, and shared culture—now a dusty relic collecting cobwebs in the garage. The teens decide to revive it as a secret clubhouse of sorts, where each gathering becomes a storytelling mission: sometimes outrageous, sometimes raw, always unforgettable.

What starts as a prank war turns into a heartfelt movement as parents and kids slowly rediscover each other, not through posts or filters, but through eye contact, laughter, and stories passed from mouth to mouth like smoke through water.

Blending the mischief of The Goonies, the family chaos of Cheaper by the Dozen, and the awkward honesty of American Pie, Hookah is a love letter to face-to-face connection in a world that’s forgotten how to look up.

Optioned in 2001 by Revelations, it reverted to my ownership in 2011.

Status: Finished but requires updates.

Change Of Heart©

Comps: Cars, Toy Story & Wild Robot

Logline: When a mismatched group of sentient coins and bills escapes a child’s piggy bank, they embark on an epic journey to find their “maker”, dodging danger, questioning their worth, and discovering what it really means to have value beyond the numbers.

Movie Description: Change of Heart is a high-energy, heartwarming animated comedy that brings money to life—literally. In a world where currency has personalities shaped by denomination, use, and age, a quirky group of bills and coins finds themselves thrust into the great unknown after a child breaks open their piggy bank. United by a shared belief in a mythical “maker” who gave them purpose, they set out on a daring quest to return to their origins and maybe find meaning along the way.

From vending machines and laundromats to Vegas casinos and underground collectors, the team navigates a world where humans unknowingly worship them, and where every transaction is a brush with destiny. But standing in their way is a relentless Fort Knox agent hell-bent on removing them from circulation—and erasing their existence for good.

As romance blooms between incompatible denominations and philosophical questions bubble beneath the surface (“Are we only worth what’s printed on us?”). The group must rely on luck, logic, and their ability to influence the humans around them to stay united. With comedy, action, and emotional resonance, Change of Heart turns the concept of money on its head, exploring self-worth, identity, and the price we put on everything, especially ourselves.

Status: WIP 

Final Draft©

Comps: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Barton Fink & Dogma

Logline:  A struggling screenwriter stumbles into the ultimate Hollywood secret: the film industry is the last battleground of purgatory, where God champions indie cinema and the Devil runs the studios, and the only way to survive is to write his own redemption arc.

Movie Description: In Final Draft, a darkly comedic, high-concept satire, an idealistic screenwriter searching for meaning in a soul-crushing industry discovers the truth behind the curtain: Hollywood isn’t just a machine—it’s purgatory itself. Heaven and Hell have staked their claims on the heart of cinema. The Devil bankrolls the blockbusters through sleek studio deals and empty spectacle, while God and his misfit angels quietly nurture indie films in coffee shops, dive bars, and dusty festival circuits.

With only a beat-up script and an old kinesiology manual, the screenwriter begins using muscle testing—a technique meant to reveal spiritual truth—to uncover who’s still got a soul, and who’s already been bought. As his journey takes him through agents possessed by ego, actors stuck in limbo, and auteurs anointed by divine insight, he’s forced to confront the truth about his own creative compromises and what kind of storyteller he really is.

Surreal, satirical, and strangely hopeful, Final Draft is a metaphysical exploration of art, ambition, and moral choice in an industry built on illusion. It asks: in a town where everyone is pretending to be someone else… how do you find the truth?

Status: WIP 

Motion Denied©

Comps: The Verdict, Dark Waters, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Logline: After surviving a brutal assault at a rock concert, a middle-aged man embarks on a decades-long legal odyssey to hold his attacker accountable, only to find himself trapped in a surreal, broken justice system where delay is the ultimate weapon.

Description: Motion Denied is a gripping, true-story courtroom drama that exposes the maddening flaws of the American legal system through one man’s relentless pursuit of justice. When he is viciously assaulted and nearly killed at a rock concert in the early 1970s, the case seems simple, until it enters the legal labyrinth that defines civil and bankruptcy law in America.

Spanning 30 years, the film follows the victim’s tireless efforts to bring his attacker to justice, only to be repeatedly stonewalled by procedural loopholes, intentional delays, and systemic apathy. What begins as a personal quest becomes a scathing indictment of a system designed to exhaust the very people it claims to protect.

As the case becomes the longest-running civil and bankruptcy lawsuit in U.S. history, the film highlights the emotional toll of legal purgatory and the absurd theater of American justice, where truth matters less than timing, and closure is a privilege, not a right.

With sharp performances, dark irony, and real-world weight, Motion Denied is a powerful call for reform and a moving story of endurance against a system designed to wear people down.

