In just a few weeks, Turning Point begins television production of The Account.

This eleven episode mini-series will introduce the messages of Dr. Jeremiah’s new series, I Never Thought I’d See the Day!, aired on television and online around the world.

In television you have three seconds to grab, or “hook,” your audience before it loses interest and changes the channel. For this reason, Turning Point believes that The Account will be our dramatic hook that pulls a faithful audience into the focus of the program and reaches new viewers.

For the first four minutes of the I Never Thought I’d See the Day! programs we will be taken back to the 1960’s where the advertising agency of Wyndham Ridgestone has landed the most mysterious client in the history of their firm. This shadowy and intimidating Client has hired the firm to influence the masses—to sway the behavior of people towards a liberal mindset—to market a moral shift in American culture. The faceless and nameless Client presents ten issues to the advertising firm and employs it to create these morally destructive campaigns.

The agency accepts the job, but behind the scenes the ad execs feel that they will never see the day when America will embrace the moral decline the Client envisions. Nevertheless, they attack one issue at a time, brainstorming creative strategies that will lead America, and the world, to a moral crossroads.

The journey we take our audience through in The Account will shine light on how far society has drifted from our moral foundation on each important issue discussed by Dr. Jeremiah in his teaching series.

The eleven episodes of The Account will be available from August through November on Turning Point Television and Online.

Production of The Account is wrapped with the final episode taped!  The cast and crew were thrilled to have completed the entire series so God can begin using the message of the show, yet saddened that production has ended and moved into post-production.  Our prayer is that this presentation will shed light on the moral decline of American culture.

In the final installment of The Account, the Client returns to the Wyndham Ridgestone Agency to review their presentation for the final campaign. The stormy New York City night is the perfect backdrop to the daunting message presented by the marketing team.  The Client has asked them to create a campaign that will encourage people to give their minds over to more liberal thinking. He seems impressed with the presentation. The final ad campaign is their boldest yet as they create a foothold for the Client to control the hearts and minds of individuals. The team’s vibrantly colorful ad reads, “Don’t Think Twice, You Only Live Once. Follow Your Heart!”

The Wyndham Ridgestone team has completed all ten of the moral “mind shift” campaigns for the Client.  The Client believes they are a brilliant start to accomplishing his ultimate goal of controlling the world’s moral, political, and spiritual compasses. He admits that it will take generations for the culture to accept an amoral society, but promises that one day the culture will embrace it wholeheartedly.

Another successful day of shooting is complete! In this episode, the Wyndham Ridgestone marketing team is trying to influence America to soften her friendship with Israel. Catch a glimpse of the newest installment of The Account . . . .

Kent and the three copywriters are all scurrying about the conference room preparing to pitch their Israel campaign idea to their bosses, Pyke Wyndham and Garrett Ridgestone. They act out the commercial they have written, and by the end of their presentation, Pyke and Garrett are sold. Though Pyke and Garrett can’t even imagine a day when America would soften its ties with Israel, this new ad campaign is definitely persuasive: “Beyond the Promised Land” there is “More Yet to Discover.”

Who ever thought we would see the day when a Middle Eastern country like Iran could actually hold the world hostage because of oil and nuclear weapons? In Episode 8 of The Account, we flashback to a time when this kind of threat would have been unfathomable.

In the conference room at Wyndham Ridgestone, the full marketing team gathers to tackle the Client’s newest directive. The Client wants to see a day when the whole world fears Iran. The creative team can’t imagine such an insignificant chunk of desert ever intimidating the world. Nevertheless, the team brainstorms ideas and begins to realize the power Iran holds through its oil supply. Americans are becoming more and more hooked on their luxuries, and cars are at the top of the list. So if cars, home heating, and air travel are fueled by foreign oil, and if the Iranians decided to withhold their resources, America would be in trouble. 

The team’s ad slogan makes even them afraid: “I Run On Iran, Because Luxury is the Inventor of Necessity.”

Another successful day of filming is complete! Episode 6 of The Account, “Add a Little Color to Your Black and White,” is ready for editing.

In this episode, the Client returns to oversee his newest directive to the Wyndham Ridgestone Agency: to see the Bible marginalized! Lead by Kent Daniels, the marketing team gathers at the front of the conference room and presents their campaign. Using the imagery of a familiar black-and-white television set showing a forlorn-looking woman holding a Bible, Kent begins: “It’s black and white and read all over, but in today’s modern world, the true color of your faith can be read between the lines of Scripture.”

