Pitch:

Once upon a time, Ken Allen played the famous, fictional superspy Jove Brand and nearly killed the franchise. The series recovered from the failure. Ken didn’t.

When the current Jove Brand is murdered, Ken is framed as the prime suspect. To clear his name and avoid prison, Ken must become Jove Brand for real.

He faces Chinese film moguls, Russian oligarchs, and the dowager queen of the Jove Brand series, all of whom dwell in elaborate lairs and will do anything to secure the rights to the multibillion-dollar franchise – even if it means killing off everyone who played the role, including Ken.

JOVE BRAND IS NEAR DEATH is the adventurous sibling of Lee Goldberg’s TRUE FICTION that frequents the same haunts as Kellye Garrett’s HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE.

Excerpt:

I was waiting in the wings, staring out at a live studio audience with seven million viewers behind them, and like everything that had ever happened to me worth mentioning it was because of Near Death.

I looked good for my age, trim in my salmon blazer over a baby blue button-up and wide brushed-watercolor tie. This get-up was forever tied to Ken Allen, on the bare fringe of pop culture I occupied. For all intents and purposes, I was born in this outfit and had no doubt I would be buried in it. At least the jacket hid the wet patches under my arms. I reminded myself to breathe as the opening monologue stumbled towards doom. The producers had seen this coming. You didn’t keep Beautiful Downtown Burbank on the air for thirty years without preparing for the worst.

Which was why they dug me up. If there was one thing I was good at, it was taking the hit. The two men on stage needed saving, and I was the perfect sacrifice.