Jimmie Tramel
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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A shot-in-Tulsa limited series, “A Thousand Tomorrows,” has become one of this month’s most-watched Netflix offerings, never mind that it first became available via a different streaming service two years ago.
Granted eye-catching new life with a Sept. 1 Netflix release, “A Thousand Tomorrows” spent almost two weeks in Netflix’s top 10.
The series was directed and executive produced by Cassidy Lunnen, a Tulsa-based filmmaker and founder of Red Clay Studios. Lunnen, in a recent phone interview, said she was very pleasantly surprised to see “A Thousand Tomorrows” reach Netflix’s top 10. It peaked at No. 5.
“I don’t know if I know the full algorithm myself, but you have to have a dang a lot of people watch it for it to get up in the top 10,” she said.
The success of “A Thousand Tomorrows” is giving Lunnen an excuse to remind legislators she kept a promise. Before going down that path, however, let’s dive into what the show is about.
“A Thousand Tomorrows” is based on a bestselling novel by Karen Kingsbury. The six-episode adaptation tells the story of Cody Gunner, a star bull rider hardened by tragedy. Gunner’s world changes when he meets Ali Daniels, a fearless barrel racer hiding a life-altering secret. Their unlikely romance becomes “a powerful journey of love, sacrifice and faith set against the grit and glory of the rodeo arena.”
Shooting on “A Thousand Tomorrows” took place in 2022. It was initially licensed to Pure Flix, a smaller streaming platform. Lunnen indicated it was gratifying for the series to return and find an audience on Netflix. She talked about how Netflix also was pleasantly surprised. And perhaps this shows there’s a need for “this kind of content” on Netflix?
Elaborating, Lunnen said “A Thousand Tomorrows” isn’t what you would typically see on Netflix. It’s not a horror or action project with a huge cast. It’s a romance, and it leans faith-based.
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“They go for romance,” Lunnen said of Netflix. “But faith-based is where I was a little like, ‘Oh, OK, all right, Netflix is going to get in the game.’”
Lunnen lived in California for 25 years before being attracted here by the Tulsa Remote program. She opened Red Clay Studios, a production company and sound stage facility, in 2021. Lunnen has logged 20-plus years in the entertainment industry and once was a senior vice president of development and production over the Astronauts Wanted branch of Sony television.
“So I work with Sony a lot,” she said. “Sony brought me on, and we were looking for kind of faith-based projects.”
“A Thousand Tomorrows” is a Sony Pictures AFFIRM Films original. AFFIRM Films, according to a mission statement, is the home of quality entertainment that inspires, uplifts, challenges and captivates: “Through compelling films, treasured children’s classics and timeless stories, we deliver on the promise of wholesome and trusted entertainment.”
“A Thousand Tomorrows” was crafted in the aftermath of Lunnen leading efforts (as a founding member of the Oklahoma Motion Picture Film Association) to lobby for the Filming in Oklahoma Act, which in 2021 expanded incentives to attract film and television productions to the state.
“I had just recently moved here, and I think a lot of people were kind of like, well, we’re concerned that people are going to come in if we pass this incentive and make films that don’t speak to Oklahoma, that don’t have Oklahoma values and etcetera,” Lunnen said.
Keep in mind this was shortly after the release of the reality series “Tiger King,” which didn’t exactly cast Oklahoma in the best light.
Lunnen reassured legislators she was here, she was sticking around and she was going to tell stories Oklahomans would want to experience.
“And so that was one of the things I kind of promised legislators and I made a point to reach out to Sony,” she said. “I had never done a faith-based project before, actually, before this. And we kind of put our heads together. The head of Sony AFFIRM brought in Karen Kingsbury. He knew her. She’s a New York Times bestselling novelist of faith-based novels, and so we partnered up with her. That’s how that kind of all came about was trying to keep a promise, really.”
A news release said “A Thousand Tomorrows” was filmed across Green Country and showcased some of northeast Oklahoma’s “most recognizable and beloved locations,” including the BOK Center, Maple Ridge North neighborhood, Hillcrest Hospital, Will Rogers Stampede Arena in Claremore and ranches and arenas in Skiatook and Muskogee.
The release said a largely Oklahoma-based crew and local vendors powered the production.
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com
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Jimmie Tramel
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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