Their final ad suggests it’s okay to throw off sound biblical teaching and “add a little color to your black and white.”

Filmed on location at a 60s-style coffee house, Episode 7, “Steeple Chasing,” was the first of two episodes taped on this very busy day. The cast and crew are passionate about the message of The Account and how this production will shed light on our culture’s moral drift away from biblical principles. 

Sitting in the coffee shop finishing off their pie, Kent, Thomas, Vincent, and Joseph discuss the importance of church as this is the subject of their newest campaign for the Client. It is very clear from their counter discussion that the role of church has become less meaningful in their lives, though still a high priority in the culture of their day. If the goal of their next campaign is to make the church irrelevant, they will have to give society some Sunday options, like going to the races! This sparks the idea for their new tagline: Steeple Chasing. Whether you congregate under a church steeple or around the spires above a horse track, you have many social options on the weekend. 

Thomas doesn’t buy it. He is sure they will never see the day when the church becomes insignificant.

The Turning Point Television production team returns to the Wyndham Ridgestone set to tape the fifth episode of The Account, “Hopelessly Chicken.” 

It's after dark and the marketing team of Wyndham Ridgestone is working late, eating TV dinners and determined not to leave the office until they have nailed the next ad campaign. They are trying to come up with an ad promoting moral freedom.  Their campaign needs to be persuasive enough to encourage people to live unrestrained from any code of morality.

With unexpected inspiration from the chicken TV dinners in front of them, Kent jumps to his feet with an idea: "Like to try a new flavor in life, but you are hopelessly chicken? If you're tired of living life in tidy little compartments, perhaps it's time you do a little cooking outside the kitchen. Life is an empty tray of whatever you want to put on it."

For the fourth episode of The Account, the Turning Point cast and crew gathered on location at a local restaurant in San Diego to shoot. It was an exciting day of filming!

In this episode, the camera focuses on characters Kent, Thomas, Joseph, and Wanda of Wyndham Ridgestone who all meet over lunch to discuss their next ad. This time the Client wants them to discredit the institution of marriage. 

Fueled by their personal experiences, the four begin to imagine a world where couples could test-drive marriage before taking the plunge—where marriage is risk-free, with no problems.

Finally, Kent nails the ad’s slogan: “Marriage Is Not a Cakewalk! Sample the Mix First!” 

The Turning Point cast and crew are hard at work as filming continues. The third episode of The Account is finished! 

This episode opens on the Wyndham Ridgestone conference table as the advertising team constructs a campaign that will lead people to profane the name of Jesus. Promoting the Client’s ideas becomes increasingly difficult, but with a little inspiration they start selling Jesus as one of the guys. Joseph, one of the copywriters, suggests modern living allows for a fast, drive-thru image of Jesus for convenience. After all, nothing is absolutely picture-perfect anymore. So use your imagination!

Filming for eEpisode 2 of The Account is underway! Lights, Camera, Action!

Although their first campaign has been approved, the team at Wyndham Ridgestone is still doubtful that their work will persuade a moral decline in the culture. 

The Client’s next campaign is to influence Christians to lower their guard against the threat of spiritual warfare. The Client wants to promote Satan as nothing to fear. Kent’s creative genius imagines a picture of a little red guy with horns holding a pitchfork and the catch phrases start flying:

“Red has faded from fashion!”

“It’s time to hang up the red suit, because you’re worn out!”

“A has been!”

Kent finally lands on the heart of the ad: “Life is too colorful to be afraid of red.” 

Filming for Episode 1 of The Account is complete!

Today the Wyndham Ridgestone advertising team tackled their first assignment: persuading the public to consider atheism. It’s no easy task, and the nameless Client is eager to proceed. Kent, the team’s creative director, breaks the ice and gets the discussion started. As the brainstorming unfolds they suggest the campaign has to be positive. Upbeat. It has to appeal to the senses, make people quietly question their beliefs. Plant just a small seed of doubt. “Who really knows ‘who’s’ up there? So . . . look inward, not upward.”

Pyke Wyndham can’t imagine the day when culture would accept the concept of no God! But it’s clear. The mysterious and intimidating, Client has great power and is intolerant of objections. 

