Note: This project is in development as a live-action series using practical FX. The included illustrations serve as character and tone concept art.

Comic-style illustration of ten people entangled in a large web with the title 'Frankie's Place' in bright green neon letters and the phrase 'Oh, what a tangled web!' at the top. Created by Michael Derry.

Green neon illustration of a cocktail glass with three eyeballs inside and a drink stirrer, emitting a green glow.

At Silver Lake's Hottest Monster Bar, Frankie, a nice-guy Frankenstein's monster, and his found family of supernatural outcasts navigate love, sex, and the everyday horrors of modern life, discovering that the real monsters aren't always the ones with fangs.

Michael Derry is an award-winning pop artist, cartoonist, and storyteller best known for Troy Comics, the popular gay comic strip that appeared in LGBTQ+ publications worldwide from 1998 to 2013. His animated Troy short screened at film festivals all over the world and has amassed more than 800,000 views on YouTube.

Michael's connection to bar culture began at his grandfather's tavern, Mary's Place—one of Rockford's oldest live music venues—and the inspiration for Frankie's Place. He spent over 10 years bartending in clubs in Chicago and West Hollywood, experiences that shaped the series' nightlife and larger-than-life characters.

Michael has contributed to projects including Baz Luhrmann's Netflix series The Get Down and the award-winning animated feature Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-Shero. He now reunites with producer Anthony Hand to bring Frankie's Place to life.

A live-action love letter to classic practical creature effects, blending the workplace comedy of What We Do in the Shadows with the tactile, puppet-driven charm of Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Located at the apex of a winding road in Silver Lake, CA, Frankie’s Place hides in plain sight. The monsters who work and play there live openly, but this being Silver Lake, they generally blend in and go completely unnoticed by the locals.

Although modest on the outside, the inside of the bar is an interdimensional paradox, constantly reshaping itself due to an interdimensional portal in one of the restroom stalls. Surprised beings from other realms frequently stumble through.

Overlooking the bar is a sprawling old mansion that was converted into apartments long ago. Home to many of the bar's employees and regulars, the house serves as the center of the characters' personal lives, where friendships, romances, rivalries, and supernatural shenanigans continue long after last call.

But the ultimate mystery is brewing inside owner Frankie himself. Thanks to a new brain implant, he can see and communicate with the souls of the people whose body parts make up his body. Determined to become a hero, Frankie makes it his mission to help these spirits find closure and move on. When one of those spirits leads Frankie to a series of grisly, unsolved murders, he discovers that someone, or someones, inside him may be at the center of it all.

Cartoon city scene with giant monster, flying bats, and distressed pedestrians amid collapsed cars and damaged buildings.

MONSTERS LIVE AMONG US!

And always have. It just used to be a lot easier to hide!

Since the rise of cable news and social media, their existence has become a hotly debated topic. Are they visitors from other realms? Proof of Hell and the Afterlife? Or simply a mass delusion fueled by government conspiracies?

Having none of the answers, our monsters are just trying to get by.

Animated illustration of a diverse group of people, including a witch, a zombie, a demon, and others, taking a selfie together in front of a sign that says "Frankie’s Place." The characters have exaggerated features and vibrant colors, creating a playful and spooky atmosphere.

Frankie, a Frankenstein's monster, his ex Bianca, and their business partner Chuck are the co-owners of Frankie's Place, Silver Lake's Hottest Monster Bar and a Safe Space For Monsters.

Regulars include bartender Diego, newly-out werewolf Jimmy, social-media obsessed witch Tammy, and a revolving portal of colorful creatures.

Cartoon man with dark hair, two different colored eyes, holding a cocktail with an eyeball decoration in one hand and a silver spray bottle in the other, smiling, wearing a green t-shirt reading "Frankie'S PLACE," dark pants, dark shoes, green glow background.

Frankenstein’s Monster

Titular owner and operator of Frankie's Place.

Literally assembled from people of every race and ethnicity, Frankie is the ultimate American everyman.

Friendly, loyal, and earnest, he considers his employees and customers family.

After receiving a cutting-edge brain implant from his creator, Frankie gains the ability to control his monster rages, form complete sentences, and hold a thought in his head for more than five seconds. He hopes that his new emotional control will help him win back the love of his ex “bride,” Bianca.

