Heretics

by Wes Goodrich
Original Teleplay

Heretics is a dark comedy mystery pilot that follows three twenty-something megachurch janitors: Dre, Cash & Julie, who stumble upon the dead body of the Senior Pastor, and in their attempt to figure out who did it, uncover dark secrets that go all the way to the top.

Wes Andre Goodrich is a New York-based writer / director who uses genre to tell stories about Black families, masculinity, and American history. Since joining Columbia University’s graduate film program, Wes has written and directed three short films: Good-night Fred, which highlights the radical revolutionary, Fred Hampton; Rush, a story about two young Black men’s experience in a predominately white fraternity; and Pair, a sci-fi erotic thriller about a couple discovering a secret on their anniversary. Wes is currently in post-production for two shorts: Palm Sunday, a southern gothic drama about a Black man attempting to desegregate an all-white church in 1970s Raleigh, North Carolina; and Speak Up Brotha!, a musical romance in the style of 90s Black films, which will premiere at the 2023 Cleveland International Film Festival. Wes is the recipient of the Columbia University Dean’s Grant and The Katherina-Otto-Berstein Grant. Wes is currently developing Heretics, a television pilot about a trio of megachurch janitors investigating a murder, for which he received a 2023 Ivy Film Festival 1st Place Finalist Prize and was a 2022 Diverso Black Writers in Focus Fellow.