Moving to a conservative religious town in the North Carolina Mountains, an emotional lesbian Veterinarian from New York City saves innocent animals in a hostile world as she struggles to save herself and find love and self-confidence in a small town where things and people are not what they seem.

SYNOPSIS:

DVM combines the dramatic life or death action of an animal ER with the quirky character development, humor, and fish out of water premise of Northern Exposure. Most of the action takes place inside the Brush Hill Animal Hospital in North Carolina with an occasional house call or farm call. Each episode revolves around a central theme or idea reflected in both the animal medical plot lines as well as in the relationships and actions of the characters. Episodes contain interesting, uplifting, humorous, and often poignant struggles for the veterinary staff, eccentric owners, and their unusual pets. The last act provides a further glimpse into the characters’ private lives outside of the hospital concluding with a thoughtful and revealing original musical montage. The protagonist, Dr. Alexandra Montano, a doctor of veterinary medicine from NYC, who happens to be gay, moves to a small conservative religious North Carolina mountain town to be close to her grandmother. Jack Daschel, the snake-like antagonist intent on acquiring land with a view to build ostentatious vacation homes and resorts for the wealthy, has his eyes on the animal hospital land owned by Alex. He will go to any lengths to make life uncomfortable for Alex to convince her to sell. Although a skilled veterinarian, Alex has little experience with farm animals and has difficulty with animal euthanasia and intolerance. She also is prone to bouts of insecurity, inappropriate emotional displays, and klutziness. She gets nervous when meeting potential love interests and finds her search for love in this town like looking for a needle in a haystack. In the pilot episode, Dr. Alexandra Montano struggles to keep her emotions in check on a very bad day where she comes head on with gay prejudice, a poisoned parrot, an ornery sheep, a pregnant dog hit by a car, a poignant cat euthanasia, and a potential law suit. The characters are often not what they seem. The animal hospital staff consist of a seemingly dumb blond who turns out to be an intelligent math wiz of a veterinary technician, a muscled tattooed rock musician who is a sensitive and gifted veterinary assistant, and a crass, outspoken, receptionist with a heart of gold. A young Cherokee Indian brave turns out to be gay and very far from brave. Alexandra’s physically weak grandmother who was brought to North Carolina to fulfill her dying wish acts as a mentor for Alex, lovingly pushing her to accept the gifts she has and build confidence in herself and her abilities. Some of the supporting characters will include quirky guest veterinarians and specialists brought in to work on difficult cases as well as characters from Alex’s past in NYC. A revolving door of unique and difficult pet owners will frustrate and touch the lives of the main characters. The animals from designer breeds to pigs to exotic wild pets will make their way into the hearts of the characters and the audience providing further opportunities for drama and humor in this strange untamed world. The audience and the diverse and colorful characters of DVM will discover new insights, wisdom, love, joy, and pain as they journey together through life and death.