Cartoon woman with purple hair and glasses holding a steaming plate of brain-shaped food, wearing a red T-shirt with 'Frankie's Place' and jeans, standing against a dark green background.

Frankenstein’s Monster

Co-owner/Manager of Frankie’s Place.

Highly intelligent, ambitious, and slightly jaded, she is resentful of the fact that she was created to be the bride of a monster who, until very recently, had the IQ of a teenage gorilla.

If Frankie is the rough draft, Bianca is their creator’s “perfect” experiment. Comprised of only two women—a head and a body—her only visible flaw is the scar encircling her neck, which she hides with a tattoo.

Suffering from “Internalized Monster Phobia” (which she insists is not a thing), she is enrolled at CULA to find a cure for her “affliction”—the fact that she is an undead monster.

A cartoon-style drawing of a smiling man with reddish hair, wearing a black leather jacket, maroon shirt, and blue jeans, sitting on a black motorcycle with flames painted on the fuel tank, against a dark background with red glow.

Vampire

Co-Owner/Some-time manager of Frankie’s Place.

Turned in 1954 at age 24, Chuck is "The Eternal Boomer."

Hopelessly out of date, he dresses and acts like a greaser from The Outsiders and still thinks The Fonz is cool.

The self-proclaimed "Idea Man," Chuck has an annoying habit of dumping his responsibilities on Frankie and Bianca—most recently including disposal of their former barback's body.

Of said barback, Chuck observed: "I think he must've been part faerie. Tripped my balls off!"

A drawing of a young man with blond hair, wearing a blue t-shirt that says "Frankie's Place" and blue jeans, standing beside a large anthropomorphic wolf with blue eyes, sharp teeth, and muscular build, both set against a dark red background.

Werewolf

The new bar-back at Frankie’s Place.

“Fresh Meat,” a twenty-something, corn-fed, gay Midwestern boy from Kansas.

A newly out werewolf fleeing a repressive, religious upbringing, Jimmy instantly falls for Frankie's Place’s gorgeous demon bartender, Diego, and suddenly feels like a kid let loose in the candy store in this beautiful, terrifying new world.

A cartoon illustration of a muscular demon character with blue skin, horns, bat-like wings, and a tail. The demon is wearing a purple tank top with 'Freaks Place' written on it, ripped denim shorts, and purple sneakers. The background is dark with a purple-blue glow around the demon.

Digital illustration of a woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, smiling and holding a pink smartphone, surrounded by a neon pink glowing outline of a cat with a raised paw, against a black background. She wears a black T-shirt reading "Frankie's PLACE" and pink pants.

Blue Demon

THE hot bartender at Frankie’s Place

Loved by customers and staff, he is supremely sweet natured with a lazy, Valley-Boy drawl. The "muscle mary” who isn’t ashamed of crying during Steel Magnolias.

Witch

Waitress at Frankie’s Place and social influencer.

Upbeat, friendly, and optimistic with pink, sparkly magic. Tammy is more powerful than she understands, which often leads to pink, sparkly chaos.

Mummy

Singer/performer/narrator at Frankie’s Place, a raunchy, wise-cracking, ancient Egyptian drag queen, and local monster celebrity.

Zombie

The “Norm”/”Morn” of Frankie’s Place. Sits on a stool while flies buzz about. Prone to outbursts of speed and agility in the presence of brains, which is rather infrequent.

Animated characters at a bar, including a woman with glasses, a tattoo, and a 'Frankie QuQ' t-shirt, a mummy-like woman with jewelry and a party hat, a man in green with a drink, and a zombie in the background, cartoon style.

Like Frankenstein's monster itself, Frankie's Place is a mash-up of genres, influences, and filmmaking techniques. In the spirit of its B-movie inspirations, the monsters are brought to life through practical effects, animatronics, puppets, and old-school movie magic.

Music is woven into the fabric of the series, with Destiny and her band, Destiny's Spawn, serving as a funky, undead Greek chorus whose performances entertain, comment on the action, and help shape the atmosphere of Frankie's Place.

The action and dialogue are fast-paced, sharp, and funny. The humor is biting, satirical, and occasionally gushing blood. While Frankie's Place is a comedy first and foremost, its characters are genuine, likable, and relatable in their own unique and horrific ways. These creatures may be undead monsters, but they are all searching for the same things: love, connection, purpose, and a place to belong.

