HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE

A stone-broke actress struggles to land the reward for solving a cold case.

Since her stint as spokeswoman for Chubby’s Chicken, a time when she was identified by the catchphrase “Don’t think so, boo,” Dayna Anderson has been the perpetual “Don’t I know you?” girl, getting asked that same question by everyone from strangers on the LA streets to bros turning her down for barista gigs. Now if only that almost-recognition could somehow be turned into income for Dayna, who can’t fill her car with gas, let alone help her folks back home avoid foreclosure on her childhood home. As her hopes of finding a job diminish by the day, Dayna hatches a half-baked scheme to earn the $15,000 reward offered for help solving a murder case, which she sees advertised on her daily constitutional—that is, her walk to get a can of gas to rescue her car. It’s not like Dayna’s a stranger to the crime. She actually saw it take place, or at least parts of it. She remembers it all too well, because it happened the last night she talked with Omari Grant, a guy she’s known since high school and who she’s pretty sure was trying to move her out of the friend zone. The deceased is Haley Joseph, a college student whose life doesn’t seem too far from Dayna’s own until she starts digging around and begins to uncover multiple motives for Haley’s murder. With her friend and self-proclaimed future reality star Sienna Hayes at her side, Dayna relies on turning her smarts and resourcefulness into answers and collecting the cash before her parents’ house is gone for good.

Veteran TV writer Garrett uses her Cold Case experience to inform her debut, which sets up more than one charming character and isn’t afraid to go cynical on all things LA.