Kristian Harloff Launches #Trending TV Pilot on Kickstarter — and The Movie Trivia Schmoedown Could Be Coming Back

Kristian Harloff and Martini Paratore have launched a Kickstarter campaign for #TRENDING, a new half-hour comedy pilot about relevance, reinvention and life in an era where everything can become content — with the campaign also opening the door for the return of Movie Trivia Schmoedown.

Kristian Harloff is getting back into scripted storytelling.

And he's bringing his audience along for the entire ride.

Harloff and writer/actor Martini Paratore have launched the Kickstarter campaign for TRENDING, a character-driven half-hour comedy pilot exploring relevance, reinvention and what happens when your life becomes content — whether you want it to or not.

The campaign went live on Tuesday, September 22 and quickly attracted substantial support, reaching £93,099 from 792 backers against a £149,449 target at the time The Fan Carpet checked the campaign on launch day.

And the team isn't simply asking audiences to fund a television pilot.

They're inviting them inside the process of making it.

WHAT IS TRENDING?

TRENDING centres on the collision between an old-school entertainment personality and the modern world of online relevance.

The campaign describes the series as “A sharp, character-driven half-hour comedy pilot about relevance, reinvention, and what happens when your life becomes content whether you like it or not.”

At the centre of the story is a washed-up podcaster whose former Saturday Night Live actor ex-wife is hired to co-host after his show begins to struggle.

Suddenly forced back together professionally, their on-air chemistry begins reigniting both their careers — and some old wounds along the way.

The series is written and created by Martini Paratore and Kristian Harloff, with Andrew Fried serving as director/producer.

TAKING THE AUDIENCE BEHIND THE CURTAIN

There's another interesting idea behind the campaign.

Rather than fund the pilot behind closed doors and eventually reveal the finished result, the TRENDING team wants its backers to see how the production develops.

Inspired by Project Greenlight, the campaign promises to bring supporters inside elements of casting, locations, production design, creative decisions and discussions around the tone of the show while still protecting the story itself. “No fluff. No fake exclusives. Just the truth of how a show actually gets made.”

That means audiences aren't simply being asked to contribute money and wait for a pilot.

Depending on their level of involvement, supporters will be able to see parts of the process that would ordinarily happen entirely behind closed doors — including how roles are cast, locations selected and creative decisions made.

As the campaign puts it, backers will be able to watch a half-hour comedy being built “decision by decision.”

BOARDWALK PICTURES JOINS THE PROJECT

#TRENDING is being made alongside Boardwalk Pictures, with the production company bringing its television experience to the independent pilot.

The campaign highlights Boardwalk's work across premium television and unscripted programming, including Welcome to Wrexham, and positions its involvement as a significant part of taking TRENDING from an independently backed idea to an industry-level television pilot.

Andrew Fried is attached as director and producer, while Wendy O'Brien serves as casting director.

The intention is to use the crowdfunding campaign to complete pre-production and produce a festival-ready, industry-level pilot, covering casting and chemistry reads, Los Angeles location scouting, production design, wardrobe and the shoot itself.

WHY KICKSTARTER?

For Harloff and the team, crowdfunding isn't simply about raising the production budget.

It's also about proving that an audience already exists.

Rather than developing the project solely through the traditional route of pitching a script and presentation deck, the team wants to build the pilot independently while retaining creative control.

The campaign argues that taking a completed pilot with an established audience to potential partners creates a fundamentally different proposition from asking somebody to take a chance on an unproduced idea. “We're not walking into a room hoping someone takes a chance on an idea. We're walking in with proof: real people, real numbers, real demand.”

The approach also means those early backers become the show's first audience rather than simply potential viewers waiting at the end of the process.

“This isn't just funding, it's the first audience,” the campaign explains.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

The production has also published a breakdown of how the campaign budget is intended to be used.

The largest allocation, 30%, goes to crew, covering departments including directing, cinematography, sound, grip/electric and the wider production team.

Sets and locations account for 20%, equipment 15%, cast 12%, post-production 12%, marketing 6% and contingency 5%.

The campaign also offers numerous levels of involvement, ranging from conventional supporter tiers and behind-the-scenes access to producer-level rewards and experiences connected with the production.

But for longtime Harloff followers, there is another rather significant reason to watch what happens next.

THE SCHMOEDOWN COULD BE BACK

Yes.

Movie Trivia Schmoedown.

The movie-trivia competition built by Harloff became a substantial part of the community surrounding his work, combining movie knowledge with characters, rivalries, storylines and the presentation of a sporting event.

And #TRENDING could help bring it back.

As part of the campaign, Harloff has established community goals tied to the return of Movie Trivia Schmoedown.

The campaign explicitly tells supporters “The Schmoedown Returns!”

The campaign artwork sets out escalating possibilities depending on how quickly #TRENDING reaches its funding milestones, beginning with a 16-person full Schmoedown tournament if the campaign is fully funded within its first 24 hours.

Further milestones include an eight-person tournament and a live event featuring two matches.

For a community that spent years following the competition, that's considerably more than an incidental Kickstarter perk.

It potentially brings back something many of Harloff's longtime viewers have missed.

A NEW CHAPTER

#TRENDING arrives at an interesting point in Harloff's career.

For audiences who discovered him through SchmoesKnow, followed the growth of Movie Trivia Schmoedown or continued with his podcasting and YouTube work, much of Harloff's career has unfolded in public.

Now he's applying that same relationship with his audience to scripted television.

The subject matter feels appropriate.

A comedy about relevance, reinvention and trying to navigate a world obsessed with what is currently trending is being created through a campaign that asks an existing online community whether they want to help make it happen.

And judging by the response during its opening day, plenty of them do.

At the time The Fan Carpet checked the campaign, 792 people had already backed the project, pledging more than £93,000 towards its goal.

The campaign is scheduled to run until October 24, 2026, with funding operating on Kickstarter's all-or-nothing model.

If it succeeds, Harloff and his team intend to make a professional television pilot with an audience watching from the ground floor.

And if things go particularly well?

Get your whiteboards ready.

The Schmoedown may be calling again.

EDITOR’S NOTE

The Fan Carpet’s Marc Jason Ali has followed Kristian Harloff’s career since the early Toad Hop days of Schmoes Know and is fortunate to now call him a friend. We are proud to support Kristian, Martini Paratore and the team as they bring Trending to life.

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