E X T R A C T IO N

B Y L U K E M U Y S K E N S
 1

I
NTRODUCTI
ON
A60- minutecomedy-sci
-fihybr i
dpl ayi
ngwiththemes
ofcolonial
ism andc
ultur
aldelusion,EXTRACTIONi st
he
st
oryofat eam ofecol
ogist
sexploringanis
landpopula
ted
withs t
rangenew li
fethatsuddenlyappearsof
fthe
Cali
forniacoast.

NOTE:Withali
mitedcas
tandout
doorset
ting,thispr
ojec
t
i
sdesi
gnedtobeshotwhil
emaint
aini
ngsocialdis
tanci
ng.

I
SLANDOFMANI
FEST
 2

An island suddenly appears off the coast of Los Angeles.

Though evidence of the island is found in photography
and maps dating back decades, no one has any memory of
it being there and satellite imagery shows no trace of
human influence. FEMA blocks off the island and the
government is tight-lipped about anything they discover.
The island is christened ‘Manifest’ by the scientific
community and grabs the popular imagination, becoming the
subject of a media frenzy. Corporations elbow each other
out of the way for rights to Manifest‘s natural resources.
Everyone is clamoring to know what’s on the island.
 3

I
SLANDOFMANI
FEST

STORY
At eam ofec ol
ogistsisassembledt oe xploreMani fest—apai rofmar riedec ologists
,
agung- hoe xplor
er, adocument arian, andas ocialinfluenc er.The yfindabe vyof
undiscover edspeciesont heisl
and, inc l
udinge volutionarymi s
singl i
nksand
organismswi t
himmens esci
ent ificpr omi se.Theyeager lyc oll
ectsampl esand
documentt heirexperience,sendi ngt hr i
lli
ngrepor tsbac ktothemai nland. Butas
theydel vedeeperint othei s
land, as ens eofforebodi nglooms .Theec ologic
alr ul
es
arediff
er entthant heonest hey' reus edt o,morepar asiti
c,mor ebrut al.Thei sland
isdivi
dedi ntodisti
nc tbiomes ,eac hmor eintenseandt hreateningt hant hel ast.
The yenc ountercrypt i
cs i
gnsandwar nings—e videnc eofs omet hingomi nouson
theisl
and. Fearandpar anoiacr eatesr if
tsbetweent hee xplorers.

Bac ka theadquar ters,ac onspir

acyemer ges—bef or
ebei ngshownt ot hepubl i
c,
thet eam’ sdi
spa tchesares wappedoutwi thscenesshotonas ounds tage. The
mas termi ndsoft hee xpeditiondiscoverimagingthatshowsamys teriousmi neral
depos itundert hei sl
andandt heys endinateam ofc orporat
emer cenar i
es
disgui s
edas‘ reinforcement s.
’Ont heisl
and,thetwot eamsc lashandt ensi
onr amps
up. Asmadnes ssetsin,theybegi ntoreali
zethemys teriouslif
ef or
c ebehindt he
isl
andi sadanger ousandval uableone,andtha tawari scomi ng—whet herthe
wari sbetweent hesc i
ent i
stsandmer cenari
esorbet weent hee xplorersandt he
isl
andi ts
elfremai nst obes een.
 4

The first season of EXTRACTION is divided into eight

hour-long episodes, each packed with action and containing
several twists and turns as layers of the conspiracy are
revealed and new parties are introduced. The tension and
stakes ramp up as each episode progresses, always ending
in a cliffhanger. There’s a time jump between each episode
to build complexity and create a disorienting effect
reflective of the island’s nature.
 5

I
SLANDOFMANI
FEST

TONE&STYLE
EXTRACTI ONi sacomedya theart.Over-t
he-toppersonalit
iesanda t
titudes
towardt henaturalworl
dar eskewer edastheyfumbl ethrought hisstrange
environment .
Thec omedyi ssat
iri
calwithelaboratevis
ualgagsder i
vedf rom
thegrotesquenessofnature.Withthec r
eepinessoftheunf amiliarlurking
arounde verycorner—andwi t
ht heuglinessofhumani tyemer gingast hey’re
pushedf urt
herandul t
er i
ormotivesareintroduced—hor r
orine vit
ablyc reepsin.

EXTRACTI ONal socontainsaheal thydos eofsocialandpol i

ti
c alcomment ary
aswee xplorethemot ivationsbehi nde xplorat
ion. Eachc haracterhasadi f
ferent
reasonforthei
rmi ss
ion—per sonal it
yflaws ,
lif
ee xperienc es,
financ i
alstakes,
andmor e.Thes inis
terforcesa tplayar er eminiscentoft hos eint herealwor ld
(
theUni tedSta
t esgovernment ,corpor ateentiti
esli keBlackwa ter,SpaceX, and
LockheedMar tin),butther eisno‘ good’ and‘evil
.’Thel i
nesar ebl urred,t
he
pawnss witchsides,andal legi
anc esshi ft.
Spec i
alc areshoul dbet akentoavoi d
heavy-handedpol iti
calcomment ary,insteadfocus ingont hei ndividualsinvolved.

