Use this template to plan a 90-episode revenge drama and make episode 1 with AI. You get the series plan, a beat sheet (the story's turning points, episode by episode), a full episode 1 script and a shot list.
The premise
Three years ago, Grant Holloway let his wife Claire take the fall for his fraud. Then he filed for divorce from his yacht. Tonight he's announcing his engagement to Vanessa Reed at the Holloway Foundation gala.
He doesn't know that a fund has quietly bought every loan his company owes. The fund has one signatory, and she just walked in wearing black.
The twist: Claire isn't here to humiliate anyone. She wants her late mother's company back, the one Grant renamed after himself. Humiliating him is just a bonus.
What viewers expect from a revenge drama
- The wound in the first ten seconds. Show the betrayal fast, in a single image if you can. Then show the comeback.
- The glow-up return. New hair, new name or new money. Viewers want the before and the after in one cut.
- Public showdowns. Galas, weddings, board meetings, courtrooms. Revenge hits harder when there's a crowd watching.
- Twist the clichés: don't make the mistress a pure villain, and don't put a slap in every third episode. Give Vanessa her own reason to want Grant gone. Let Claire fight with paperwork, because a signature can hit harder than a hand.
The series at a glance
Aim for episodes of 60–100 seconds. A block is a run of episodes with one job. Put a big cliffhanger at the end of each block, and smaller turns in between: a phone buzz, a name, a look across a room.
| Block | Episodes | What happens | Ends on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook | 1–3 | Claire returns, calls Grant's loans in front of his donors | Grant recognizes her ring |
| Escalation | 4–9 | Grant hits back: frames her for blackmail, turns her old friends | Claire's lawyer is found in Grant's office |
| Paywall beat | 10 | Claire reveals she's the controlling creditor at a live board vote | "You don't have a company, Grant. You have a lease." |
| Squeeze | 11–35 | Grant digs for her secret; Claire courts the board one member at a time | Someone mails Claire her own death certificate |
| Midpoint reversal | 36–45 | Vanessa comes to Claire: she was conned too, and she has the real books | The books show a third partner |
| Counterattack | 46–70 | The third partner is Grant's mother, who wants both women gone | Claire's sister is taken in for questioning |
| Dark moment | 71–80 | Claire's fund collapses after a leak; she's broke again | Grant offers to "save" her if she remarries him |
| Finale | 81–90 | The wedding is a sting. Vanessa testifies. The company gets its old name back | Claire hangs her mother's portrait in the lobby |
Read down the "Ends on" column and you'll see the upper hand keeps changing sides. That back-and-forth is what keeps people watching.
Episode 10 is the paywall beat: the big turn that lands where viewers have to start paying to keep watching. Make it the strongest win in the first block.
Beat sheet
- Ep 1 The gala. Claire takes the mic and reads out the loan terms. Grant's toast dies in his mouth.
- Ep 2 Grant corners her backstage. She shows him the signed transfer papers.
- Ep 3 A one-shot flashback: the courthouse steps three years ago. Grant walks away while she's in cuffs.
- Ep 4–6 Grant leaks a fake story that she's blackmailing donors. A reporter shows up at her hotel.
- Ep 7–9 Claire's own lawyer is on Grant's payroll. She fires him on speakerphone, in front of Grant.
- Ep 10 (paywall beat) The board vote. Claire walks in as the controlling creditor, and the board turns.
- Ep 11–20 Grant tries charm, then threats, then Vanessa's diamond ring as a bribe. None of it works.
- Ep 21–35 Claire flips board members one by one. Each flip is its own small win.
- Ep 36–45 Vanessa shows up at midnight with a hard drive. She was set up to take the next fall.
- Ep 46–60 The drive points to a third partner: Eleanor Holloway, Grant's mother.
- Ep 61–70 The mother moves first. Claire's younger sister is arrested on old charges.
- Ep 71–80 A leak empties Claire's fund. Grant proposes again, like he's doing her a favor.
- Ep 81–90 She says yes. The wedding is a trap, with investigators on the guest list. The old name comes back.
Sample episode 1
Screen time: about 1:35.
EPISODE 1 - "THE LOAN"
[0:00–0:03 HOOK]
EXT. COURTHOUSE STEPS - DAY (THREE YEARS AGO)
Rain. CLAIRE WHITMORE (25, plain coat, wet hair) in handcuffs.