It’s New York City, 1960s, and a mysterious Client has commissioned the advertising agency of Wyndham Ridgestone to create ten ad campaigns that will help persuade the culture of America to accept a more liberal mindset. At first the agency rejects the Client’s business, but after a bit of persuasion, Wyndham Ridgestone accepts the account.

Meet the Wyndham Ridgestone team:

Pyke Wyndham and Garrett Ridgestone― business partners and experienced ad executives who created and lead this prestigious advertising firm

Kent Daniels― cunning, smart, and aggressive Creative Director

Wanda St. James― Account executive and copy editor 

Joseph Grant, Thomas Stephens, inventive copywriters  

Vincent Diaz―the resident designer 

Autumn Guthrie― clerical secretary 

The Account prologue entitled, "The Client", has been created to introduce the series. A condensed version of this episode will be used each week to summarize the premise for new audiences, introducing the characters and purpose that drive the Wyndham Ridgestone advertising team.

Final preparation on The Account took place today for our first big day of shooting. Today was our tech rehearsal. The audio and video teams conducted sound checks, adjusted lighting, and tested camera angles in the newly constructed Conference Room set. Not all the actors in The Account were present today, so we had Turning Point employees fill in to help prepare for the first day of shooting, June 11.

The audio team hooked up both the actors and “fill-ins” to microphones to test the equipment and sound levels. Once wired with microphones, our stand-ins took their places at the Wyndham Ridgestone conference table and read through the script as the crew adjusted lighting and sound.

The film crew was also present and played with various camera angles and positions. Director of Photography, Troy Dausend, maneuvered the camera around the set, finalizing the angles that will be used in the production. Other members of the crew analyzed the footage from offstage.

Executive Producer and Director Paul Joiner was on set as well, organizing everyone and providing creative direction.

After filming the scene, our stand-ins gathered around the computer monitor to watch the technical run-through. They were able to see their work and had a good time helping prepare for this exciting new presentation.

Today, on the Wyndham Ridgestone Conference Room set, the Turning Point Television team set up lighting, audio, and video.

Here is what the set of The Account  now looks like:

Day two of the Wyndham Ridgestone Conference Room set construction for Turning Point's new fall mini-series, The Account, is complete!

What a productive day it was.

In our empty warehouse space, we have created a temporary television set and added special features for the production of The Account. One of these special additions is an acoustic drape that completely surrounds the Wyndham Ridgestone Conference Room set. This acoustic drape allows the Turning Point Television staff to record the audio live, producing a professional program without degrading audio quality by the echos and reverberations naturally created in the empty warehouse space.

Inside the temporary television set for The Account, "Wyndham Ridgestone" lettering was added to the back wall of the Conference Room, creating the feel of a 1960's ad agency. In addition to the lettering, other 'set dressings' were added including vintage furniture, a rotary telephone, era-specific newspapers, and even glasses and serving dishes, reminiscent of a bygone era.

Executive Director Paul Joiner is finalizing the set décor and making sure every detail is in place. The excitement continues to build in anticipation of Saturday, June 11, when the first episode of The Account will be filmed.

Months and months of dreaming, sketching, planning, and rendering are now taking 'real-life' form. We praise God for the smooth beginning to this momentous undertaking.

We are building the set!

First thing Tuesday morning, the crew pulled up to Turning Point headquarters in huge trucks and unloaded the Wyndham Ridgestone Conference Room set. Because our future TV studio has not been built yet, acoustics are poor, so wall-to-wall carpet was installed. Next, the crew hung special studio lights, setting the framework for the complete lighting schematic. By mid afternoon the walls were coming up and the conference room was beginning to take shape. The New York skyline backdrop was hung outside the set windows as the crew drilled, hammered, and stapled.

In just a couple days the set will be completely assembled and ready for Saturday’s filming!

The Account officially began production on Thursday night with the first Script Read-Thru! This evening provided Paul Joiner, the Director and Executive Producer of The Account, the opportunity to introduce the storyline and script to each cast member.

Excitement around the table was palatable. Each actor was very excited to be involved in a production that will potentially reach millions of people around the world. The collective energy of both cast and crew set the mood for an energetic “first read” and set the stage for a successful production scheduled to begin shooting June 11.

Here are few images from the very first reading of The Account script.

Here are two artist renderings of what The Account television set will look like when it is built.