I
SLANDOFMANI
FEST
 6

THEEXPLORERS
ANTHONY(
28)
andCHLOEGREEN(
32)
,apai
rof
newl
ywedswhor
ecent
lyc
ompl
etedpos
t-doc
sata
pr
est
igi
ousec
ologypr
ogr
am.
Thei
rres
ear
chi
sal
ready
dr
awi
nga
ttent
ionf
rom t
heac
ademi
ccommuni
ty.
Hot
,smar
t,andi
nlove,
the
yfeelr
eadyf
oranyt
hing.

KLAUSLUDW I
G(71
),awor
ld-
renownedGer
man
doc
ument
ari
ani
nthevei
nofWer
nerHer
zog.
Wit
ha
wor
ldvi
ew bor
der
ingonf
atal
ist
ic,
het
urnst
hec
amer
aon
hi
sfel
low e
xpl
orer
sal
mos
tasof
tenast
hena
tur
alwor
ld.

PARI
STURAN(
25)
,as
elf
-br
anded‘
hotec
ologi
st’
wit
ha
mi
ll
ionI
nst
agr
am f
oll
ower
s.Thoughhi
swor
kspeaksf
or
i
tsel
f,hec
ons
tant
lyba
ttl
est
hei
mpr
ess
ionhi
sgoodl
ooks
ands
pac
eydemeanorgi
vepeopl
e(whi
les
imul
taneous
ly
benefit
tingf
rom i
t)
.

RI
CKYPALOMI
NO(
40)
,agung-
hoe
xpl
orerwhowear
sa
s
igna
tur
eti
edyebuc
ketha
tandc
arr
iesabowi
ekni
feon
e
xpedi
ti
ons
.Shewast
hefir
stt
osummi
tK2wi
thoutoxygen
andmakesagameoft
icki
ngof
fac
compl
ishment
s.Her
ent
hus
ias
misi
ncr
eas
igl
yatoddswi
thheragi
ngbody.
 7

THEEXPLOI
TERS

DOCTORCARL
YLESPI
NK(
79)
,anec
cent
rics
cient
isti
nchar
ge
oft
hebas
ecamp.
Awhi
tebob,
Cokebot
tlegl
ass
es,
andhand
t
remor
sdi
sgui
seheri
mmens
e,c
alc
ula
tingi
ntel
lec
t.She
's
r
uthl
essandwi
lldoanyt
hingt
opr
ocur
efundi
ng,
inc
ludi
ng
wor
kingwi
ths
hadyc
orpor
ati
onsandgover
nmentagenc
ies
.

TOPHERHERMANN(
34)
,a'
profit
abi
li
tys
pec
ial
ist
'hi
redt
o
as
ses
sthei
sland’
sna
tur
alr
esour
ces
.Al
sot
hehei
rtoahuge
agr
icul
tur
ecompany,
he'
sahands
ome,
char
ming,
sli
ck-
t
alki
ngt
rus
tfundki
dwho
'sabl
etowi
nsomeone
'sal
legi
anc
e
ande
xpl
oiti
tinonef
ells
woop.

NI
GELHARGROVE(
41)
,oneofTopher
'ss
ecur
itys
pec
ial
ist
s.
Ahar
d-as
swhos
ervedi
nAf
ghani
stanwi
tht
heBr
iti
sh
Spec
ialAi
rSer
vic
e,he
'sgotabe
vyofhaunt
ingwars
tor
ies
he
’l
lne
vert
ell
.

ANGELREYES(
42)
,the'
Fil
ipi
noRa
ttl
esnake,
'anot
herof
Topher
'ss
ecur
itys
pec
ial
ist
s.Ki
ckedoutofUFCf
orbi
ti
ng,
Angelhasat
emperandac
hiponhi
sshoul
der
.He
'sar
avi
ng
f
anofami
cro-
genr
eofmet
almus
icc
all
ed‘
por
nogr
ind.
’
 8

G
EAR
The Explor
ers
 9

G
EAR
The Exploiter
s
 1
0

I
SLANDOFMANI
FEST

THEPLACE
Manifes
tappear s10mi l
esof fthecoas tofLosAngelesbetweenCa t
alinaIsl
and
andtheChannelI sl
ands, ali
ttlesmallert hanboth—r oughlysixmil
esacrossand
per
fectl
ycir
c ular.
Thei s
landi sdividedi ntoconcentr
icrings,
eachsepara
tedbya
50-
footbar
rierofl i
fel
esss al
tandc ont ainingcomplet
elydisti
nctbi
omest hatgrow
moreunfamiliarasthee xplorersmovei nland.

Throughoutt heis
landar esmall,i
rides
c entmet al
li
cspheresroughl
ys ixi
nches
i
ndi ameter.Theseappearwi t
hi ncreasi
ngf requencyastheteamsmovedeeper
i
ntot heisl
and,firstappearingaslones pheresandl at
erinpil
es.Thesespheres
haveamagnet i
cpowerovert hos ewhoenc ounterthem,compelli
nge xpl
orersto
col
lectthem ands qui
rrelthem awayi ns ecret
.
 1
1

CHAPARRAL
Ach
apar
ralen
vir
onmentalmos
tiden
tic
al
totheCali
for
niacoas
t.

