The Gate was a TV show concept that I co-created, wrote, edited and pitched with my pal Betsy Parker to a bunch of suits in LA., back in 2005 when docudramas were king. It was never picked up because the sands were shifting away from docudramas.

Our synopsis:

The Gate is a real-life Taxi, a docu-series following the life and times of Luxor Cabs, a San Francisco cab company with a cast of characters as rich as the city itself. The Gate will elevate the docu-series genre beyond a single business to an entire city, as seen from the eyes of an eclectic, funny and fascinating group of people with surprisingly universal appeal. The show could be expanded to other cities and countries, too. Imagine The Gate London. The Gate Paris. The Gate Sydney, etc.

First things first. Luxor Cabs is San Francisco’s most popular cab company. At the center of it all is John Lazar, the larger-than-life President and city politico who runs the place with a velvet hammer. A cross between Tony Soprano and Louis DePalma, he’s loved and feared by everyone, and very charismatic. When he isn’t yelling.

Luxor Cabs is his family, literally. He introduces everyone as his cousin and we’re not sure who isn’t his cousin. Richies, Paulies and Dickies run rampant through the place. The show is as much a story of a family as it is of a business.

Day to day, John gets it from all directions – the cabbies, his inner circle of back office cronies; his family, who all think he works too hard; and the political powers at city hall, whose legislative aims seem to be at constant odds with keeping the cab companies in business.