‘Pretty’: A Five-Year Old in a 30 Year-Old Body…Literally

Pretty explores the dysfunctional world of child pageants where Michael Champagne, a proud pageant dad, has the single wish to see his 5 year old daughter Annette win the Miss Star Eyes Pageant. The cast of characters are hilariously flawed, the universe they exist in like a trainwreck you can’t take your eyes off of…

…and Annette is played by a 30 plus year-old actress, played to naive perfection by Stace McQueen.

Tubefilter spoke with show creator Steve Silverman about what inspired him to make this unique casting decision. “Stace McQueen and I have known each other for almost 20 years,” explained Silverman. “She’s been my muse in several theatre projects and I’ve acted (I use that term lightly) for her in some of her own web stuff. When I first saw Painted Babies-type documentaries, it just popped into my head: I sit in a chair and Stace sits in my lap, I’m her dad and she’s my pageant daughter.”

“I saw it as a stage piece, something we could do as an improv or as a short one-act, cuz that’s where my background lies,” he went on. “Last summer, after watching a few painfully awesome episodes of Toddlers & Tiaras, I thought of that idea again and the idea of a web series popped into my head. As a writer, the reason why Annette is such a fantastic character to write for is that while she IS five years old, she’s PLAYED BY someone who’s got a lifetime of experience to draw from.”

The show screened at its first festival back in February, the LA Shorts ‘n Spirits Showcase, and won both the judges prize and the audience favorite. This and the success of the first season, which consists of 5 episodes and a behind-the-scenes documentary, seem to indicate the show is only just beginning. “There are definite plans for Season 2 – I’ve already plotted it out and started scripting,” shared Silverman. “We’re hoping to do six to eight episodes this time, each about a minute longer. And without bragging too much, if you liked Season 1, you’re gonna love Season 2 – I’m adding a few new characters and all of the plotlines from our first season will play out, with some big repercussions in the second season. I’d love to start filming in June or July, so that we can be back around September or October.”

“With over 30,000 views since launching our first episode on February 1st, we all musta done something right,” he concluded.