Table Read - THE G.Y.M. — PILOT ACTS 2 & 3

Episode Date: May 12, 2026

THE G.Y.M. — PILOT, ACTS TWO AND THREE By Dani HanksPick up where Act One left off. Valerie still cannot get her commercial. The film crew is still in her face. The Solstice gym across the street is still winning. And things are about to get considerably worse.Bryan is teaching group fitness despite not knowing what "happy baby" is, and every senior in the building keeps asking when Reggie is coming back. Kayla is supposed to be training her client. Her client is currently turning purple under a barbell. The cameraman looks weirdly familiar to her and she cannot place it. Chris is somewhere in the locker room going through a smoothie situation he did not ask for. Wade the IT guy is crawling through a server closet stuffed with the unpaid invoices Valerie has been hiding in her clipboard. And Valerie, our hero, has just told the cute IT guy that her anaconda doesn't want his real estate funds.It's fine. Everything is fine.By the time we get to the pool, Alexa is jumping off a diving board she has no business being on, Bryan is leading a secret back room of seniors through a yoga pose he learned thirty seconds ago, Wade is sitting next to a soaking wet Valerie holding the worst envelopes she's ever seen in her life, and the truth about who's been filming all day is about to drop in the middle of the room like a brick through a window.Underneath the chaos, this is what the show is actually about: a woman trying to save the only place she ever felt at home, with a crew of misfits who have nowhere else to go either. Norman Lear would recognize this gym. So would anybody who's ever worked at one.Meanwhile, across the street, in a chrome office at the new Solstice, a Southern silver fox in a tall cowboy hat is watching the whole thing through binoculars. He is having the time of his life. He is not done with The G.Y.M. Not even close.Recorded live at Podcast Movement at SXSW in front of a packed house of our peers, and you can hear it in the room. Video version available on YouTube and across our channels.CASTHeather Foster - Narrator Allison Dunbar - Valerie Yasmine Al-Bustami - Kayla and Spin Client Kensington Tallman - Alexa and White Trash Spin Diva Shaan Sharma - Wade, Bored EMT, and Johnny Joe Nemmers - Gary Hughes, Cocky Newscaster, Television, and Gruff Driver Jacob A. Ware - Bryan and Sam Brian Villalobos - Chris, Weak-Armed Client, and Handyman Amy Bailey - Mary, Gem, Peppy Newscaster, First AC, and Phone Scott Hervey - Client Carlin (special guest appearance, our attorney from Weintraub Tobin)Produced by Manifest Media. Created by Jack Levy, Mark Knell, and Shaan Sharma.This live read benefits Best Friends Animal Society, selected by Allison Dunbar, dedicated to bringing no-kill to every shelter in the country. Save Them All. bestfriends.org/donateSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Act 2. Interior Freeweights Area Day. The camera walks up to Kayla who's distracted on her phone. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Do you know what GYM stands for? No idea. The camera starts to drift, but Kayla stops cameraman Sam. Wait, do I know you? You look familiar. No, no, no.

Do you have a client that's... It's fine. Behind them, weak-armed client flails under a barbell. Crush it, get that one rat max. The client chokes and turns red. Brian runs over and lifts the barbell. The client gasps for air. Kayla squints at cameraman Sam.

What's your name? Brian pulls Kayla from the conversation. Cameraman Sam takes the opportunity to escape. Mr. Kayla, you're probably almost dead. I think I knew that camera got. No, no, no, no, no, quick, quick, focus. Just focus. Okay?

We need this commercial. We've got to bring in some fresh. I am tired of working at the old folks gym. I'm saying, good peace. Interior smoothie area day. The camera catches Valerie gazing at a giant bulletin board of old photos. Camerman Sam pipes up from behind the camera. Old employees.

Oh, yeah. And famous clients. Yeah, this is where Johnny Cash got us ostriches. And I don't mean to brag, but Big Boy from Outpast. Got his owls here. Valerie points out photos. The camera zooms in on a different one. A man with a tall cowboy hat.

