Project Greenlight Digital Studios is planning to put a fresh take on the superhero genre. The producer best known for its work on the TV series Project Greenlight, has announced that Save the World, a sitcom starring deaf actor Dickie Hearts, has earned the top prize in its “See Yourself” filmmaking contest.
See Yourself, which PGDLS launched back in July, is a partnership with LGBTQ-friendly video platform Section II and GLAAD. The goal of the project was to promote the representation of LGBTQ characters in media, and all of the submissions had to be associated with the queer community in some regard.
Ultimately, the team behind See Yourself settled on Save the World as their champion, and if strong representation is their goal, the series they chose is a great pick. It features a crew made up almost entirely of deaf people, and the cast is a diverse mix.
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Despite those fresh qualities, Save the World’s plot is a tried-and-true romantic comedy setup blended with a classic superhero story. Hearts portrays a deaf barista who must woo his favorite customer without ever speaking to him. At the same time, he gains superpowers from a radioactive cup of coffee and must use his newfound powers to fight crime across the city. As we can see in the Save the World pitch videos, Hearts’ protagonist will accomplish those goals with a combination of charm, physical comedy, and sign language.
“GLAAD is proud to have partnered with Project Greenlight Digital Studios and Section II in selecting Dickie Hearts as the recipient of the inaugural SEE YOURSELF production grant for his funny and groundbreaking pitch for ‘Save the World,'” said Ray Bradford, Director of Programs and Entertainment Media at GLAAD, in a press release. “Telling an episodic, comedic superhero story with a gay, deaf protagonist is not only unique and worthy of support, but it accelerates acceptance by amplifying the voices of queer people with disabilities, whose stories often go overlooked.”
By winning See Yourself, Hearts will earn $5,000 and a development deal. His project was selected from among 20 semifinalists and five finalists.