GRANT HOLLOWAY (32, navy suit) walks past her down the steps
and opens an umbrella for himself.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. HOLLOWAY FOUNDATION GALA - BALLROOM - NIGHT (NOW)
[0:03–0:30]
Chandeliers. String quartet. Grant (35, navy tux, smug
half-smile) on stage with VANESSA REED (26, pink tweed set,
oversized diamond ring).
GRANT
To the woman who stood by me
when nobody else did.
Glasses lift. The ballroom doors open.
CLAIRE (28, sleek platinum bob, black satin dress, red lipstick)
walks the length of the room. Heads turn one row at a time.
VANESSA
(through a smile, to Grant)
Who's that?
Grant doesn't answer. His glass is shaking.
[0:30–1:05]
Claire steps onto the stage and takes the microphone from the
QUARTET LEADER's stand.
CLAIRE
Evening. I'll be quick.
(holds up a single page)
As of four o'clock today, Ashgrove Capital
owns every Holloway Group loan.
Murmurs. A DONOR checks his phone.
CLAIRE (CONT'D)
We're calling them in. All of them.
You've got thirty days.
GRANT
(low, stepping close)
You're supposed to be in prison.
CLAIRE
(just as low)
Got out early. Good behavior.
You should try it.
[1:05–1:35 CLIFFHANGER]
She hands him the page. He reads the signature line.
INSERT - THE PAGE
Authorized signatory: C. ASHGROVE.
Grant looks up. Claire is already walking away. Vanessa grabs
his arm.
VANESSA
Grant. Who's Ashgrove?
GRANT
(barely)
Her mother's maiden name.
Claire stops at the doors and turns, just once.
CLAIRE
Enjoy the engagement.
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.
After the hook there's only one real location, and that's on purpose. One big room with a crowd in it keeps your generation costs down. It also makes the reveal feel public.
Making it with AI video
Plan on roughly 13 generations (separate clips) for this episode. Build the gala room once and reuse that reference frame for every ballroom shot. That way the chandeliers don't change shape between cuts.
| # | Shot | Length | What happens | Dialogue | Try |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wide | 3s | Courthouse steps in rain, Grant opens an umbrella past cuffed Claire | no | Kling |
| 2 | establishing | 3s | Ballroom chandeliers, quartet playing | no | Wan |
| 3 | medium | 5s | Grant's toast on stage with Vanessa | yes | Seedance |
| 4 | tracking | 6s | Claire walks the length of the ballroom, guests turning | no | Kling |
| 5 | over-the-shoulder | 4s | Vanessa whispers to Grant, Claire approaching behind | yes | Veo |
| 6 | insert | 2s | Grant's champagne glass trembling | no | Hailuo |
| 7 | close-up | 8s | Claire at the mic: the loan announcement | yes | Veo |
| 8 | medium | 5s | Donors checking phones, murmurs | no | Wan |
| 9 | over-the-shoulder | 6s | Grant and Claire's low exchange, faces close | yes | Seedance |
| 10 | insert | 3s | The signature line on the page | no | Hailuo |
| 11 | close-up | 5s | Grant: "Her mother's maiden name." | yes | Seedance |
| 12 | medium | 4s | Claire turns at the doors: "Enjoy the engagement." | yes | Kling |
Half of these shots have dialogue, and those are the ones that usually need the most retakes. Budget your time for shots 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12.
Make these references first. A reference is an image you give the model so it copies that face or room.
- Two versions of Claire: the before look (plain coat, wet hair, no makeup) and the after look (platinum bob, black satin, red lipstick). Keep her face identical on both sheets. The whole series depends on viewers knowing her instantly.
- Grant at two ages, 32 and 35, with the same smug half-smile.
- A 9:16 still of the ballroom stage with the quartet in place. Use it as the start frame (the image the clip animates from) for shots 2, 3, 7 and 9.
- The signed page as a clean still image. Animate a small hand tremble instead of asking the model to draw the text.
Prompts to start from: Kling revenge prompts, Seedance revenge prompts, Veo revenge prompts.
Related guides: Writing a micro drama script · Storyboarding with AI · Character consistency · How to make an AI micro drama