Thirty-five year old Edie Pepper, a rosé loving, reality TV obsessed copywriter from Chicago, dreams of plucking her soulmate from the depths of Hinge (or Tinder or Bumble). Following yet another dumpster fire of a date, Edie is consoling herself with boxed wine and E! News when Ryan Seacrest drops a bomb: Edie's high school sweetheart has been cast as the lead in America's most beloved reality dating show, The Key, and wow, does he look different. Charlie Bennett, Edie's chubby cheeked, cosplay loving high school boyfriend has had a serious glow up, and is now a world traveling, extreme sports hunk.
Desperate to reclaim her One True Love, Edie DMs the show's conniving producers, who are more than happy to shove Edie headfirst into the competition. But Charlie isn't quite who she remembers, and he's as desperate to hide his past as Edie is to reveal it. Further complicating matters is Peter Kennedy, The Key's cranky showrunner, who, despite his best efforts, finds himself drawn to Edie's everywoman charm.
Navigating increasingly absurd dates, Edie starts to rethink everything she thought she knew about love. Is the biggest risk she's ever taken about to culminate in disaster? Or is Edie about to secure the Happily Ever After she's always wanted?
Find out this season on The Key. Adrienne Gunn is a writer and podcaster obsessed with pop culture. Her first novel, I Love You, Charlie Bennett, follows a desperate thirty-something as she chases love on a reality TV dating show. You can find her popular newsletter "Where the F*ck's My Happy Ending?!" on Substack and listen to her podcast "Don't Ruin This For Me" on your favorite podcast app. A long-time Chicagoan, Adrienne's been a columnist and on-screen personality for Chicago Magazine, appeared across the city as a storyteller and comedian, and her one-woman show "Mother of the Year!" debuted and returned to sold out Windy City audiences. Adrienne received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon and you can visit her at: www.adriennegunn.com.
