“DEPARTMENT OF ONE” SERIES PILOT STARRING KELSEY LANDON, JORDAN GONZALEZ, ED BEGLEY, JR. AND AMY MADIGAN TO MAKE DEBUT AT DANCES WITH FILMS LA

LOS ANGELES (June 4, 2025) – Dances With Films has announced their lineup for the 28th annual LA festival to take place June 19-29, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatres in the heart of Hollywood. Drama series pilot, DEPARTMENT OF ONE, has been selected for the indie fest’s “Pilots (TV/Web) Slate” to premiere on Saturday, June 21, at 1 PM.

Cassandra Wheeler (Kelsey Landon, “The Cleaning Lady,” Trap House) is burning out. An overworked and overcommitted high school drama teacher, she’s beginning to realize she might be a bad mother. And one of her most famous former students (Ben Edlin, “Chicago Med,” “LA's Finest”), appears to be falling for her. Jordan Gonzalez (“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”), Ed Begley, Jr. (“Young Sheldon,” “St. Elsewhere”) and Amy Madigan (“Penny Dreadful,” Field of Dreams) also star.

“Department of One” is the unflinching story of drama teacher Cassandra Wheeler (Kelsey Landon) as she grapples with a theater full of impressionable kids, school politics, a flailing personal life, a fractured family, and an increasingly complicated past... all the while facing down the nagging question: Is it true that “those who can’t do, teach?” How far will she go to defend her legacy? And, finally, how does one make a mark on the world... when part of the job is to give away the glory?

Creator and writer Arcadia Conrad shared her inspiration for the story: “Drama teachers are often unseen, except by their communities, wearing every hat on the production team, and lifting up generation after generation of young artists who become the people in your neighborhood. They are the perennial helper but who helps them?”

John Redlinger directed with Max Landwirth producing. Charles Haid (“Hill Street Blues”) Michael Laskin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Chris Spencer are the Executive Producers. Sam Schweikert served as Cinematographer. Chelsea M. Davis also appears in the episode.

For more, please visit @departmentofoneshowand danceswithfilms.com/department-of-on