His face exed out. Who's that in the cowboy hat? Valerie rips down the photo and glares at the camera. We don't talk about Gary. Interior, treadmill area day. Brian sees Kayla sneaking a photo of cameraman Sam with her phone. But if she's there, where's... He notices client Carlin 80s, fit, nosy, speedwalking to Valerie.

Brian intercepts and redirects him. to a treadmill. Hey, hey, hi. Hey, hey. How can I help you, sir? I heard that Johnny is out. I wanted to ask Valerie about group fitness. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I'm teaching the fitness class. I'm teaching group fitness. Is Reggie coming back? Uh, Reggie. Interior smoothie area day. Chris and Mary, 60s to 70, spunky but jaded, watch Valerie press buttons on a high-tech blender. Nothing happens.

What do you mean the blender won't run without Wi-Fi? Well, Valerie, you're the one who bought it. All new tech this, optico, that. She won't even let me put a fucking cocaine mix in the movies anymore. I mean, that was a real fucking energy drink. Am I right? Am I? Oh, so the Wi-Fi is out, not the POS. Alexa will fix this. Okay.

Okay. Mary pulls out an ancient blender and hugs it to her. Brom like a lover. You can make a sexy fucking beast. It'll be reliable. How I miss a room. Interior server room day.

Wade crawls through a jungle of dusty cables and plugs... Wade crawls through a jungle of dusty cables and plugs his laptop into the server. He sees some papers jammed in the rack. They're envelopes. Invoice, urgent, overdue. Sexy techie, you're terminally online.

Who is this? Wade hides the envelopes in his bag as Caleb barges in with her phone, he examines the shoddy picture of cameraman Sam. Uh, no idea, but with a better photo, you could, like, put it into reverse Google Immert search, and then you could, no, what, never mind. What's the server password?

Interior Treadmill Area Day. Brian hovers around Client Carlin on the treadmill. The best part of group fitness is Happy Baby. Reggie loves Happy Baby. Um, what's Happy Baby now? Kayla shows up, weighed in tow. What's the server password? I don't know. Check the front desk.

She ups the incline and speed on Carlin's treadmill. Carlin, good job today. This is your final push. I'll be right back. Wait, can we turn on the TV? But the group keep walking. Interior smoothie area slash treadmill area intercut. Valerie blends strawberries and milk. My lookshick brings all the boys to the yard in their life.

It's better than yours. I teach you. I'm lactose. Oh, but Valerie's distracted. But Valerie's distracted. She sees Carlin across the room struggling to keep pace. He reaches up to turn the TV on. Carlin stumbles, then scrambles, thomp.

Brian and Kayla whip around to see Carlin on the floor. Hold up one second. Can we from Chris's line, I'm lactose intolerant, start there? Sure. I'm lactose intolerant? But Valerie is distracted. She sees Carlin across the room struggling to keep pace. He reaches up to turn the TV on.

Carlin stumbles, then scrambles, thump. Brian and Kayla whip around to see Carlin on the floor. Valerie abandons the smoothie and starts across the room. Brian and Kayla rush back to him. Kayla offers a hand. I'm fine. I'm fine. Back in my day, there were no treadmills. If you fell outside, you got asphalt in your hands.

I haven't felt this good since the war. Thanks, little lady. Carlin shakes Kayla's hand, then winks at Brian. I'll see you and Reggie later. shakes her head and returns to her smoothie. Interior front desk moments later. Kayla, Brian, and Alexa rummaged through drawers. Wade waits.

Suddenly a loud groaned and dry heaving from across the room. Oh, no. Brian looks up to see Chris Fronting, hands over his mouth, vomit, drips through his fingers. Valerie rushes behind him. Aboard, aboard, aboard. Who's pregnant? Brian ducks behind the desk.