En
viron
mentalaberr
ati
ons:Near
ly
-ext
inct
Cal
if
orn
iaflor
aan dpacksofwil
d
Pomerani
ans.
 1
2

J
UNGLE
At
ropi
calj
ungl
esi
mil
art
oth
osei
nBor
neo
.

En vir
onmen t
alaberrati
ons
:Plan tswi thcr oss-
speciesgeneticmutati
ons—lil
ieswi t
hbi l
ater
al
petal
s,plantswithanimalt enden cies,
‘
ch ari
smat
icmegaf l
ora’li
kegian tbug -eatin
g
orchi
dsan dpalmswi thmirroredl eav es,
andgi anti
nsectsli
ker hi
no-si
z edbeet lesan d
eagle
-si
zeddr agonflies.
 1
3

SWAMP
As
wampf eat
uri
ngfl
oati
ngi
sl
andsofvegetat
ion
,
qu
icks
and,andabnor
mal
l
y-deepch
an nel
s.

Envir
on mentalaberr
ati
ons:Famili
arspeci
eslik
e
elephants,gir
affes
,andwh al
esatmi ni
scul
e
proport
ions.Theinversealsoexis
ts—
wh al
e -si
zedalli
gator
san ds nappi
ngt u
rtl
es
capableofs wall
owingamanwh ol
e.
 1
4

REEF
As an dyterr
estr
ialreeff
eatu ri
ngbi r
dst hat
r
esembl etropi
calfi
shan dou tcroppingsofa
coral
-lik
eor gani
smt hatpoisonsan y
thin
gi t
touches,absorbingiti
n t
ot her eefand
coveri
ngitwi t
hacol orf
ultoxi cfi
lm.
 1
5

REFRACTI
ON
Ah osti
l
een vi
ron
mentthati
dent
if
iesth
emos t
powerfulan
dresonantmemoryofthei
ntr
uder
andman i
fest
sitint
oreal
it
y,f
orci
ngyoutorel
iv
e
i
ntenseoreventr
aumati
cexperi
ences
.

F
orexampl
e,Angel—anI
raqwarvet
eran—
s
eesthi
sbiomeaawar-tor
nFal
lu
jah.
 1
6

THEHEDGE
17
 21

At the end of the pilot, a few key things happen that point
toward the rest of the season:

The red slugs from the island start showing up on beaches in

California, then on sidewalks in Los Angeles. In future
episodes, the slugs spread quickly across the city, indicating
the beginning of a massive invasive species problem.

Crash encounters Operative Alpha’s team and suspects something

suspicious is happening on the island. He leaves Paris a
message telling him he’ll come to the island if he doesn’t hear
back. In future episodes, Crash shows up on Manifest’s shore,
hears gunfire, and makes his way inland, eventually getting
the ecologists out of a tight jam.

Operative Alpha and his men arrive on Manifest and have a

threatening encounter with the ecologists and Topher’s team.
In future episodes, the teams continue to evade each other
and clash, resulting in small skirmishes. There are double
agents on both sides, sabotaging their respective teams and
trading intel.
 22

I
SLANDOFMANI
FEST

SEASONARC(
CONT.
)
Theexplorersenterthe‘refracti
on’bi
omeandar eencounter
ed
withtheirrespect
iveper sonaltraumas.
Chloe’
sreveal
stoher
crypt
icinformati
onaboutt hesilvers
pheresontheisl
and.
Infut
ureepi s
odes,Chl oepiecestoget
hermemor i
estodis
cover
themeani ngofthesilvermat eri
al.

Chloedisc
over sanew biomes urroundedbyat all
,tr
immed
hedge.I
nf utureepisodes
, t
hisbi
omei sshownt ocontai
n
organi
smst hatmimi ctheappearanceandbehavi oroft
he
intr
uders,magnifyingtheirworstqualit
iesasaform of
psychol
ogical‘
poison’defensemec hani
sm.

Doc t
orSpinkisre vealedtobewor kingwi t
hbot hTopher’
s
team andOper at
iveAl pha’
steam, pit
tingthem agai
nsteach
othertomanipul atewhohasac c
esstot heisl
andandits
resources
.Infutur eepisodes,herall
egiancesandmot i
vati
ons
arecall
edintoques tionass hecontinuestoplayboths i
des.

Thedispatchesfrom t
heec ol
ogicalt
eam arebeings wappedfor
dis
patchesshotonas ounds tagebef
orethe ygopubl i
cto
‘
controlt
henar rati
ve.
’Infutureepis
odes,Paris’
doubleis
overwhelmedbyc uri
osit
yandgoest othei sl
and, c
ulminati
ng
inthestrangeconfrontat
ionbetweenPar isandt hefakePari
s.
E X T R A C T IO N
B Y L U K E M U Y S K E N S