Status: WIP

Fiction Novels:

CONSUMED©

Description: Consumed is a decadent erotic journey where passion is plated, and desire is always on the menu.

When Nadailia opens her dream farm-to-table restaurant, she’s focused on seasonal ingredients, sustainable practices, and staying in control, until she hires Dylan, a dangerously talented chef whose mastery in the kitchen is only rivaled by his appetite for indulgence. What begins with a taste quickly becomes an obsession, as each course he prepares seduces her senses and challenges her restraint.

Their relationship simmers between slow-braised intimacy and white-hot lust, unfolding across candlelit tastings, wine-drenched confessions, and after-hours encounters that blur the line between pleasure and power. As their connection deepens, Nadailia must decide whether she’s willing to lose herself in the feast—or take control of the fire.

Consumed is a sensual tale of food, flesh, and the hunger that drives us, set in the tantalizing world of high-end dining, where every flavor tells a story… and every touch leaves a craving.

Available on Amazon, Itunes, IngramSpark, and B&N

THE GREATEST OF EASE©

Description: In this bold, semi-autobiographical roman à clef, a restless twenty-something woman escapes the suffocating grip of her chaotic upbringing and dives headfirst into the wild, seductive world of the traveling circus in 1980.

Drawn by the danger of the trapeze and the promise of reinvention under the big top, she trades safety for spectacle—surrounding herself with misfits, performers, and lovers who live life on the edge. As she navigates tented cities, high-flying acrobatics, and midnight affairs, she begins shedding the expectations of who she should be, in favor of who she dares to become.

Raw, sensual, and unapologetically honest, this is a coming-of-age story wrapped in sequins and smoke. Beneath the glittering chaos, one woman learns to own her body, her voice, and her desire—no matter how many times she must fall before she learns to fly.

Available on Amazon, Itunes, IngramSpark and B&N

SOUS VIDE©

Description: Sous-vide is a sumptuous erotic romance where passion simmers across continents, and every meal is a love letter written in flavor.

When Olivia, a rising star in San Francisco’s culinary scene, meets James, a brooding English chef carving his place in Paris, their connection is instant, intoxicating, undeniable, and dangerously delicious. Over candlelit dinners and stolen moments in kitchens and markets, they fall into a long-distance affair fueled by longing, lust, and the shared language of food.

But just as their love deepens, a mysterious betrayal shatters their fragile trust. Believing they’ve been abandoned, both retreat into the silence of heartbreak—until fate, and an unexpected twist of vengeance, brings them back to the table.

Set against the backdrop of Michelin-starred meals and smoky after-hours kitchens, Sous-vide is a sensual journey of reconnection and redemption, where revenge is served hot, and love, like any perfect recipe, is always worth the wait.

Status: First Draft Done

Nonfiction:

THE UNIVERSAL CONSPIRACY©

How I Made the Universe My Business Partner

Book Description: What if the universe wasn’t working against you—or even with you—but for you?
This isn’t your typical self-help book. It’s part memoir, part manifesto, and part how-to guide for anyone who’s ever wondered if they were meant for more but didn’t know where to start.

In The Universal Conspiracy, entrepreneur and survivor Teri Bayus shares the unfiltered story of a life lived with radical trust in the unknown. Over 30 years, she owned 28 businesses, raised six foster children, and survived the unimaginable loss of a son. Through it all, one unshakable belief remained: the universe is conspiring in your favor even when it doesn’t look like it.

This book is a raw and real roadmap for how to turn chaos into clarity, heartbreak into hope, and wild dreams into reality. Written in bite-sized, no-BS sections, you can dive in wherever you need a jolt of inspiration—whether you’re rebuilding after tragedy, starting over at 40, or simply stuck at the starting line.

Filled with hard-won wisdom, humor, practical tools, and deeply personal stories, The Universal Conspiracy invites you to rewrite your narrative and make the universe your co-conspirator.

Status: First Draft Done- In Editing

Children’s Books (Co-Authored with my Grands)

HOW DOES YOUR DADDY BLOW©

It’s a funny look at how different men sneeze.

NEVER ALPHABET BOOK©

It is an illustrated, silly animal alphabet book about what you should NEVER do to animals.

FUN WITH POTTY WORDS©

A little girl travels to San Francisco and learns about funny potty words.

 
PEANUTS ADVENTURES©

A stuffed Polar Bear goes on wild adventures, and his girl misses him.

This children’s book is paired with the adult book below.

THAT F*&KING BEAR©

This is a hilarious look into the most precious of toys, the stuffed animal, and how it keeps going missing.  It shows the lengths the family will go to return the Bear.