Kayla and Wade follow. Brian pulls Alexa down as Valerie sprints after Chris. No, no, not the employee bathroom. Look, I had my first kiss in there. Oh, me too. Brian gets an idea. He turns to Wade. I'm going to ask the old-timers.

Brian and Wade creep around the desk, secret agent style. Interior sauna day. Jim, 50s, eats, breathes and shits crystals, sits in full lotus. Anya plays. Brian clears his throat. No answer. Wade, this is Gemini. Gemini!

That's this month's happy birthday. No, yo man, I'm a Sagittarius. Jim, do you know the server password? No, my brother, no. But I can text the key. Wait, you can text in Jim? Wait, you can text in Jim? Wait, escape the hot steam.

Brian hesitates at the door. Um, do you know what happy baby is? I want to teach you group fitness. What? Jim's eyes snap open. Cosmic. I created group fitness. Interior pool room day.

Kayla and the commercial crew follow Valerie into the pool. Okay, so what we're going to do in here is we're going to start? Where the hell is, Jim? He has one job. Wade shuffles into the pool room. Uh, um, excuse me, ma'am. No. No, no, no.

Valerie whips around and notes his outfit. She spices them up. Listen to me. We are not selling this property, okay? Not for a million, not for a dime. So just scram. And I don't care. Listen, I do not care if your company sent their cutest agent to come in here and flirt me up, all right?

Because you can be hot, you can be nerdy, all you want. But my Anaconda don't want none of your real estate funds, huh? Wide-eyed, Wade dashes out. She was you to fix the Wi-Fi. Right. Valerie turns beat red, end of Act 2. Yay! Hey!

Here we go. Act 3. Injury your front desk day, Alexa answers the phone. There's a muffled announcement from the other line. Mr. King? Yes, I can write it down.

Swole two can? Valerie rushes the front desk and hangs up the phone. Yay! You cannot call prison on a company line. They're going to think we're still in cahoots. Did Nell mention me? Tap, tap, tap.

It's Wade outside the glass doors. He waves. Valerie gestures him in, then turns on Alexa. You call the IT guys next door? I said to call the Wi-Fi company. Brian knew you were stressed with the commercial, so he told me to call it. Brian did?

Interior's secret fitness room day. Heavenly harp sing as Jim guides Brian into... Heavenly Harp Singh. as Brian guides... Heavenly harp singing as Jim guides Brian into happy baby pose. Oh no, yeah. Steve. Let all your worries out on the exhale like this.

M-a- Instructor screwing my... Hey, let me get an exhale from everyone. Ah! I deserve to float. I want to work at Solstice. Yeah! Interior pool room day.

Chris, Kayla, and Alexa perch on a poolside bench. The commercial crew loiters as Valerie smashes buttons. Why would they even make a Wi-Fi-controlled pool leader? Out of the airshot, first AC turns to cameraman Sam. Oh, so, hey, hi. Yeah, who are you? Yeah, I'm just part of the crew. The commercial crew glances at each other.

No, you're not. I mean, they hired me for some additional behind-the-one. Seas, BTS. Yeah. First AC nods, suspicious. Back at the ranch. Okay, cold water never killed anybody. I've just been with penguins, all right?

Chris. He points to the sign. Persons with diarrhea shall not enter the pool. Grumble. He runs to the locker room. Okay, Kayla. Mascarra. Valerie turns to her last resort.

Our resident actress, it is your moment of glory. Alexa looks at the camera and forces a smile. Interior secret fitness room day. When chimes twinkle, Jim claps a hand on Brian's back. Make me proud, proud. It's Brian. Exactly. Jim clients 50 to 80s file in.

Client Carlin turns to Brian. Oh, no Reggie? Brian looks for Jim, but he's disappeared in the smoke. Oh, I guess Reggie didn't sign up. Interior pool room day, commercial crew rolls. Alexa stands on the diving board. Kayla snaps a photo of SACC. Kayla snaps a photo of cameraman Sam and uploads to Google.