Cartoon illustration of four humans and a blue demon with horns and wings, all dressed casually, posing together in a colorful, party-like background.

We live in chaotic, uncertain times, where any difference, any sort of otherness, is treated with fear and distrust. Like all great genre fiction, Frankie’s Place uses its characters and setting to explore socially relevant issues through humor and sharp-toothed satire.

As a soap opera, themes of sex, dating, love, relationships, and the neuroses that often accompany them will be front and center.

Identity, belonging, family, social status, addiction, and the everyday horrors of modern life will all be tackled with biting wit and eye-popping visuals.

WHY NOW

In an age of digital effects and algorithm-driven entertainment, Frankie's Place celebrates the joy of practical movie magic.

Built from practical creature effects, horror, comedy, fantasy, romance, and soap-opera drama, Frankie's Place is itself a Frankenstein's monster, stitched together from everything audiences love about genre storytelling.

Funny, scary, romantic, weird, nostalgic, and contemporary all at once, Frankie's Place offers a fresh take on classic movie monsters while exploring timeless questions of identity, love, family, and belonging.

A muscular cartoon character with spiky hair, smiling widely, stands with arms outstretched in front of a green glowing background. The character is wearing gloves, boots, and minimal clothing, and is connected to electrical sparks and lightning in a comic-style depiction, suggesting a powerful or energized state.

A cartoon-style horror scene with a giant spider with multiple eyes and fangs terrorizing a woman wrapped in a thread on a plate, against a dark purple background.

Frankie's Place is a half-hour sitcom, ten episodes per season.

Episodes are serialized, following the evolving relationships, rivalries, romances, and personal struggles of the bar's residents and employees.

While the characters drive the series, the restroom portal provides a limitless supply of outer-realm monsters, cosmic mysteries, and physical mayhem to disrupt the nightly business.

Simultaneously, an overarching arc follows Frankie's secret investigations as he tries to help his donor spirits move on, unraveling a dark mystery at the heart of Frankie’s Place.

Each episode draws inspiration from classic horror, science fiction, fantasy, and soap opera storytelling, packed with Easter eggs galore.

AUDIENCE

Frankie's Place is created for audiences who love horror, fantasy, comics, conventions, cosplay, practical creature effects, and pop culture. The series blends comedy, mystery, romance, and supernatural adventure into something both familiar and completely original.

Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scream, and What We Do in the Shadows, Frankie's Place combines memorable characters, sharp humor, and genre storytelling to cultivate the kind of passionate fandom that supports television series, conventions, collectibles, and repeat viewing.

With an unforgettable monster ensemble, practical creature effects, original music, and expandable world, Frankie's Place is designed to build a passionate fan base with opportunities that extend beyond the screen.

PROOF OF CONCEPT

Frankie's Place is being developed as a live-action proof-of-concept short film designed to showcase the series' unique blend of comedy, horror, practical creature effects, and character-driven storytelling.

Created with independent production in mind, the short will utilize one set, an ensemble cast, practical makeup effects, puppets, animatronics, and selective visual effects to bring its world of monsters to life in a cost-effective and highly distinctive way.

The goal is to demonstrate the tone, visual style, characters, and commercial potential of the larger series while building an audience and generating industry interest.

More than a short film, Frankie's Place is intended to serve as a backdoor pilot—a proof that this strange, funny, heartfelt world can grow into an ongoing television series

Animated band of four characters performing on stage, with a green curtain background. The band includes a green reptilian guitarist, a yellow-green monster with a round head and small arms, a singer with dark hair and blue and gold outfit, and a skeleton keyboard player wearing sunglasses.

Welcome to Frankie's Place, A Safe Space for Monsters. Whether you're a vampire, a werewolf, a witch, a demon, a Frankenstein's monster, or just another soul trying to figure out love, life, and where you belong, last call is just the beginning.

Michael Derry

mike@michaelderrydesigns.com

An award certificate with black laurel branches on each side, the text 'Honorable Mention Bolt 2023,' and a lightning bolt symbol in the center.

The pilot script for “Frankie’s Place” won an Honorable Mention in Bolt’s 2023 screenplay competition.

Support Frankie’s Place on Patreon

Neon sign reading 'Freaky's Place' in bright green neon, with 'Created by Michael Derry' written underneath in small white text.

Download the “Frankie’s Place” PDF