Science & Film is thrilled to report that filmmaker Lilian Mehrel has been awarded the 2025 Sloan Episodic Fellowship at Film Independent’s Episodic Lab for her original pilot BADDIES. The fellowship includes a $20,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support the development of the series, which blends romantic comedy with behavioral science.

As announced in Deadline, Mehrel is one of six writers selected for the 2025 Episodic Lab, which runs in person from August 11–22 in Los Angeles. The Lab offers individualized story and career development, pairing fellows with experienced showrunners and creative producers. Netflix, the founding sponsor, provides additional mentorship opportunities with showrunners from its slate of series.

This is Mehrel’s second grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Her short film THE LONELIEST, which explores themes of isolation and connection through a science-informed lens, was supported by a 2014 Sloan Production Grant at NYU and premiered in 2020. The film follows a deep-sea diver who discovers a mysterious signal from the ocean’s depths—possibly from the loneliest whale in the world. The project exemplifies a signature blend of poetic storytelling and scientific curiosity common the Sloan-supported projects. Read more about Mehrel’s new pilot BADDIES and her short film THE LONELIEST before streaming it here.

BADDIES (Pilot)
Written by Lilian Mehrel
Logline: A (romantic) comedy series about the team who works at Baddies — a dating app using behavioral science to undo their bad rap, beat the competition, oh and help people find love. If they can figure it out for themselves first.

THE LONELIEST (Short Film)
Written, directed, produced, and edited by Lilian Mehrel
Logline: Go ‘behind-the-scenes’ of British nature show Ocean Discovery in this tragicomic mockumentary: Violet (a camera-girl with a wry sense of humor) and Ingrid (a marine biologist with a singular passion for whales) go looking for the loneliest whale in the world (with a voice too high for the others to hear).