Cardinal Television (CTV) is set to premiere their new series, “Stolen”, next semester. The project was written in the fall of 2023 and the casting and filmmaking process began the following spring semester.
“Right now, I feel very steady with where we’re at,” said Ranya Alsalahai, sophomore media and communication major and CTV co-president. “We’re almost done with it; we’re getting things ready.”
“Stolen” tells the story of a group of four college students who are accused of stealing their school’s mascot, forcing them to attempt to prove their innocence and figure out the true culprit.
Sophia Smith, first-year adolescent education and English major, got the idea to write “Stolen” after viewing a documentary in class that she described as “the worst thing” she’s ever seen and set out to make a story of her own.
“My original idea was the cardinal mascot gets stolen, and a group of teenagers are accused of stealing it and they all have to prove their innocence,” Smith said. “Then I pitched it to CTV and we just kind of built it from there.” Smith and the rest of CTV collaborated to write and develop the series.
“Most students don’t even know CTV exists, so I feel like this audition showed a lot of people … this club exists and you can be creative with it,” Alsalahai said. “It’s very free and you can be hands on. You can get help from any of the e-board members.”
“There’s a lot happening in this show, and I’m really hoping that this might be like a test trial to see what we can do better. I feel very refreshed by this show,” Alsalahai said.
“The show’s got some good laughs, high stakes, and a mysterious undertone that should make ‘Stolen’ a good watch.” – Emmet Lally
Senior marketing major Emmett Lally plays the role of Jude in the series; the head basketball coach’s son with, what Lally describes as, a “self-destructive complex.”
“Before auditioning for the show, I’d never had any interest in joining the club until now, which happens to be my senior year at Fisher,” Lally said. “It’s my first project with CTV, and I’m having a great time meeting new people from different years and getting to work on something that everyone is really passionate about.”
Members of “Stolen” highlight its mystery and unique plot points for audiences to keep an eye out for.
“They [audiences] can expect more than just the ‘whodunit’,” Smith said. “It’s a lot of the friendship and relationships between the characters—getting to see how that develops.”
“I think whoever ends up watching ‘Stolen’ should keep an open mind—there are some really fun aspects to the show with the documentary POV, and the different things that slowly leak out about each character,” Lally said. “The show’s got some good laughs, high stakes, and a mysterious undertone that should make ‘Stolen’ a good watch.”
If you are interested in joining Cardinal Television or participating in future projects, you can email Cecil Felton at [email protected] or Ranya Alsalahai at [email protected].
