More than 30 years after A Bronx Tale, Lillo Brancato and Taral Hicks are sharing the screen again — this time in Common Ground, a socially conscious drama pilot set against the backdrop of a small Southern neighborhood confronting a sudden crisis.
Directed by U.S. Navy veteran and emerging filmmaker D’Angelo Harris, Common Ground follows a community pushed to its limits when a neighborhood-wide power outage forces residents from very different backgrounds into an unfiltered confrontation. Culture, class, and generational wounds collide in real time, revealing buried tensions and testing whether empathy can outweigh fear.
Brancato stars as Vincent, a man newly released from prison and struggling to adjust to life back home. Hicks plays Chantel, a mother fighting to hold her family together while fearing the past may repeat itself.
They lead an ensemble cast including Obbie West, Milagros Audinot, Darryl Hawkins, Tristan Hicks, Tristan Lockhart, Melba Henry, Jatniel Luben, and Terron Bartley.
At its core, the series asks a single, pointed question:
When everything goes dark, can a divided community still find common ground?
The pilot hails from Amethyst Films & Productions, a studio focused on culturally grounded, socially relevant storytelling. The project is currently in post-production, and the team is exploring expansion of the series with new partners and investors.
Amethyst Films has opened an exclusive investor call for those interested in the pilot-to-series strategy:
Black Friday: The Common Ground Way Investor Call
- Date: November 28
- Access: Guest list only
- Email to join: amethystvideoadmin@icloud.com
The conversation will cover investment tiers, projected returns, and long-term development plans.
Common Ground is expected to premiere February 2026 (TBA) at the Rylander Theatre in Americus, Georgia.
For updates and behind-the-scenes content:
Instagram: @amethyst.films_
Website: https://huggingface.co/spaces/Amethyst90/amethystfilmsandproductions