Are we getting reverb? You want me? If I get closer, we're going to blow up. It's going to get worse. Okay. Start from interior pool room. You got it. Here we go.

Interior pool room day. Commercial crew rolls. Alexa stands on the diving board. Kayla snaps a photo of cameraman Sam and uploads to Google. She lifts her phone in the air for service. Ah, stupid Wi-Fi. Valerie shouts to Alexa. Okay, as Van Halen would say, go ahead and jump.

Alexa grits her teeth, jump, and starts to drown. Between mouthfuls of water. Valerie jumps in, the camera zooms in as Val rescues Alexa. But Kayla shoves her phone's Google Resorts. Resorts. Woo. Valerie jumps in. The camera zooms in

as Val rescues Alexa. But Kayla shoves her phone's Google results into frame. That's how I know you. You're from failfinders at YouTube channel that makes documentaries

on failing businesses. You're just here to get footage for your stupid show. Give me that. Kayla, bumrushes the camera trying to grab it. Camerman Sam runs as Valerie pulls Alexa out of the water.

Yo, I better not see you here again or I'm going to call the police. Interior Secret Fitness Room Day. Everyone rolls around in happy baby pose. And on the exhale, let it all out. Brian hits the gong. Gong. Jim plants groan and bent their frustrations rolling around.

Someone farts. Brian smiles. Behind a curtain, Jim turns to cameraman Sam. Go, go, brother, G. Y, M. What does it mean, man? It means everything to me, man. Interior front desk day.

Alexa shivers an oversized vomit green GYM shirt. Kayla hands Alexa her purse and smooths her hair. I got the front desk to go home. Alexa waddles toward the door. Alexa waddles toward the door. Kayla grimaces at the wet spot in the chair and pointedly pulls up another. Can you grab my phone? Kayla hands the phone over as Alexa leaves.

Wade approaches. Um, where's your router? Server says it's disconnected. Under the desk. She moves aside, conceding her flirtatious act. Wade traces the Wi-Fi cable to the power strip. It's unplugged. In its place, Alexa's charger.

Oh. He sighs. He smacks his head on the desk as he comes up. Oh. He hands Kayla the charger, then refreshes the computer. Bingo. That was it. You should go tell the boss, lady.

Wade heads to the pool as Brian brings Carlin and other gym clients to the front desk. No, no, don't. Ship form. You can't get crew fitness at solstice. Happy baby. Am I right? They cheer. A few grab formed.

Brian turns to Kayla. Hey, how's it commercial? She gestures to the pool room. Through the window, Valerie slouches poolside, still fully clothed and sopping wet. That bad, huh? You have no idea. Brian settles into a chair, then jumps up. Why is it wet?

Kayla watches Wade approach Valerie and sit next to her. Oh, interior pool room, day. Everything is fixed. You're good. I am so sorry. I said you're good. They look at each other. Wade pulls letters out of his bag.

Um, I thought you might want these. I wouldn't say want But thanks Interior pool locker room Same time Chris slumps next to a toilet From the other room Valerie's words echo

Through the tiled bathroom walls I put all my money into this place Honestly I don't know how much longer I can keep this open Hearing this Chris Look sadly at his vomit Interior pool room day I feel like

Radiohead what the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here. Yeah, well, you know, like, everybody hurts sometime. R.A.M. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, listen, you could appeal the foreclosure notice. I did that from my mom. Anyway, bought her a few months to get the money together and, you know, maybe you can pay. Amy with a free membership? He offers her the letters. Valerie looks up hopeful. They smile and hold the envelopes between them a little too long.

Oh. I think we can manage that. Interior front desk day. Kayla sees cameraman Sam filming through the indoor window. No, you don't, you little rat. Valerie pops out of the pool room. Kayla, it's all right. It's all right.

Valerie squares up with cameraman Sam. Hey. Hey. Look at me. You know what? You can keep the footage. In fact, you know what? I'm going to pay you to come film every single day.

