BLOCKED is the story of four teenagers trying to make connections online, when online is the only means they have. The show imagines a fictional app called Agora, but takes the reality of teenage life during COVID as a backdrop. These four teenagers each face social anxieties and isolation in their own lives that are only exacerbated when schools are shuttered and in-person activities are disbanded. Through coming together over their shared interest in a funny animal video, they form unexpectedly real friendships online that weave into a meaningful support network. They find ways of leaning on each other for help, lifting each other up when they are down, and provide some much-needed light in a difficult time.

Four brand new, exciting roles for teens to originate!

Nadia Rosenthal, 15, Tom's River, NJ • Nadia has long been searching for a peer group and has struggled to do so in person; she suffers from panic attacks and is ashamed she'll have one publicly, so she retreats to the internet. On Agora, she pushes beyond her shyness to reach out and make friends, and wants more than anything to form a real connection, first through sharing her artwork, then through forming the Emu page that brings this group together.

Tyce Abata, 14, Bronx, NY • Tyce is a creative, energetic teenager who has also always felt a little different than his peers and hasn't found his people. He turns to livestreaming himself rapping on Agora as an attempt to put himself out there, but struggles to make real connections this way.

Katrina Pearson, 17, Fairfield, Ohio • Katrina's always been the type to "do it all" – both on and offline. She is growing increasingly anxious with her various social and livestreaming commitments on Agora, and tries to juggle them all, to hilarious effect, before she can no longer put up with it. She's witty, mile-a-minute, and ultimately deeply caring for others.

Christian Ableton, 16, Fort Worth Texas • Christian is a put-together, soccer-playing, clean-cut young man, who feels he can't be his full self in his home and school environment — he's gay, and loves nail polish and drag queens, but lives in a conservative community. He turns to Agora to get more in touch with these passions in the safety of anonymity, and it ultimately helps him grow comfortable with who he is.