The GYM is going to be the first success on that little show of yours because we are not going to fail, okay? She smiles at Wade. She smiles at Wade. He nod. Can you do the line before so there's no overlap? Reader in. Oh, Allison. We can't hear you.

What? I just think you'd read in your line. Oh, the whole thing. Yeah. Okay. You know what? You can keep your footage. In fact, I'll pay you to come film.

Every single day. The GYM is going to be the first success on that little show of yours. Because we're not going to fail, buddy. She smiles at Wade. He nods, unsure. Caleb turns to camera. You wanted to know what GYN means. Get your man.

Yeah, girl. Pre-lap. Prep. Pre-lap. Pop commercial. music starts playing. The GYM isn't just a place. It's the place. Fade 2. Interior various GYM locations day. Commercial montage. Alexa chats with clients at the front desk. Hey girl! Kayla turns up the treadmill for client Carlin. Brian does happy baby with Jim.

Chris takes a smoothie from Mary. Looking good. It's a community. A culture, a lifestyle. It's home. Kayla poses in her at Kayla Karma shirt. Chris drinks the smoothie about the pearl. It's a place to grow your mind. Brian barely keeps up with clap push-ups. Get your muscles. Smash cuts. Chris, Kayla Bryant. Games, yoga, mindfulness.

Alexa jumps into the pool. Johnny sits on the bike. We cut a second too late and he grimaces as he smashes his fault. Fuck. GYM is personal. You decide what it stands for. Gross. Yolo.

Machines. The shots show the full scope of the rundown place. Interior front desk day. Valerie, Alexa, Kayla, Chris, and Brian crowd around the TV above the front desk as the commercial plays live. The GYM. You know what it means.

Call us at 5'5. The TV cuts to a different ad spot. Alexa applauds. Kayla and Brian share a look. Valerie turns to her friends. You know what? All things considered, I think it went pretty well. You might even say that we're stronger than yesterday. End of Act 3.

Yeah. Nice. So the tag. And we have a tag. Interior, exterior, cycling studio night. Camera watches through the window as Valerie addresses Alexa, Kayla, and Chris, as Brian tries to fix the broken handlebar. Okay, from here on out, we have to be on our A game. We can't let him see any mistakes, no more secrets.

We are all in this together. YM on three! Alexa puts her hand in the center for another cheer. Well, how are you going to pay the camera guy? We have like zero clients. Reggie, a handsome, humbled penguin in a bowtie, waddles into the room. Jim follows with a bucket full of fish. Reggie, bro, get back here.

You don't know, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, weing. That's... I told you, no more penguins! We cut to an exterior shot of the GYM from afar. The only light comes from that cycling studio window. Zoom out to Interior Solstice Office Continuous. Camera pans to reveal Gary Hughes, 50s, clever, gay, southern silver fox,

in solstice swag and a tall cowboy hat. The man from the photo, he watches through binoculars and cackles. Then they said y'all could come by anytime? Well, ain't that a peach? Guess I'll need to hire you for longer than I expected. The end. Hey, real quick, you forgot to do something that we always do. I'm going to say one, two, three, and then you all exclaim table read, the GYM.

Are you ready? Okay, on three. Two, three, Take who we! The C.Y. Nice. Thank you. So, thank you guys for me here.

That's so special. Thank you guys. We have people going to record our PSA for Best Friends. You have that PSA right, Brittany? Yes. Great.

So we'll just take that down real quick, and we are golden. Best Friends Animal Society is dedicated to saving the lives of cats and dogs and shelters and bringing no kill to every community in the country. All pets deserve to know love, care, and companionship,

and each one deserves a chance to find a family of their very own. So Best Friends works with local shelters nationwide to create programs to help pets get adopted and keep them from entering shelters in the first place. Working together, we can save them all. Join us. Visit bestfriends.org for information. Yeah. Thank you.